Remote O&G Monitoring And Automation Needs In Iraq

While its estimated petroleum reserves are on the rise, Iraq’s output is not quite meeting national production targets. Looking to boost production and achieve accurate measurements, the country’s leading officials have moved to upgrade oilfield installations damaged by conflict and lack of investment, as well as establish comprehensive guidelines for the accurate measurement and automation of hydrocarbon production.

Developing A National Code
Establishing an Iraqi Oil Law has been on the government’s agenda since 2007. April 2008 marked the implementation of the Iraqi National Code for Measurement of Hydrocarbon Fluids – the national guidelines regarding how oil and gas production in Iraq is to be measured and the devices used for measurement are to be validated. Outlining the responsibilities of the Ministry of Oil as the regulator and auditor of all oil and gas operators, the Code gives specific authority to inspect, review and approve all metering equipment and reports. And since no Iraqi Oil Law has yet to be passed, the Code is essentially the last word in how the oil asset should be tracked and reported.

A field audit conducted in June 2010 by PricewaterhouseCoopers assessed the progress of the implementation of the Ministry’s comprehensive oil metering plan. Reviewing metering practices throughout Iraq, the firm met with personnel at North Oil Company, North Refineries Company, North Gas Company, South Oil Company, South Refineries Company and more. The audit revealed a significant number of inoperative meters, meters that had not been calibrated since installation, a general lack of third-party inspections and audits mandated by the Code, and other shortcomings in following the letter and intent of the Code. In short, the report’s findings indicated that increased attention must be focused on the country’s personnel, equipment and installations in order to properly administer the measurement of hydrocarbon production in Iraq.

An overarching theme that emerged from the final report pointed to a general lack of knowledge of the Code among the Ministry’s managers and engineers – which, in large part, can be attributed to the political and social conflict that hindered the country’s technological development in recent years. The current Code requires the Ministry to audit independent oil companies, but its unfamiliarity with the companies’ systems presented a critical problem: How effective is an audit report if the Ministry cannot conclude whether the meters were calibrated properly or how the data was gathered? In-depth training of Ministry personnel is critical to ensure licensing agreements are monitored properly.

Aiming to educate its personnel on hydrocarbon accounting basics, as well as the proper calibration, verification and inspection procedures dictated by the Code, the Ministry of Oil invited GlobaLogix, a Houston-based oilfield control and automation company, to conduct courses in Basra and Baghdad on critical topics that would help the Ministry effectively facilitate and enforce the Code.

Automation And Remote Monitoring Introduction
The control and automation company’s courses, conducted for managers and engineers with measurement and inspection responsibilities, included: 1) a basic review of meter technology, 2) an introduction to calibration and 3) a discussion of how flow computers are used.