Natural Gas Turbine Flowmeters | Custody Transfer Natural Gas

Hoffer and Gas Transmission Auxiliary Applications

After measuring water, natural gas is the single most frequent fluid measured by Hoffer turbine flowmeters. A significant number of Hoffer turbine meters are used in the custody transfer segment of the natural gas industry, but this industry uses many for other applications.

The transportation of natural gas over great distances is a complex task, requiring specialized equipment and facilities to deliver the gas safely, efficiently, and in a ready-to-use form.

Considerations include maintaining sufficient pipeline pressure, maintaining pipeline integrity, and keeping moisture levels low. Hoffer’s gas transportation clients have found our turbine flowmeters well suited for supporting a number of these tasks.

Transporting Natural Gas

One of the most critical elements in transporting natural gas is maintaining sufficient line pressure from the wellhead to the pipeline delivery points. Compressor stations along the length of the pipeline supply the needed boost inline pressure to maintain flow at desired levels.

Critical flow measurement in these stations is the circulation of cooling fluids used in the engines and compressors to remove excess heat.

Failure of a cooling system can lead to emergency compressor shutdowns, equipment damage, and loss or significant reduction in pipeline pressure.

Hoffer turbine meters are on the job in several such stations that monitor the flow rate of these critical cooling fluids to alert personnel of a gradual or sudden drop inflow that would require attention.

Pipeline integrity is a major safety issue. Gas transportation companies employ elaborate methods to monitor and inspect pipelines for possible leaks or future leak points. One technique used in this mix in many pipelines is non-custody transfer Hoffer insertion turbine meters to monitor flow rates at points along the pipeline.

The insertion meter technique requires sufficient density and velocity to work properly with gas flows. This is the case for most gas transmission lines. By monitoring flow rates at various points along the pipeline, it is possible to determine any disparities in the flow rate between points that would indicate a potential leakage problem.

Bi-directional Hoffer Insertion Turbine Flowmeters

By using bi-directional Hoffer insertion turbine meters, it is also possible to determine the direction of flow, which can be important in monitoring pipeline integrity in more complex configurations.

A final application for Hoffer turbine meters is monitoring glycol flow rates associated with gas dehydration operations. Dehydration equipment typically utilizes heated glycol to react with water vapor present in the natural gas and remove it from the flow stream.

Significant volumes of glycol are required for these operations and need to be accounted for. In these applications, Hoffer turbine flowmeters are ideal for handling a wide range of flow rates and temperatures from ambient to over 300°F associated with these operations.

Though the Hoffer turbine meter is perhaps best known for custody transfer applications in the natural gas transportation industry, as we can see, there are many other places in this industry where they are successfully utilized.

Natural gas transportation companies worldwide have found the versatility, reliability, and cost-effective nature of the Hoffer turbine meters ideally suited for these auxiliary requirements.

About Hoffer Flow Controls

Hoffer Flow Controls has been designing and manufacturing quality turbine flowmeters and related process instrumentation for more than fifty years. Our initial experience was in the field of cryogenic flow measurement. Today our reputation in this field is synonymous with quality.

Today Hoffer Flow Controls manufactures high-precision turbine flowmeters to measure clean liquids and gases throughout the processing industries. Please be sure to follow Hoffer Flow Control on Linked In

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Turbine flow meters
Cryogenic Flowmeters