A just weight and balance...

The Only Game in Town

When you are the only game in town, you can get away with almost anything. Some pipelines know they are your only choice. When this happens they will let you know. However, this may come to you very subtly. For instance, if they set up the contract parameters and all you do is sign. If they tell you the meter will be tested semi-annually or annually and the contract or gas tariff reads something like this; "If an error is found in the meter test then the volume of gas shall be corrected, but not beyond the beginning of the preceding month". If so desired, this could be used as a license to measure your gas incompetently for up to 10 months per year. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has okayed tariffs with this concept!

Measurement personnel know that errors made in measurement almost always effect readings on the low side. When 16 or 31 day charts are used instead of 7 or 8 day charts the resolution suffers greatly and errors will exist in the interpretation of the recorded values, unless the gas flow is extremely steady. When too large an orifice plate is used resolution is lost. When a meter tube is dirty, low recordings result. If a technician installs an orifice plate backward the error is negative. If an orifice plate is damaged the resulting error is almost always negative.

In previous years most pipeline companies held high standards. But now, these standards are eroding. The gas industry began developing electronic flow measurement devices (EFM) several years ago. These devices generally measure gas with one second samples. EFM's have improved accuracies in the initial measuring stages. However, data handling still has much room for improvement as there are many different ways of handling EFM files; some good, some not so good.

Charts and Records or Equivilent Data

The second party to a gas contract no longer has access to original recorded data in a form that is of much use when EFM measurement is used. How do you know if the data you are auditing is untouched?

Most pipeline companies do not have a cost effective way to censor the EFM data in the way that charts were censored and edited. Much of the data is left as it was recorded, right or wrong.

Bullet proof audit trails of EFM data are scarce. Delivering EFM data for a particular well to allow inspection by the second party of a contract is not something that most pipeline companies have mastered.

The gas producer (or second party) must have a gas measurement witness to plead his cause. If a witness does not confirm pipeline company test schedules, then the meter station may get passed over. Remember, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease"

Dodging the Bullet!

In many situations the pipeline company knows it is in error. However, a wait and see attitude seems to be the rule for correcting errors. If the second party does nothing to recover the loss due to error, then usually nothing happens. Sometimes the pipeline will push the second party into legal action by no response or giving a general response to your scientifically detailed request such as, "We do not concur with your findings", just to see if you will force their hand.

Corporate Downsizing

Many pipeline companies have only a fraction of the gas measurement staff that was in place prior to 1993. One of Oklahoma's largest gas pipeline companies has cut it's gas measurement staff in the field by 63 percent.

Companies are assigning "Areas" to their field employees. The employee is responsible for all pipeline maintenance within these "Areas". While cross training is an effective cost saving practice, the downside is that pipeline maintenance technicians may not be qualified for operation and maintenance of the new electronic meters as well as the mechanical complexities of the bellows type meters. Aquiring the knowledge and skills sufficient to maintain all equipment within these "Areas" causes the employees to overload on information. Technicians are no longer specialists within their field. Some pipeline companies have degenerated to the point of having a certain percentage of incompetent technicians. Each of our technicians has several stories observing incompetence among pipeline measurement personel. HGMI technicians have had to train the technician being witnessed and even had to take over and perform the calibration in several instances.

Without a witness your meters may not get tested. Some technicians tell us, "I will test meters when I get around to it, because I have other things that must be done". Another technician of a major pipeline company sent a letter asking HGMI to "drive his test schedule" and "please let me know when you want me to test our meters" . The priority of maintaining the "cash register" is at the lowest level in years.

Some pipelines use "Slight of hand" meter station test scheduling. A meter station scheduled for testing in January might be switched to another technician who then sets up his own schedule. The new technician will inadvertantly schedule the next test in April or even as late as August.

HGMI monitors when the meter should be tested according to pipeline company procedures. Pipeline company technicians often call us to find out which of their meters need to be tested for each month.

Accuracy Called Into Question!