Current through Supplement No. 392, April, 2024
1.
Application of section. This section is applicable to all
allocation and custody transfer metering stations measuring production from oil
and gas wells within the state of North Dakota, including private, state, and
federal wells. If these rules differ from federal requirements on measurement
of production from federal oil and gas wells, the federal rules take
precedence.
2.
Definitions. As used in this section:
a. "Allocation meter" means a meter used by
the producer to determine the volume from an individual well before it is
commingled with production from one or more other wells prior to the custody
transfer point.
b. "Calibration
test" means the process or procedure of adjusting an instrument, such as a gas
meter, so its indication or registration is in satisfactorily close agreement
with a reference standard.
c.
"Custody transfer meter" means a meter used to transfer oil or gas from the
producer to transporter or purchaser.
d. "Gas gathering meter" means a meter used
in the custody transfer of gas into a gathering system.
e. "Meter factor" means a number obtained by
dividing the net volume of fluid (liquid or gaseous) passed through the meter
during proving by the net volume registered by the meter.
f. "Metering proving" means the procedure
required to determine the relationship between the true volume of a fluid
(liquid or gaseous) measured by a meter and the volume indicated by the
meter.
3.
Inventory
filing requirements. The owner of meter proving equipment shall file
with the director an inventory of all conventional pipe provers or master-meter
provers used to test the accuracy of oil meters. Inventories must be updated on
an annual basis, and filed with the director on or before the first day of each
year, or they may be updated as frequently as monthly, at the discretion of the
operator. Inventories must include the following:
a. Meter information:
(1) Prover:
(a) Type.
(b) Serial number.
(c) Prover volume.
(d) Most recent water draw certificate.
(2) Master meter:
(a) Make and model.
(b) Size.
(c) Serial number.
(d) Master meter factor.
(e) Most recent meter proving
certificate.
(3) An
inventory of all meters used for custody transfer and allocation of production
from oil and gas wells, or both must be filed with the director upon
request.
4.
Installation and removal of meters. The director must be notified
of all custody transfer meters placed in service. The owner of the custody
transfer equipment shall notify the director of the date a meter is placed in
service, the make and model of the meter, and the meter or station number. The
director must also be notified of all metering installations removed from
service. The notice must include the date the meter is removed from service,
the serial number, and the meter or station number. The required notices must
be filed with the director within thirty days of the installation or removal of
a meter.
All allocation meters must be approved prior to installation
and use. The application for approval must be on a facility sundry notice and
shall include the make and model number of the meter, the meter or station
number, the serial number, the well name, its location, and the date the meter
will be placed in service.
Meter installations for measuring production from oil or gas
wells, or both, must be constructed to American petroleum institute or American
gas association standards or to meter manufacturer's recommended installation.
Meter installations constructed in accordance with American petroleum institute
or American gas association standards in effect at the time of installation
shall not automatically be required to retrofit if standards are revised. The
director will review any revised standards, and when deemed necessary will
amend the requirements accordingly.
5.
Registration of persons proving or
testing meters. All persons engaged in meter proving or testing of oil
and gas meters must be registered with the director. Those persons involved in
oil meter testing, by flowing fluid through the meter into a test tank and then
gauging the tank, are exempted from the registration process. However, such
persons must notify the director prior to commencement of the test to allow a
representative of the director to witness the testing process. A report of the
results of such test shall be filed with the director within thirty days after
the test is completed. Registration must include the following:
a. Name and address of company.
b. Name and address of measurement
personnel.
c. Qualifications,
listing experience or specific training.
Any meter tests performed by a person not registered with the
director will not be accepted as a valid test.
6.
Calibration requirements. Oil
and gas metering equipment must be proved or tested to American petroleum
institute or American gas association standards or to the meter manufacturer's
recommended procedure to establish a meter factor or to ensure measurement
accuracy. The owner of a custody transfer meter or allocation meter shall
notify the director at least ten days prior to the testing of any meter.
a. Oil allocation meter factors shall be
maintained within two percent of original meter factor. If the factor change
between provings or tests is greater than two percent, meter use must be
discontinued until successfully reproven after being repaired or
replaced.
b. Oil custody transfer
meter factors must be maintained within one-quarter of one percent of the
previous meter factor. If the factor change between provings or tests is
greater than one-quarter of one percent, meter use must be discontinued until
successfully reproven after being repaired or replaced.
c. Copies of all oil allocation meter test
procedures are to be filed with and reviewed by the director to ensure
measurement accuracy.
d. All gas
meters must be tested with a minimum of a three-point test for static and
differential pressure elements and a two-point test for temperature elements.
The test reports must include an as-found and as-left test and a detailed
report of changes.
e. Test reports
must include the following:
(1) Company name
of test contractor.
(2) Pipeline
company name.
(3) Meter owner
name.
(4) Producer name.
(5) Well or central tank battery (CTB)
name.
(6) Well file number or CTB
number.
(7) Test personnel's
name.
(8) Station or meter
number.
f. Unless
required more often by the director, minimum frequency of meter proving or
calibration tests are as follows:
(1) Oil
meters used for custody transfer shall be proved monthly for all measured
volumes which exceed two thousand barrels per month. For volumes two thousand
barrels or less per month, meters shall be proved at each two thousand barrel
interval or more frequently at the discretion of the operator.
(2) Quarterly for oil meters used for
allocation of production in a diverse ownership central production facility.
Semiannually for oil meters used for allocation of production in a common
ownership central production facility.
(3) Semiannually for gas meters used for
allocation of production in a diverse ownership central production facility.
Annually for gas meters used for allocation of production in a common ownership
central production facility.
(4)
Semiannually for gas meters in gas gathering systems.
(5) For meters measuring more than one
hundred thousand cubic feet [2831.68 cubic meters] per day on a monthly basis,
orifice plates shall be inspected semiannually, and meter tubes shall be
inspected at least every five years to ensure continued conformance with the
American gas association meter tube specifications.
(6) For meters measuring one hundred thousand
cubic feet [2831.68 cubic meters] per day or less on a monthly basis, orifice
plates shall be inspected annually.
g. Accuracy of all equipment used to test oil
or gas meters must be traceable to the standards of the national institute of
standards and technology. The equipment must be certified as accurate either by
the manufacturer or an independent testing facility. The certificates of
accuracy for all equipment used to test gas meters must be made available upon
request. The owner of a conventional pipe prover or master meter prover shall
notify the director at least ten days prior to the testing of any prover.
Certification of the equipment must be updated as follows:
(1) Annually for all equipment used to test
the pressure and differential pressure elements.
(2) Annually for all equipment used to
determine temperature.
(3)
Biennially for all conventional pipe provers.
(4) Annually for all master meters.
(5) Five years for equipment used in orifice
tube inspection.
h. All
meter test reports, including failed meter test reports, must be filed within
thirty days of completion of proving or calibration tests unless otherwise
approved. Test reports are to be filed on, but not limited to, all meters used
for allocation measurement of oil or gas, all meters used in custody transfer,
conventional pipe provers, and master meter provers.
7.
Variances. Variances from all
or part of this section may be granted by the director provided the variance
does not affect measurement accuracy. All requests for variances must be on a
facility sundry notice.
A register of variances requested and approved must be
maintained by the director.
General Authority: NDCC 38-08-04
Law Implemented: NDCC
38-08-04