Custody Transfer:

Flowmeter as Cash
Register
When bulk liquid or gas products change hands, everyone
has to agree on the quantity and the product quality. This
puts very special demands on instrumentation.
BY EMERIE DUPUIS AND GERARD HWANG NOVEMBER 1, 2010
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Every process plant in the world takes in bulk raw materials and fuel from tanker
ships, railroad cars, tanker trucks, or pipelines. Refineries, chemical plants,
pharmaceutical companies, and a host of other industries have to measure raw
materials and finished products accurately, because they pay for what comes in
and get paid for what goes out.

Transportation companies—the ones who own the tankers, railroad cars, or

pipelines—also get paid for the amount of materials they move. Companies that
push gas through a pipeline, for example, operate on a slim margin of a few
pennies per MCF (million cubic feet), so they want to know exactly how much is
involved. Greenhouse gas emissions and CO2 trading are emerging applications.

Whether it is oil, gas, or chemicals, a tiny error of even 0.25% in the flow
measurement of materials being transferred can cost a company millions of
dollars in one year. A very large custody transfer system can meter $6,000,000
worth of natural gas per day, or $2.2 billion per year. If the measurement is off by
0.25%, that’s an error of $15,000 per day or $5.5 million per year in somebody’s
favor.

The terms custody transfer and fiscal metering are often interchanged. Custody
transfer takes place any time fluids are passed from the possession of one party
to another (e.g., from producer to pipeline, pipeline to plant, or pipeline to storage
facility). Fiscal metering is a form of custody transfer. It refers to metering that is a
point of a commercial transaction such as when a change in ownership takes
place. In this article, we’ll use them interchangeably.
In general, custody transfer involves:

• Industry standards;
• National metrology standards;
• Contractual agreements between custody transfer parties; and
• Government regulation and taxation.

Custody transfer metering systems must meet requirements set by industry

bodies such as AGA, API, or ISO, and national metrology standards such as
OIML (International), NIST (U.S.), PTB (Germany), CMC (China), and GOST
(Russia), among others.

A number of flowmeter technologies are commonly used for metering: orifice

(differential pressure), turbine, positive displacement, Coriolis, and ultrasonic.
While the same basic technologies are used for normal process control as well as
custody transfer, the very large volumes involved in most oil and gas custody
transfer applications demand accuracy typically greater than for process
metering, because it is the cash register.

Custody transfer metering requires exceptional accuracy, repeatability, and

auditable values. For instance, liquid custody transfer meters used to measure
refined hydrocarbons have accuracy of ±0.125% or better, and repeatability in the
range of ±0.02%.

Custody transfer requires an entire metering system that is designed and

engineered for the application, not just flowmeters. Components of a custody
transfer system typically include:

• Multiple meters/meter runs;

• Flow computers;
• Quality systems (gas chromatographs for to measure energy content of natural
gas and sampling systems for liquid);
• Calibration using in-place or mobile provers for liquid, or master-meter for liquid
or gas; and
• Supporting automation.

A typical liquid custody transfer skid includes multiple flowmeters and meter
provers. Provers are used to calibrate meters in-situ. Proves are performed
frequently, typically before, during, and after a batch transfer for metering
assurance.

Ultrasonic and Coriolis flowmeters

Custody transfer measurements have been around for a long time, and were
often based on orifice flowmeters, turbines, and positive displacement meters.
These flowmeters induce pressure drop or have moving parts that wear out.
Over the past ten years, Coriolis and ultrasonic meters have become the
flowmeters of choice for custody transfer in the oil and gas industry.

Ultrasonic meters provide volumetric flow rate. They typically use the transit-time
method, where sounds waves transmitted in the direction of fluid flow travel faster
than those traveling upstream. The transit time difference is proportional to fluid
velocity. The average axial velocity multiplied by the area of the pipe then gives
the uncorrected volumetric flow rate through the ultrasonic flow meter transmitter.
Mass flow rates can be determined in conjunction with densitometers.

Ultrasonic flow meters have negligible pressure drop, have high turndown
capability, and can handle a wide range of applications. Crude oil production,
transportation, and processing are typical applications for this technology. Their
full-bore configuration can match the pipe diameter to minimize compression or
pumping energy required to move oil or gas over thousands of pipeline miles
across continents. Newer meters extend the temperature and viscosity range to
address applications like the heavy crudes found in oil sands and oil shale.
Advanced models have extensive diagnostics which help reduce measurement
uncertainty and simplify operations. Spool-piece ultrasonic meters are commonly
available in 2 to 24 in. pipe sizes.

Coriolis flowmeters provide direct mass flow measurement, with high accuracy
and repeatability over wide turndown ratios. They maintain those qualities even
when fluid conditions such as density, viscosity, and composition change
frequently. Micro Motion first introduced Coriolis meters to the market in the
1970s. In 2002, after decades of successful measurement, the American
Petroleum Institute (API) approved their use for custody transfer applications (API
Chapter 5.6). Coriolis meters are used on lines from less than 1 to 12 in.

In search of accuracy

Accuracy refers to the closeness of the measurement to the true or accepted

value. Each device (flowmeter, pressure transmitter, temperature sensor, BTU
analyzer, etc.) has its manufacturer-stated accuracy specification and its tested
accuracy. Uncertainty takes all the metering system factors that impact
measurement accuracy into account. So, two ±0.125% accuracy flowmeters
could be used in two different metering systems that ultimately have different
calculated uncertainties due to other “things” in the system that affect flow
calculations. Uncertainty even includes such factors as the flow computer’s A/D
converter accuracy. The quest for accuracy in a custody transfer system requires
meticulous attention to detail.

For example, when using an ultrasonic flowmeter (USM) for custody transfer of
natural gas, here are some of the items that must be considered:

Meter tube alignment: The piping leading up to and away from the ultrasonic
sensor must be aligned perfectly. AGA 9 allows the tube-to-meter match to be
within 1.0%, so for a tube with a bore of 11.75 inches, AGA allows a
misalignment of up to about 0.125 in. This is a huge gap, and a USM can
normally deal with the mismatch if the registration is concentric. Recent tests
show that eccentric connections that leave edges can cause errors of up to 0.2%.
Most good tube manufacturers will align to within a few thousandths of an inch.

Distance from control valve: Noise from control valves can interfere with an
ultrasonic sensor’s measurement, so a good practice is to place valves
downstream of meters (if possible), put as much distance as possible between
valves and meters, and put some bends in the piping to reduce noise. “Noise
trap” tees are very effective in reducing valve noise. In a similar fashion, Coriolis
meters can be affected by vibration, so they need their own form of protection.

Headers: A typical custody transfer system has multiple flowmeters installed

across a single header. This arrangement can allow for one flowmeter to
occasionally be used as a “master meter” or reference meter, while the other
flowmeters are routinely used to measure fluid flow. It also allows an individual
meter run to be isolated so that it can be serviced, removed, cleaned, or
calibrated without shutting down the line.

Sizing headers is critical in terms of both price and performance. Cost increases
as the header size increases, but performance suffers if headers are undersized.
Header sizing sounds like a very basic concept that every engineer should know,
but we have seen a large number of incorrectly sized headers on legacy systems.
In retrofit applications, be sure to acquire construction details of old headers that
are being updated with new meters because things are not always what they
appear to be.

Temperature sensors: The location of temperature sensors is critical for

maximum accuracy. For gas, AGA 9 recommends the thermowell be installed
between two and five diameters downstream of the flowmeter in a uni-directional
system, and three diameters from the meter in a bidirectional installation.

Flow provers: One flowmeter is designated as the flow prover. (See photo.) This
is a flowmeter of exceptional accuracy, and one that has been calibrated and
tested recently. In some cases, for large pipe sizes (30 in. and larger), the
flowmeter has to be shipped to a calibration facility capable of handling
something of that size. For smaller units, portable flow provers can be brought to
the plant site to serve as a calibrator.

During operations, a meter to be tested is aligned in series with the master meter
prover by way of valving. The flow computer compares the output of the two
flowmeters to calculate the error between them. A resulting correction factor is
then calculated and applied to the computations for the meter under test. Each
meter in a multi-run metering system can be likewise proved as often as is
necessary to ensure maximum measurement accuracy.

Flow computers: A flow computer is the actual cash register of a custody transfer
system. The flow computer is typically the only device directly connected to the
measurement devices (meters, transmitters, gas chromatograph, etc.). The flow
computer performs all the necessary industry-standard flow calculations. For
example, the Daniel S600 flow computer can support up to 10 individual meter
runs, or 6 meter runs and a prover.

Site design: When installing the flowmeters at the site, prior planning should
ensure that there is room available to clean the meters and use extractor tools to
remove the transducers when necessary. The site should also provide access for
service vehicles, portable flow provers, and calibration equipment. Check for
proper grounding, and be sure the area can accommodate the weight of the
system. The custody transfer system mentioned above is 126 ft. long and weighs
96,000 lb.

Gas metering skids are relatively straightforward compared to liquid systems,

which require consideration of proving meters in place and under operating
conditions, such as having a skidded pipe prover connected to the metering
system. Other circumstances may require providing proving take-offs on the
meter skid for connection to a portable prover, or call for having a “master meter”
on the skid that can be placed in series with a meter to be tested by moving a few
valves.

When proving is a consideration, additional factors become extremely important,

such as making sure all key valves are double block & bleed so no flow goes
around the prover by getting through a leaking valve. Depending on the type of
meters being used, liquid systems can also be more sensitive to pulsation or
flashing of liquid product causing gas formation in the flow.

A simple skid approach

Many custody transfer and fiscal metering systems are built on skids and
transported to the customer’s site. (See photo.) This allows the system to be
designed, fabricated, and assembled in a clean, dry area, and then dropped in at
the site.

A skid system package may contain multiple flowmeters and meter runs, gas
chromatographs to calculate energy content of natural gas, sampling systems for
liquids, flow computers, temperature sensors, data acquisition and control
equipment, and a communications system. It is important to keep in mind that the
measurement system as a whole, must meet custody standards.

A qualified skid builder should have all the expertise needed to size tubing and
headers, align them properly, ensure that no valve noise, vibration or flow
disturbances will adversely affect the meters, install flow conditioners where
needed, perform flow testing and calibration, and prepare the assembly for
trouble-free shipping to the customer site. This last step is extremely important,
because skids can be very long and heavy, and must be supported and
transported carefully to prevent damage to the piping or meters.
Building a custody transfer system on site or upgrading an existing installation is
certainly possible, however both of these solutions can be disruptive to the plant
and would have to be performed during a shutdown period. In most cases, it is
best simply to drop in a fully engineered skid.

Don’t try this at home

Building a custody transfer and fiscal metering system requires extensive

knowledge of various regulations, flow characteristics, flowmeter specifications,
and a host of other factors. While a typical process control engineer may be quite
knowledgeable in some of these areas, the vast amount of specific application
knowledge needed can be daunting. Designing and building a custody transfer
system is best left to experts.

Fortunately, a number of system integrators, skid builders, and flowmeter

manufacturers have the experience and knowledge needed to provide a
complete turnkey solution package for such an application.

When launching a project, we begin the process by analyzing the customer’s

needs in depth. Many questions need to be answered, including:

• Expected flow conditions;

• Area safety rating;
• Anticipated pulsation, noise, and vibration;
• Unidirectional or bidirectional flow;
• Required flowmeter size;
• Need for flow conditioners;
• Chemical or environmental requirements for special materials needed;
• Temperature, pressure and flow ranges;
• Ambient noise conditions;
• Applicable mechanical compliance standards;
• Governing safety standards; and
• Horizontal vs. sloped flowmeter mounting.

The list of mechanical elements goes on, and covers the size of headers, piping,
flanges, elbows, tees, reducers, and expanders. Beyond the hardware, you must
consider the ability of the site to accommodate the system; the measurements
and flow calculations needed; the control system with which it will communicate;
and service and calibration requirements before, during and after installation.

After installation at the site, the provider must commission and startup the
system, including connections to the plant control system. Once operating, the
unit will need ongoing technical and full life-cycle support in accordance with the
original purchase agreement.

An effective custody transfer system that is well maintained and calibrated will
make for smooth product flow and avoid disagreements between the participating
companies on product quality and quantity.