Natural Gas Measurement Fundamentals

December 5-6, 2023 | Online :: Central Time

1223-natural-gas-measurement

Professionals in the energy industry often grapple with the complexities of accurately measuring natural gas quantity, quality, and value, hindered by intricate regulations and operational variables. This Natural Gas Measurement course will renew your grasp of gas measurement’s scientific foundations and equip you with the know-how of established methods, equipment, and compliance protocols. By navigating gas properties, metering principles, quality assessment, and regulatory nuances, this course empowers you to make sound decisions, ensure precision in measurements, and adeptly maneuver within industry standards.

This course will also discuss:

• Supply management
• Classes of natural gas
• Flow measurement
• Back-office systems and business practices
• Equipment calibration

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the business, regulatory and operational drivers behind measurement.
• Review what natural gas is made of and how it behaves, both physically and chemically
• Identify the main types of metering devices and how they work
• Discuss the methods of measuring gas quality and the rationale behind it
• Discuss the types of equipment used to measure pressure, temperature, composition and contaminants
• Analyze the role and functions of a measurement back-office system, and how it integrates with other business systems
• Discuss how and why devices are calibrated, verified or maintained
• Obtain a cradle-to-grave perspective of the life cycle of measurement facilities

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 : Central Time

 

Why Measure?

• Business
  • What is Custody Transfer?
  • Business areas that rely on measurement data
  • Contracts and Operating Agreements
• Operations
  • Supply management
  • Pipeline system operation
  • Equipment and facility operation
• Regulatory
  • Federal regulations
  • Regional regulations
  • International regulatory rules

Physical Properties of Natural Gas

• Classes of natural gas
  • Pipeline quality
  • Raw versus processed natural gas
  • Blended mixtures (ex. hydrogen)
  • LNG and CNG
  • Non-traditional supplies
• Composition
  • Alkane hydrocarbon compounds
  • Inert compounds
  • Contaminants
• Ideal and real gas properties
  • What is the difference?
• Density and compressibility factor
  • Definitions
  • Surface plots
  • Equations of State
• Volume, mass, energy
  • Relations between volume, mass and energy
  • What are ‘standard conditions’?
• Heating value, SOS and other properties
  • Basics of combustion
  • Higher vs Lower heating value
  • Hydrocarbon dew point temperature
  • Speed of sound and Critical flow
  • Joule Thompson effect
  • Enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity
  • Viscosity and Heat transfer coefficient
• Contaminants
  • Free liquids
  • Condensation and HCDP
  • Solids
  • H₂S
  • CO₂
  • Formaldehyde, oxides of nitrogen, etc.

Metering Principles, Types and Standards

• Head type meters
  • Principles of operation
    • Bernoulli’s theorem
    • Pressure vs velocity
    • What is fully developed flow?
  • Orifice plates and meter run assemblies
    • Plate holders
    • Meter runs
    • Flow conditioning
    • Pressure taps
    • Temperature probes
    • Sample points
  • Cone meters
    • Basic configuration
    • Strengths and limitations
  • Nozzles and venturis
    • Roles (calibration vs flow limiting)
    • Critical flow
    • Sub-sonic flow
  • Pitot tubes
  • Flow equations
    • Overview
    • Implementations and Verification
  • Industry standards
    • AGA Report #3
    • ISO 5167
  • Maintenance and calibration
• Turbine, PD and vortex shedders
  • Principles of operation
  • Turbine meters
    • Rotor design
    • Single/dual rotor
    • Strengths and limitations
    • Typical configuration
    • Calibration and maintenance
    • Industry standards
  • Positive displacement meters
    • Types
    • Typical installations
  • Vortex-shedding meters
    • How do they work?
  • Ultrasonic flow measurement
    • Principles of operation
      • Chords and paths
      • Full bore vs reduced bore
      • Signal propagation and detection
      • Mathematical basics
      • Flow conditioning
    • Path configuration
      • Single path
      • Multi-path
      • Wetted transducers versus clamp-on
    • Coriolis force meters
      • Principle of operation
      • Typical designs and installations
      • Strengths and limitations
      • Density measurement

Gas Quality and Analytical Methods

• Sampling
  • Sample probes, regulators, filters and cylinders
• Process analysers
  • Composition vs species
• Chromatography
  • Principles of operation
  • Typical implementation
  • Calculations and connectivity

Process Instrumentation and Flow Computing

• Pressure and temperature transmitters and recorders
  • Transmitters and transducers
  • Chart recorders and chart integration
• PLCs, flow computers, RTUs and distributed control systems
  • What is a flow computer?
  • Overview of API MPMS Chapters 21.1 and 21.2
  • What is an RTU, PLC or Distributed Control System?

 

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 : Central Time

 

Back Office Systems and Business Processes

• Data collection, validation, storage and retrieval
  • Measurement data processing systems
  • SCADA systems
  • Data historians
  • Telecommunications
  • Security

Measurement Data Analysis

• Overview of analysis processes
• Integration with business processes and field operations

Data Validation, Corrections

• Validation principles (validation vs calibration)
• Correction tools and techniques
• Rules and limitations (ex. NAESB)

End-of-month Processes

• Totalization and zone balancing
• Energy vs volume balancing
• Fuel gas and other usage
• What is Lost and Unaccounted-For Gas?
  • Physical balance
  • Commercial balance
• Error management and problem escalation
• Commercial balance reconciliation

Equipment Calibration and Maintenance

• Flow calibration
  • Calibration vs Verification
  • Tools and procedures
  • Training and Certification
  • Industry practices
  • Witnessing
• In-situ verification

Milestone Events and Processes

• Design
  • Participants and roles
  • Engineering standards
• Construction
  • Ensuring compliance and correct assembly
• Commissioning
  • Typical steps
  • Documentation
  • Compliance checking
• Audits and Disputes
  • Contractual and tariff limits
  • What is a technical audit?
  • Dispute resolution
• Re-configuration and retirement
  • Upgrades
  • Downgrades
  • Change of function
  • Inventory

Industry Standards, Commercial Contracts and Government Regulations

• Industry Standards from AGA, ISO, API and GPA
  • Flow measurement-related
  • Gas quality related
  • Flow computing-related
  • Contracts and tariffs
• Tariffs, Contracts and AGA Report 4a
  • Overview of functions and roles
  • Legal requirements
• Regulatory requirements and agencies
  • FERC / NEB
  • Measurement Canada
  • State/Province
  • BLM
  • NAESB

Warren Peterson

Warren Peterson is a measurement specialist with 42 years of experience in the oil & gas industry. Throughout his career he has worked for companies like Alliance Pipeline, TC Energy, and Kenonic Controls, specializing in flow measurement and the determination of fluid properties. Along with pipeline operating experience, he has been active in industry standards and research. On that foundation, he incorporated his own consulting company, Peterson Measurement, Inc. in late 2017.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
• You will receive a separate email with a unique link to a personalized landing page which will include links to join all sessions of this event.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

Please Note: This event is being conducted entirely online. All attendees will connect and attend from their computer, one connection per purchase. For details please see our FAQ

If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all attendees for 7 days after the event

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Natural Gas Measurement Fundamentals

December 5-6, 2023 | Online

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before November 03, 2023 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.4 CEUs for this event

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must log in each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit. 

Instructional Methods

PowerPoint presentations, group discussions, and active participation

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Upon successful completion of this event, program participants interested in receiving CPE credits will receive a certificate of completion.

Course CPE Credits: 16.0
There is no prerequisite for this Course.
Program field of study: Specialized Knowledge
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based
Advanced Preparation: None

EUCI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

 

Who Should Attend

• Measurement technicians
• Junior-to-intermediate engineers
• Regulatory and compliance professionals
• Gas plant & pipeline operators
• Quality assurance and control personnel