Papers

After a decade of deliberation between government and the pipeline industry, the action of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requiring qualification for individuals performing covered tasks on a pipeline facility is a reality. The synergistic efforts of the members of the Regulation Negotiation Committee resulted in the authoring of an acceptable proposed rule, Qualification of …

QUESTIONS TO ASK TO UNDERSTAND THE OPERATOR QUALIFICATION PROGRAM Read More »

Throughout the world, gas measurement utilizes two basic principles to measure gas volumes, positive displacement and inferential meters. Positive displacement meters comprise the large majority of measurement devices in use while inferential meters are used primarily for large volume measurement and thus fewer applications

Is a measurement being made good and is it as good as the measurement that was made yesterday, a week ago, or a year ago? The question of what is good measurement is asked all the time. This paper reviews what constitutes a good measurement. In addition it discusses the means that have been established …

TRACEABILITY OF TEST INSTRUMENTS Read More »

Accurate and reliable gas measurement depends on a combination of efforts from two groups of people. First, we have the field personnel. They have the responsibility of seeing that a readable chart is produced and that all information pertinent to volume calculation is supplied to our next group, which is the office personnel. This group …

FROM PEN TIP TO VOLUME STATEMENT Read More »

In recent years, chart recorders have started to give way to electronic gas meters at many locations. However, chart recorders are still being used at many sites and will continue to be used for the foreseeable future. The advances in computer processing that made electronic meters economical can also be used to enhance the reliability …

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN CHART PROCESSING Read More »

The measurement of hydrocarbon fluids, with an overall measurement accuracy that is acceptable to all involved parties, is a goal most gas measurement organizations strive to meet. The achievement of overall measurement accuracy can be visualized by using an image of a steel chain. One side of the chain is fastened to the true quantity …

OVERALL MEASUREMENT ACCURACY Read More »

An effective training program makes a significant impact on the bottom line of an organization. Volumes are relative to every purchase and sale of gas. Therefore, accurate volume measurements play either a direct or indirect role in the profitability of all the organizations in our industry. An effective training program is one of the best …

TRAINING OFFICE MEASUREMENT PERSONNEL Read More »

The introduction of Cellular Digital Packet Data technology (CDPD) came about after the build out of the cellular voice systems in the United States. The designers of those systems realized a part of that technology was not being used that could send short burst packets of data without interfering with the voice transmissions. The definition …

CELLULAR DIGITAL PACKET DATA TECHNOLOGY FOR SCADA AND TELEMETRY APPLICATIONS Read More »

The gas industry today is constantly changing, with increasing demands on office and field personnel. Initially there was FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) Order 636 that forced the gas measurement departments into the electronic age. Next came corporate slashing that has required the gas measurement groups to perform at the same level of integrity in …

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OFFICE AND FIELD PERSONNEL Read More »

A gas pressure regulator is an automatic device which controls the media flow and maintains a desired media pressure while reducing the media supply pressure. The basic regulator could be an operator at a control valve watching a pressure gauge. The valve is manually opened to allow the line pressure to achieve the desired gauge …

FUNDAMENTALS OF PRESSURE REGULATION Read More »