Do you think that hand dipping tanks in the oil fields is needed to protect investors? Or would automation be better to protect both investors and oil field workers? Here is an NPR article about the topic.
In reply to anand vidhate:
Dave, Anand,
Manual gauging of production tanks is a dangerous operation. This has recently been highlighted in a Hazardous Alert (HA3843) issued by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Nine oil worker fatalities related to manual gauging or sampling of production tanks has been identified by OSHA during 2010-2014. The workers have been exposed to extensive amounts of toxic hydrocarbons when thief hatches has been opened for manual gauging.
Automated Tank Gauging (ATG) is a viable option to keep workers safe on the ground and thief hatches closed in line with OSHA’s recommendations. Currently there is no standard that supports cost effective ATG on smaller production tanks (<1000bbl) as the existing standard API18.1 only covers manual gauging for custody transfer while API3.1B covers automated tank gauging for custody transfer in inventory storage tanks (>1000bbl). Transmitters used for custody transfer according to API 3.1B is a non-viable option for small production tanks as the cost would be too high.
However, there is a new standard in writing, API18.2, which allows automated tank gauging to be used for custody transfer on production tanks. API 18.2 will most probably be released before summer. The accuracy requirements in API 18.2 are has been adapted for small production tanks and are in correlation to what’s already installed in field, where thousands of radars have been used for level monitoring, overfill prevention and truck scheduling for years. Operators with existing radar level measurement can immediately start to adopt the new standard, relying on their radar level measurements for custody transfer, as long as they can prove the accuracy of the instruments. As with all instrumentation used for custody transfer, the radar level transmitter accuracy must be verified periodically.
From Rosemount Level we have closely monitored the development of API18.2 and in parallel we have developed best practices and tools for easy compliance to the radar accuracy verification requirements. The verification of radar accuracy can be done in just a few minutes and does not require the thief hatch to be opened or any product to be transferred. The tool used for verification, Rosemount VeriCase, is capable of a 5-point accuracy verification of Rosemount 3308 Series and Rosemount 5300 Series Guided Wave Radar Level & Interface transmitters.
With the update of the 27 year old revision of BLM Onshore Order 4, expected to pass this summer, we have a possibility to have automated tank gauging approved for fiscal metering also on federal land and be assured that we have been working to educate BLM of the capabilities of our instruments as well as providing comments to the draft during the comment period to make this happen. Also, in close cooperation with a customer, we have provided BLM with field data from thousands of Guided Wave Radars that has been sampled since 2012 and where the accuracy has been verified periodically using VeriCase.
Christoffer Widahl | Sr. Strategic Product Manager, Level | Rosemount Measurement
Emerson Process Management