An important part of crude oil transfers is to have a good metering system in place that doesn’t just determine the quantity, but also the quality or the oil composition of the stream. Pipelines upto a 12” diameter can transport high amounts of hydrocarbons representing millions of dollars every year. This makes an accurate and reliable e.g. watercut measurement very important. Online devices for watercut determination are commonly used for process monitoring purposes, but simply are not accurate enough to verify a bill of lading. Especially for low watercut streams, accuracies down to a ppm level are not sufficient and compensation is required for variables such as density, viscosity, salinity and sulfur content, to prevent off readings. Furthermore, there is not an internationally recognized standard available to verify or certify the instrument too. For these reasons automatic sampling systems are used for custody transfer purposes.

Depending upon the process conditions, inline mixing could be required in order to get a homogeneous representative flow through the Fastloop Sampling System. If an inline mixing device is required, static mixing devices are quite commonly used for smaller pipelines. With this said, operators find this a less attractive solution because it causes a pressure drop which would mean less throughput. For these cases, it could be more interesting to consider a Jetmix sampling system.

The Fastloop Sampling System consists of an external pump and a special designed Take- off/Return probe, as drawn in the picture below. The fastloop is created by pumping around a portion of the main stream using the Take-off/Return probe. In the fastloop, where the innovative and sustainable cell sampler is located, accurate and representative 1cc sample grabs are taken and transferred to the receiver cans. Also worth noticing, is the possibility of isolating the sampler or online devices installed for maintenance purposes without having to shutdown the process.

Sample extractor

The Probe is a heavy duty reliable and accurate sample extraction device, which is designed to be mounted directly on the main pipeline.