By Patience Chat Moses
Fluenta, a global leader in ultrasonic sensing technology for measurement of flare gas, has completed the installation of 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the Dangote Refinery Plant in Nigeria.
Ultrasonic flare Meters are very accurate and effective tools for measuring flare gas. They tolerate some condensed liquid, are not affected by gas composition, and endure fluctuations in pressure and temperature. However, with this type of performance come high costs ranging from $50,000-$100,000 per installation. The ultrasonic meter does require pressure and temperature measurements to obtain mass flow.
A Director at Fluenta, Radek Kurkowski, revealed this on Thursday adding that the Company spent more than four months working with its exclusive Nigerian representative, Daptem Engineering, and the Dangote project team to deliver a workable, accurate and reliable flare measurement solution.
Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery, inaugurated in May 2023, has the capacity of refining 650,000 barrels of oil per day, enough to meet Nigeria’s daily fuel supply requirements, with a daily surplus of 38 million litres of refined products, already earmarked for export.
Kurkowski, in a statement, said that the team implemented a multitude of innovative, bespoke solutions, each considered on a case-by-case basis, to ensure accuracy of the system.
“Under current Nigerian law, companies refining oil and gas must pay a ‘tax’ for flared gas, to encourage an overall reduction in flaring, underlining the importance of Fluenta’s accurate, trustworthy flare measurement and management.
“Flare gas measurement and control is vital to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and to help identify potential safety hazards.
“Our team used a range of state-of-the-art technology, adapted meter software and special pipe gaskets and ball valves to deliver the pipe flare gas measurement solution,” he said.
Kurkowski also noted that the Company would be speaking further on the challenges of combustion efficiency and industry challenges to track methane emissions from flaring at Nigeria Hydrocarbon Measurement Conference (NiHMEC), taking place in Lagos, from Oct. 4 to 5, 2023.
He further said that Nigerian authorities were leading the charge in the control and regulation of flaring gas, looking towards eliminating the need for routine flaring over the next few years.
However, he said, a key component in that challenge was accurate measurement.
Nigeria is positioning itself as a world-leader when it comes to reducing its emissions, and flaring – the controlled burning or combustion of excess or waste gases that cannot be processed or captured for productive use.
This is a safety and environmental practice employed in the petroleum industry to prevent release of potentially harmful or combustible gases into the atmosphere.
Flare measurement in a refinery is essential, from a regulatory and environmental law compliance perspective, and for accurate emissions monitoring.
Flare and vent gas systems are used worldwide in various industries, including oil and gas production, refining, chemical processing, gas plants, wastewater treatment facilities, and landfills. The systems burn off waste gases, dispose of surplus gases and protect people, equipment, and the environment. Flare gas measurement and monitoring are necessary to ensure that the flare system operates correctly.
Ultrasonic flow meters measure the difference in transit time of pulses that travel from a downstream transducer to the upstream transducer compared to the time from the upstream transducer back to the downstream transducer. It also can determine the molecular weight of the gas by measuring the speed of sound.