Votum Separātum
Barrel Help You
Askar IsmailovKazakhstan oil and gas industry should officially turn to measurements in barrels
In April 2018, Kaznet circulated information saying that in the coming future Kazakhstan will change measuring flight altitude from current meters to the feet system. According to Umirbek Kenesbayev, president of the Kazakhstan Association of Small-size Aircrafts, almost all aircrafts flying to Kazakhstan are equipped by gauges in feet. At the moment Kazakh airports use double system of measurement. When western planes are landing and ready for feet, pilots hear Kazakh dispatchers giving measurement in meters, it creates excess vanity. To eliminate this excess vanity «KazAeroNavigatsya» wants to transfer all airports in Kazakhstan to feet system.
Without going in too much detail, a question about measurements in oil and gas industry came on top of my mind. We know that in Kazakhstan the majority of oil and gas will be produced from three largest fields operated by international companies, and there are: Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan. Currently all production reports for Kazakh Authority are prepared in SI, i.e. international system of units; however, for corporate reporting the western companies are using data in barrels and cubic feet. And so what?! It’s easy to find converters in internet. But let’s go deep in details.
First of all, measurement in tons is not absolutely exact: as ton is a unit of weight, the weight of oil depends on its quality (density of oil has tendency to change even from one well to another, and this is quite complicated). Therefore, one ton of oil can contain different numbers in barrels. For heavy oil, one ton may equal 7 barrels, for light oil – 8 barrels.
Secondly, measurement of oil in tons is complicated process. For example, let’s read the official document "Rules of measurement and weighing of oil":
3. Measurement and weighing of mass of oil
§ 1. Measurement and weighing of mass of oil by a volume and mass dynamic method
11. The mass of oil at acceptance operations is defined by this method.
Mass gross of oil is measured by means of expense converters (further –EC) and line converters of density (further –CoD).
12. At the same time, weight is calculated by information processing device as the work of the corresponding values of volume and brought to conditions of measurement of volume (temperature, pressure) of density, or the volume or density specified to one normal condition.
At shutdown of the worker and lack of the reserve converter of density, density of oil is determined by the areometer or the laboratory densitometer with a limit blundered ± 0,5 kg/m3.
The result of measurements of volume of oil received at a temperature and pressure of oil in the converter of an expense or the counter of oil is given to standard conditions.
The value of density of oil measured by line software at a temperature and pressure in the block of measurement of parameters of quality of oil is given to conditions of measurement of volume of oil and to standard conditions (temperature at 20° C, and the excessive pressure –0).
13. The processing device of information or the automated workplace of the operator behind which control of all process of accounting of oil is exercised has to provide performance of the following functions:
1) calculation of volume of oil under operating conditions;
2) calculation of the current value of density of oil at a temperature and pressure in the block of measurement of parameters of quality of oil;
3) calculation of the current value of density of oil to conditions of measurement of volume of oil;
4) calculation of weight gross oil;
5) calculation of daily average value of density of oil under conditions of measurement of volume in standard conditions;
6) calculation of monthly average value of temperature and pressure;
7) input and change of limit values of the parameters specified in the project, in the certificate on checking of measuring instruments and the registration certificate.