It is a fact that in order to comply with various government rules and regulations, oil and gas companies have to continually take natural gas samples to prove the gas composition and amount of gas flowing in their oil fields. The challenge comes in trying to actually take an adequate gas sample representative of the gas flow.

• First, engineers must carefully consider where the “representative” gas sample will be taken from in the source stream all the while maintaining chain of custody to avoid contact with contaminants.
• Then engineers must also reduce and control the pressure to the analytical tool, stabilize and control the flow, all the while protecting the analytical instrument from particulates, moisture, and pressure/flow excursions.
• Add to that, engineers must take the gas sample in as real time as possible, so that it correlates with the actual process flow.

The goal for oil and gas engineers is to take the most accurate gas flow sample, as quickly as possible, with the lowest incurred cost. This may seem impossible, but advances in flow meter technology are tackling the challenges of natural gas sampling - head on. In our technical article in Hydrocarbon Engineering, learn how flow meter technology advancements solve all the inherent challenges in gas sampling applications like:

• Accuracy at low flow rates
• Metering accuracy in changing gas compositions
• Managing changes in varying pressure
• And more...

The article is an informative look into natural gas sampling and how to overcome those challenges. Read the article today.