The Value of Accurate Gas Measurement

In fiscal or custody transfer measurement the verified (calibrated under governing rules for
custody transfer) meter is the cash register for the natural gas company as a seller of gas or
the purchasing register for the distribution company buying the natural gas from a
transmission company. An error in the measurement is a first degree error in the company´s
P&L – not only on the top line but directly down to the bottom line of earnings. As such the
technical specification and the capabilities and reliability of a meter over the lifetime of the
meter, easily between 10 and 40 years, should not only be of interest to any technical
director, but especially to the CFO of any gas company.

Especially the larger capacity commercial and industrial meters should be in the focus of the
responsible managers of each gas company. The pure maximum permissible error (MPE)
limits at the initial calibration are only a first indication. Usually the MPE of the most
commonly used rotary, turbine, or ultrasonic meters are internationally defined as +/- 1%.
In many cases the MPE under operation is even 150% of the initial MPE. What is the value of
such an error of 1%? The potential loss as you can see from the following examples can be
up to more than 1 mio € over the lifetime of a single meter. The potential loss is in each case
a magnitude times the initial cost of the meter. No gas company can afford to lose this type
of earnings – despite all other potential issues of miss-measurement.

Commercial application:

A medium sized commercial rotary meter of a size G 40 (max. flow rate 65 m³/h) being
operated at an operating pressure of 4 bar absolute pressure will register at an average load of
25% a volume of approx.. 570.000 std m³/yr. At 0,25 €/m³ this equals to a billing value of approx.
142.000 €/yr or approx. 3,5 mio € over the lifetime of 25 years. A 1 % error
equals to 35.000 € potential earnings loss over the lifetime operation of the meter.

Industrial application:

A medium sized industrial turbine meter of a size G 650 (max. flow rate 1000 m³/h) being
operated at an operating pressure of 4 bar absolute pressure will register at an average load of
40% a volume of approx. 14.000.000 std m³/yr. At 0,25 €/m³ this equals to a billing value of
approx. 3.500.000 €/yr or approx. 88 mio € over the lifetime of 25 years. A 1 % error
equals to 880.000 € potential earnings loss over the lifetime operation of the meter.

Large city gate meter:

A large sized industrial ultrasonic or turbine meter of a size G 2500 (max. flow rate 4000 m³/h)
being operated at an operating pressure of 30 bar absolute pressure will register at an
average load of 25% a volume of approx. 260.000.000 std m³/yr. At 0,20 €/m³ this equals to
a billing value of approx. 52.000.000 €/yr or approx. 1.300 mio € over the lifetime of 25
years. A 1 % error equals to 1.300.000 € potential earnings loss over the lifetime operation
of the meter.