Page 59 - Apmor 2018

technology oil

to an overall growth in oil production, Accuracy first inevitably lose accuracy over time, which
particularly in Iraq and the United States. could result in companies misreporting
In addition to regulatory pressures, there important environmental statistics. With
are a number of external sources of To comply with national emissions regular maintenance, the effect of hostile
pressure on oil and gas operators – such environments can be counteracted. This
as environmental Non-Governmental regulations, oil and gas companies means potential issues can be identified
Organisations and citizens’ rights groups. must adhere to strict rules around and dealt with before they become a high-
cost, time intensive problem for operators.
A combined effort measurement accuracy. Whilst
national regulation requirements IoT and emissions measuring
Natural gas can be stored and transported may differ depending on country,
instead of flared, but it is highly flammable. global regulation in gas flaring is Historically, recording and sharing emissions
Between 2008 and 2012, there were 370 data would have involved recording the
significant safety incidents at natural gas predicted to intensify over the next volume of gas flared locally and sharing data
transmission pipelines. Transporting natural decade. on a periodic basis. However, connected
gas from a rig to homes and businesses is measurement technology means that now this
high risk, while the combination of high information can be monitored and measured in
infrastructure costs and low gas prices has The Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos real time through secure hosting in the cloud.
discouraged investment in on-site capture (CNH) – the independent body responsible
technology. Flaring has long been considered for regulating fossil fuel production in Mexico
the lesser of two evils when compared to – requires all gas and vent meters to be By using cloud technology to record
venting methane directly into the atmosphere. installed and maintained to manufacturer gas flaring, companies can build a
specifications, setting the maximum allowable better picture of trends over time
measurement uncertainty for gas flaring at and use this insight to drive new
The Oil & Gas Industry has come 3%. Russia also has stringent regulations emissions strategies. For example,
a long way in its recognition and covering flare gas measurement, requiring on an offshore oil rig where flaring
reduction of emissions. However, operators to maintain an uncertainty of just may only happen after certain
under increased regulatory 5%. All measuring equipment must hold maintenance procedures, real-
approval certificates and be registered with
scrutiny, it is important that the the State Register of Measuring Devices. time data can provide insight to
flaring of natural resources is more effectively manage the flaring
strictly limited and only takes place A build-up of debris, ice or condensation in the process – reducing the amount
pipes and a change in gas composition could
when absolutely necessary. all affect reporting accuracy. The breakdown of wasted gas. Over an extended
of a meter could even lead to complete plant period of time organisations will
shut down, delaying environmental reporting
Support is growing for initiatives such as the altogether. Inaccuracies and reporting breaches begin to see patterns emerging that
World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring (ZRF) to can lead to significant fines, penalties and even enable them to more effectively
reduce the oil and gas sector’s combined imprisonment in many parts of the world. predict which rigs will flare more
routine carbon emissions. Launched in April gas than others.
2015 with 25 endorsers, the ZRF initiative Maintain to sustain
brings governments, oil companies and Using emissions data for insight will only prove
development institutions together to work helpful if the data being collected is accurate CBM
toward eliminating routine gas flaring by 2030. and assets are performing to their full potential.
The initiative has grown to 62 endorsers. Condition based maintenance (CBM) –
Many governments and regulators are taking Oil and gas operations can often take place enabled by remote monitoring - reduces
the initiative seriously and are increasing the in extreme environments: in the middle the risk of major equipment failure by
pressure on companies to accurately measure of the ocean or in extreme heat or cold. identifying potential problems before they
and report flaring as well as to implement Monitoring assets in hostile environments come to fruition. CBM involves continuously
new ways of reducing flare gas volumes. is crucial for risk reduction, but these monitoring the condition of an asset –
punishing conditions can make maintenance including its components – so maintenance can
Signatories to ZRF have committed to difficult. Consider the Deepwater Horizon oil be carried out as soon as there is an indication
eliminating flaring within existing operations, rig, a semi-submersible, mobile, floating, that a device or its components may not be
ensuring new sites incorporate gas utilisation drilling rig that operated in waters up to functioning effectively. CBM compares actual
solutions that avoid routine gas flaring 10,000 feet deep. Sea water could impact performance with average performance, or
or venting and publicly reporting flaring asset performance, underwater debris with a pre-programmed range. When device
volumes on an annual basis. Connected could affect flow and cold deep-water parameters move beyond what is acceptable,
technologies are now helping to measure and temperatures could freeze equipment. it signals the need for maintenance. In
manage these processes more effectively.
A poorly maintained flare gas meter will addition to component failure, CBM data

AFRICAN POWER Mining & Oil Review Vol 21, Issue 20, 2017 | 59