Flare gas measurement often takes place in seriously hostile environments. Ensuring that measurement is reliable and effective is an important part of governing compliance with regulation. Regular maintenance of measurement equipment is central to achieving this.
Is maintenance important?
Flare gas meters are integral to delivering accurate measurement of environmental impact. Where this is regulated, accurate measurement is essential to ensuring compliance. Whilst Fluenta flare gas meters are extremely robust and reliable, with a minimum number of moving parts to reduce maintenance, a proactive approach to servicing the product can ensure that a meter maintains its accuracy over its lifetime.
Proactive versus reactive
Historically there has been a reluctance to proactively maintain equipment. In some ways this is understandable: oil and gas production facilities are often hostile environments where unnecessary maintenance could be seen as wasteful.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Regular maintenance and servicing of flare gas meters ensures that they remain reliable and effective. It is also possible for engineers to deploy Condition Based Monitoring. This enables them to assess the condition of a meter and plan in advance when certain maintenance will be required. This can then coincide with planned down time to ensure there is no economic loss as a consequence of the maintenance.
The impact of a breakdown of a meter could well be an unforeseen delay in repair: it is much easier to schedule a regular maintenance call than an unexpected repair. Any delay could impact environmental reporting and this is a serious breach of regulation in many territories. w
Another consideration is the consequences of a repair. This might require pipelines to be shut down, which has an impact on production. Compared to a simple and regular maintenance programme the costs are significantly higher.
How often should a flare gas meter be serviced?
Fluenta recommends that customers arrange an annual service for flare gas meters. This regular maintenance schedule will ensure that equipment remains in prime condition and that any potential issues can be identified in advance and dealt with before they become an issue.
In particularly hostile environments, where sea water or extremes of temperature may impact performance, it is worth considering a regular schedule of maintenance.
In any event always ensure that you contact a qualified service engineer to carry out the maintenance. This will guarantee that someone with the right expertise and experience carries out the job and that it is completed to the required standard. Fluenta customers can arrange an engineer visit through the Fluenta website.
