By Adedapo Adesanya
Ultrasonic sensing technology company, Fluenta, has completed work on the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil refinery, installing 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the plant.
This company is using its technology to aid Nigeria’s flare gas reduction efforts and with Dangote Refinery set to begin operations soon, according to its management recently, this could be a step to fix inaccurate measurements of gas flaring.
Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products for its use, even though it is Africa’s biggest oil producer and with Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery capable of refining 650,000 barrels of oil per day, the country will be able to meet its daily fuel supply requirements, with a daily surplus of 38 million litres of refined products, already earmarked for export.
Nigeria is positioning itself as a world leader when it comes to reducing its emissions and flaring – the controlled burning or combustion of excess or waste gases that cannot be processed or captured for productive use – is a safety and environmental practice employed in the petroleum industry to prevent the release of potentially harmful or combustible gases into the atmosphere.
Flare measurement in a refinery is essential, from a regulatory and environmental law compliance perspective, and for accurate emissions monitoring.
Fluenta spent more than four months working with its exclusive Nigerian representative, Daptem Engineering, and the Dangote project team to deliver a workable, accurate and reliable flare measurement solution.
Measuring flaring accurately can be a challenge due to installation as the wide variety and sizes of pipelines, which ranged from 18” to 90” diameters presented a unique engineering challenge. Larger pipelines make it difficult to measure accurately as the acoustic pulse has further travel which could weaken it and lead to less accurate readings.
In addition, flared gas expelled through these pipelines is high in CO2, a particularly difficult gas to measure using ultrasonic technology.
The team implemented a multitude of innovative, bespoke solutions, each considered on a case-by-case basis, to ensure the accuracy of the system.
Under current Nigerian law, companies refining oil and gas must pay a tax for flared gas, to encourage an overall reduction in flaring, underlining the importance of Fluenta’s accurate, trustworthy flare measurement and management.
Speaking on this task, Mr Radek Kurkowski, director at Fluenta noted that “Flare gas measurement and control is vital to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and to help identify potential safety hazards. This is especially true at a plant on this never-before-seen scale and with the world’s largest flare pipe.
“Delivering this solution meant some close work with our local partner and the client project team, and we are delighted with the end result – which will support bringing energy security to Nigeria and the wider African region.
“Our team used a range of state-of-the-art technology, adapted meter software and special pipe gaskets and ball valves to deliver the pipe flare gas measurement solution.”
“Fluenta’s work stands as a testament to the power of innovation, creative teamwork and a desire to always meet the client’s needs. We are extremely proud to support the domestic security of energy supply in Nigeria,” he said.
Modupe Gbadeyanka