Monitoring Flare Gas Accurately To Meet Environmental Regulations

By Jim DeLee, Fluid Components International (FCI)

The European Union, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many other global groups are working to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are the main cause of the global warming phenomenon. The oil and gas industry in response to new regulations and their requirements has increased its focus on accurately measuring, monitoring and reporting the flared GHG gases that result from production, refining, storage and distribution activities.

Flare gas measurement and monitoring is an instrumentation challenge that requires accurate gas flow sensing and metering in demanding rugged environments. Flare gas flow meters are an essential tool to signal abnormal process changes, early leak detection and provide the flow measurement data that are used for environmental agency reporting.