PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING BULK GAS MEASUREMENT AND DATA

LOADING INTO EPPROMS.

Document Owner: PHE-OGA

Revision 1

January 2002

PHE-OGA Oil & Gas Accounting.

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Introduction
The following is a procedure guide recommended for use in the handling of bulk gas
measurements with the Orifice meter and chart recorder. It is designed to provide a quick
reference in carrying out bulk gas measurement using the DOF system.
The Daniel orifice fitting is still employed in many of SPDC facilities for measurement for
bulk gas released from Separators.
With the new drive to enshrine bulk gas measurement as an integral part of Production
management system it is pertinent to provide the necessary guide for the personnel involved
in the daily management and reading of the gas charts collected from the Barton/Foxboro
chart recorders.
It is hoped that the document will provide the much needed quick reference and checklist in
the process of gas volume measurement.

1.0

Quick check for basic information on Charts:

Prior to taking the charts reading with the Planimeter, check that the following
information are indicated on the charts:

2.0

Static Element range (typically 0 400 or 0 1500 psi)

Differential Element range (typically 0 100 of water column)
Line size and Orifice Diameter
Date (Indicating the period covered by the chart)
Static and Differential Pressure markings on the chart
Check that these are clearly legible. (From time to time Field Supervisors need
to check that there is ink in the Pens and the clock is also wound to prevent
stoppage of reading while gas is flowing)
Temperature
(Some Meters have a 3rd Pen that marks the temperature. This is the ideal setup and the Temperature value should then be read from the traces on the chart.
In cases where Temperature reading is not available from the chart, the
Temperature should be advised by the Field Supervisor and documented for
reference)

Reading the Charts.

The principle of operation of the DOF gas metering with the clock-work
Barton/Foxboro chart recorders is based on the translation of the Pressure values in
the meter tube into square root values on the recording chart. The Static (absolute)
pressure in the line and the Differential pressure set up by the restriction imposed by
the Orifice plate on the gas flow are translated into linear deflections on the charts.

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The amount of deflection is governed by the magnitude of the pressure and the range
of the DP cell of the Barton/Foxboro recorder.
For fairly even trend on the chart, the reading could be estimated to a reasonable
accuracy by eyeballing.
For charts with rapid undulation however, a reliable reading can only be achieved via
the use of the Planimeter. The instrument evaluates the radius of the area traversed by
the cross-hair.

2.1

Use of the Planimeter

The use of the equipment is quite simple and straightforward. PHE-OGA Gas
Accounting personnel can give demonstration of the procedure on request. The Static
and the Differential pressure chart readings are extracted with the planimeter by
tracing out the trajectory of the records with the cross-hair of the instrument. For the
manual type, the user takes the difference between the initial and the final readings
on the Venier scale, while for the digital type, the instrument is zeroed before
commencement of reading and the absolute value is provided by the instrument at the
end of the reading.

3.0

Data input into EPPROMS

Once the charts have been planimetered, the extracted figures will be loaded into
EPPROMS for final computation of the gas volumes in Standard Cubic Feet (SCF).
A typical EPPROMS orifice data entry screen is shown below:

Device

OBGN/GP-18 OBGN/GP SALES GAS1 TO NGC-OBGN

Station OBGN/GP
Date

Time

VOF

Group
Ori

Third Party

23-JAN-03 06:00

NEPA

<- Diff press -> <-------- Stat Pres ------->

planimeter

Size

Meter No. 4340825A

Read

DP

Reading

Plan

Fact Range Plan Chart Fact

5.75 2.353

100

60.00

Elem

Chart Temp S.Grav

Range Range
1500

100

F
57.0

.569

The fields to be populated on the EPPROMS entry screen are explained as follows:

Orifice size:
This is the diameter of the Orifice plate. If exact value is not accepted by EPPROMS,
use the closest value from the list in EPPROMS Table. To see EPPROMS list, press
<ctrl>F3 and move with <TAB> to see EPPROMS standard values. Be sure to check
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that the information to be loaded into EPPROMS corresponds to the value in place in
the field. Note that the value of the differential pressure set up across the orifice is
greatly influenced by the size of the hole relative to the pipe diameter.

Planimeter Reading (Differential Pressure):

Use the Planimeter to get a value for the average radius of the area traversed by the
Differential pen.
Divide this figure by 2 and load the result in EPPROMS. This is necessary because
of the factor 2 in the next field.

Differential Factor:
This is the factor that is applied on the planimetered value. This field has been set at
2 and makes the system to double any input fed into the previous field. If it is set at 1,
then there is no need for dividing the planimeter results.

Differential Pressure Range:

This is the range of the differential pressure Manometer. It is typically 0 100 of
water column and usually embossed on the meter panel. Make sure the value entered
here is in inches of water column and not in bar.

Static Pressure Planimeter Reading:

The figure read off from Planimetering the static record is squared and loaded into
this field. It is necessary to square this figure since the Planimeter assumes a Squareroot chart.

Planimeter Factor:
This should remain at the default 1 except where it is necessary to apply a multiplier
factor on the Static pressure.

Static Element Range:

This is the range of the Static element of the meter. It is required to convert the linear
value derived from the charts scale into pressure scale in psi or bar.

Chart Range:
The linear range for the chart is 100.

Temperature:
The temperature value should be extracted as explained above and entered in degrees
Farenheit. Again the utmost must be done here to get an accurate value for the
temperature. As would be seen below in the equation for gas volume calculation, a
temperature factor is derived to correct the location value to the universal base
temperature of 600F.

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Specific Gravity:
This is the specific gravity of the gas stream passing through the orifice. This should
be derived from a proper gas composition analysis of gas sample taken from the
Separator. This parameter is very important in the final volume computation.
Obviously, with a given force applied on a gas, a lighter gas can be more easily
pushed through the orifice than a heavier one. The total volume of gas passing is
therefore directly influenced by this parameter.
4.0 Gas Volume calculation in EPPROMS
Once the required parameters as listed above have been entered into EPPROMS,
EPPROMS will compute the gas flow rate applying the AGA equation as follows:
Q = Chp
Where Q = quantity rate of flow at base conditions, cfh
h = differential pressure in inches of water at 60oF
p = absolute static pressure, psia
C = orifice flow constant which is expressed as follows:
C = (Fb)(Fr)(Y)(Fpb)(Ftb)(Ftf)(Fg)(Fpv)(Fm)(Ft)(Fa)
Where
Fb = Basic orifice factor
Fr = Reynolds number factor (viscosity)
Y = Expansion factor
Fpb = Pressure base factor
Ftb = Temperature base factor
Ftf= Flowing temperature factor
Fg = Specific gravity factor
Fpv = Supercompressibility factor
Fm = Manometer factor for mercury meter
Ft = Gauge location factor
Fa = Orifice thermal expansion factor
EPPROMS evaluates all these parameters from the basic inputs entered above.

5.0

Possible Anomalies on the Chart:

Some anomalies which may be observed with gas charts and what remedial action to
take are explained as follows:
Case I: Pen markings on charts going below the zero line.
This implies there is zero error on the meter. Meter needs to be calibrated.
Case II: Pen markings on charts going out of the scaled portion of the paper.

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The meter is over-ranging and is an indication that the Plate size in the line is too
small. A bigger sized plate is needed.
Case III: Pen markings on charts too small, almost close to the zero line.
The differential pressure created in the line is too small to cause sufficient deflection
of the Pen on the chart.
The plate size is too large and should be replaced with an appropriate smaller plate.
Case IV: Incomplete cycle on the chart markings.
If the 24-hour cycle on the chart is incomplete due to fault on the meter while flow of
gas is continuing, then the reading from the chart needs to be extrapolated to 24
hours, since EPPROMS expects a 24-hr reading. The planimeter figure should be
multiplied by 24 and divided by the number of hours for which the meter was
available.

6.0 General rule for ensuring accurate gas flow measurement with DOF.
As a rule, to ensure accuracy of gas volume derivation with the DOF system, the following
potential sources of error should be monitored and addressed:

Incorrect information about the bore of the Orifice plate and the pipe (verify diameter
value stored in EPPROMS)
Eccentricity of the Orifice bore in relation to the pipe bore (i.e. not concentric)
Excessive pipe roughness
Incorrect location of differential taps in relation to the orifice plate
Accumulation of liquids in the pipe at the bottom of the plate
Changes in operating conditions
Excessive friction between the pen and chart
Leakage around the orifice plate
Non-uniform calibration of the meter (during calibration of the meter, a 4-point
calibration of linear range with pressure range is considered a standard and should be
achieved before the calibration certifcate is signed)

The list above is by no means exhaustive. Field Supervisors are expected to coordinate the
management of the bulk gas charts in the field as part of the key day to day operations
requirement. This is because, while the Orifice meter is considered as one of the most
reliable measurement systems the computed volume can only be as correct as the input
parameters.
Further update and expansion of this guide will be done as required.

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