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Bulletin 2009-03

February 2, 2009

Revised Edition of Directive 017: Measurement Requirements for Upstream Oil and Gas Operations

The new sections described below and clarifications for the existing nine sections of the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) Directive 017: Measurement Requirements for Upstream Oil and Gas Operations are incorporated into the revised edition of the directive and are effective February 2, 2009. Due to the complexity of consolidation and clarification of existing requirements and updating them to meet the current technological advancement and operating environment, this directive is being developed in stages, with new sections added as they become available.

Directive 017 is available from ERCB Information Services, 640 – 5 Avenue SW, main floor; telephone: 403-297-8311; fax: 403-297-7040; e-mail: infoservices@ercb.ca. The directive is also available on the ERCB Web site www.ercb.ca.

In the version available on the ERCB Web site, all changes made in editions published during 2007 appear in red type and all changes made since the previous edition (December 2007) appear in blue type.

Clarifications and New Requirements in Sections 1 to 9
Section 2.6 has been added to provide general requirements for proving liquid meters, as well as to include live condensate proving frequency. The existing Oil Meters section and those thereafter in Section 2 have been renumbered from 2.7 to 2.14. These sections have been revised to read more clearly, but no existing requirements have changed.

Section 4.2.4—in paragraphs two and three respectively, the wording “and must be used to report volume on the Registry for the plant receipt from upstream facilities (except for gas group batteries) and for plant balance” and “Monthly liquid inventory change must be accounted for and reported to the Registry. (See Figure 4.1.)” has been added for clarification.

Section 4.2.5: Gas Fractionation Plant has been added.

Section 4.3.4.1—sensing line sloping requirement and exceptions for sensing line tap valves and changes in sensing line diameter have been added.

Section 7.1—"All wells must be tested annually unless otherwise stated in this section" has been added for clarification.

New Sections

Section 10: Trucked Liquid Measurement
This section presents the requirements for trucked liquid measurement from oil and gas production facilities to another facility or sales. Applicable liquids include oil, condensate, water, NGLs, propane, and butane.

Section 11: Acid Gas and Sulphur Measurement
This section presents the base requirements and exceptions for acid gas and sulphur measurements at processing plants and injection facilities in the upstream oil and gas industry that are used in determining volumes for reporting to the ERCB. S-30 Monthly Gas Processing Plant Sulphur Balance Report requirements are also included.

Further Information
Please forward comments and questions to Bill Cheung, of the Compliance, Environment, and Operations Branch (telephone: 403-297-8798; e-mail: bill.cheung@ercb.ca).

<original signed by>

D. K. Boyler, P.Eng.
Executive Manager
Compliance, Environment, and Operations Branch