Commercialization of optical flow meters the focus of joint industry project

Burnaby, BC August 14, 2003 Measurement and control instrument developer, Photon Control, says it will begin a joint industry project under the auspices of the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada for completion of its non-obtrusive optical flow meters.

An information session will take place on September 4, sponsored by Nexen of Calgary. The technology will be of interest to producers using steam for heavy-oil production, as well as producers of coal-bed methane, shallow gas or and associated gas.

Members of PTAC will be invited to participate in the project by subscription and will participate in field trials during which meter performance will be evaluated under a variety of conditions.

The project structure was devised by the petroleum industry for advancement of technology benefiting the industry and its stakeholders. “We are very pleased to be included in this process which we believe will make it possible to improve production, monitor and manage emissions and more accurately measure resources under a wider variety of conditions," says S Robert Blair, president of Photon. "Working directly with producers is the optimum way to introduce technical innovation and we commend the industry for its collaboration.”

The underlying technology was licensed from Calgary-based TransCanada PipeLines in 2002. Photon says it has developed variations targeted at applications for which producers have asked for more suitable and economical meters. The identified applications include saturated steam and low-pressure fluctuating gas flows such as casing vent gas, tank vent gas, flare gas, coal bed methane and shallow well production. Commercial introduction of the first generation of these meters is planned for 2004.