Offshore staff
EAST KILBRIDE, UK – UKAS has awarded NEL’s elevated pressure and temperature (EPAT) test facility in central Scotland ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation [calibration laboratory No 0009].
This is the firsthigh-pressure/high-temperature facility in the UK to attain the internationally recognized certification.
NEL, supported by the UK’s National Measurement System, invested £1 million ($1.23 million) in the complex, which conducts meter calibrations said to be closer to actual in-field service conditions.
The resultant measurements are claimed to therefore reduce oil and gas operators’ financial exposure, as they minimize the uncertainty of meters deployed in the field.
Chris Mills, project engineer at NEL, said: “This…will give both our UK and international customers confidence that the system has been independently assessed and that all of the measurements it makes are traceable and auditable.
“Oil and gas production is increasingly taking place in fields where high temperatures and pressures are the norm. The EPAT facility more effectively fills the gap between calibration and real field conditions, allowing manufacturers to prove the performance of their meters, while operators and taxation authorities can be assured of more accurate fiscal reporting.”
The EPAT system features two separate flowlines, covering a broad range of flow rates and different line sizes. Test sections can be constructed to offer long straight lengths upstream or, if necessary, configurations designed to replicate actual installations.
The facility can calibrate flowmeters at temperatures between 20-80°C and (68-176°F), at flow rates between 0.5-100 l/s and at fluid pressures of 4-93 bar g. NEL claims it can therefore calibrate a large selection of flowmeter sizes at service conditions.
10/27/2016
