As the National Metrology Institution with legislative responsibilities for ensuring the accuracy of weighing and measuring devices in all sectors of the economy, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) plays an important role in the Oil and Gas industry. To be more efficient in this ever-expanding sector, the organisation established an Oil and Gas Department in 2021.
Inspectors in this Department are responsible for monitoring the custody transfer of Guyana’s crude from the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel offshore. They are tasked with ensuring the measuring instruments used in the transfer and testing of the crude are calibrated and accurate since inaccurate measurements can affect payments for the commodity.
There are currently nine Inspectors in the Oil and Gas Department; however, this number will increase as the FPSO vessels offshore are added to meet the demand for oil production.
In order to adequately perform their duties offshore, Inspectors were required to undergo stringent training locally and overseas. Through the support of the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project, the GNBS has benefited from the training of several Inspectors to enable them to competently witness the proving/verification of the custody transfer meters used on FPSO vessels.
Two of those training are the Tropical Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (T-HUET) and Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS). These trainings are important since the majority of their journey to the FPSO vessel is over the Atlantic Ocean. The T-HUET programme focuses on escaping from a helicopter following ditching and sea survival techniques while CA-EBS is training on how to use the Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System.
In addition, Oil and Gas Inspectors last month completed an advanced Petroleum Measurement Course offered by the University of Texas at Austin, Petroleum Extension (PETEX) that was customized specifically for the GNBS.
With accumulated training and experience in the verification of measuring instruments, Inspectors are required to spend 28-32 days offshore on a rotation basis demonstrating their competency. With COVID-19, quarantine is required days prior to their stint offshore.
While offshore, Inspectors verify the custody transfer meters and pressure gauges during the transfer of crude from the FPSO to the various oil tankers; they inspect storage tanks before and after every transfer, and witness the composite sampling and testing of crude oil to determine the API gravity, density, salt content, H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) and the amount of sediment and water in the crude. This by extension determines the net volume transferred to the cargo tanker.
As a new oil-producing nation, it is important for state agencies with responsibilities for oil and gas to build capacity to effectively monitor the sector which inevitably will ensure the country receives value for its resources.
ExxonMobil and its partners working on the Stabroek Block continues to announce new discoveries and sees the potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop its current recoverable resource balance by 2027.
Moving forward, the GNBS Oil and Gas Department will increase its human resources and other capacities to serve on the other FPSO vessels. It will also be developing its capacity in Gas measurement in the near future, as the Government pursues the Gas to Shore project.
Further, the GNBS is looking to formalize collaboration with the American Petroleum Institute (API), which would facilitate access to training and standards to be adopted for use in verification and metering.
The GNBS Oil and Gas Department functions in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and other Government Agencies including the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
For further information on this subject, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064 or 219-0065 or WhatsApp us on 692-4627.
