With most recent updates taking effect March 17, 2022, Directive 017 was established by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to standardize the measurement and reporting of oil and gas production in Alberta, Canada.

Since its release, operators across Canada are quickly adopting tools to manage the complexities of the Directive 017 regulations. Quorum’s suite of measurement software is considered by many to be a critical part of meeting the high threshold set by the directive. FLOWCAL, TESTit, and PROVEit applications are used throughout the industry for managing gas and liquid flow measurement data to meet organizational accuracy, auditability, and reporting requirements.

Key areas where Quorum can help support Directive 017 compliance include incorporating industry-standard calculations for fluids and meter types, core and customizable reporting, data validation, audit trail, and verification and calibration. Keep reading for more about how FLOWCAL, TESTit and PROVEit can assist your team with important compliance standards in Alberta.

Compliance Areas: Industry Standard Calculations

Quorum closely monitors regulatory changes and folds them into the software. Regulations include several frameworks outside of Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) like those from American Petroleum Institute’s (API’s) Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards (MPMS), GPA Midstream Association once known as Gas Producers Association (GPA), and American Gas Association (AGA) standards for various fluids and meter types.

Quorum’s measurement experts stay actively engaged in standards committees to directly apply new changes to the software. This helps ensure system users remain compliant with access to the most up-to-date regulatory standards.

FLOWCAL, TESTit, and PROVEit address some of the calculations supported in the following API, GPA, and AGA standards, also mentioned within Directive 017.

• API Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards, Chapters 11.1, 11.2, 21.1, 21.2
• AGA Report Numbers 3, 7, 8, 9, 11
• Gas Processors Association Standard GPA 2145-03, 2145-09, 2145-16

These industry standard calculations help compliance with the following Directive 017 sections:

• 4.3.2 – Gas Measurement/Base Requirements for Gas Measurement/Volumetric Calculations.
• 6.3.2 – Conventional Oil Measurement/Base Requirements for Oil Measurement/Volumetric Calculations
• 10.1 – Trucked Liquid Measurement/General Requirements
• 10.5 – Trucked Liquid Measurement/Volume Determination
• 12.1 – Heavy Oil Measurement/General Measurement Requirements
• 14.9 – Liquid Measurement/Volume Calculations

Compliance Areas: Core and Customizable Reporting

Core reports included in FLOWCAL, TESTit, and PROVEit can be tailored to fit the requirements of Directive 017. Reporting standard conditions and validated measurement data, for example, generates data that can then be included in a customer’s Petrinex requirement.

Quorum’s measurement applications can help to meet the following Directive 017 reporting requirements.

• 4.1 – Gas Measurement/General Requirements
• 4.3.3 – Gas Measurement/Base Requirements for Gas Measurement/Production Data Verification, Audit Trail, and Volumetric Data Amendments
• 6.3.3 – Conventional Oil Measurement/Base Requirements for Oil Measurement/Production Data Verification and Audit Trail
• 10.1.1 – Trucked Liquid Measurement/General Requirements/Reporting Requirements
• 11.5 – Acid Gas and Sulphur Measurement/Production Data Verification and Audit Trail
• 12.2.2 – Heavy Oil Measurement/Primary and Secondary Production (Nonthermal In Situ Oil Sands Schemes)/Gas Measurement and Reporting
• 13 – Condensate and High-Vapour-Pressure Liquid Measurement and Reporting
• 14.11 – Liquid Measurement/Records

Compliance Areas: Data Validation

Automated data validation checks ensure measurement data meets Directive 017’s accuracy and quality standards. Identifying data discrepancies or errors along with quantity data, parameters, and compositional data.

Quorum’s automated data validation checks can help to meet the following Directive 017 reporting requirements.

• 4.3.3 – Gas Measurement/General Requirements/ Production Data Verification, Audit Trail, and Volumetric Data Amendments
• 6.3.3 – Conventional Oil Measurement/Base Requirements for Oil Measurement/Production Data Verification and Audit Trail

Compliance Areas: Audit Trail

A detailed audit trail of all measurement data and any changes made to the data helps demonstrate compliance by providing a transparent record of how measurement data is collected, validated, edited, and reported.

FLOWCAL can help with the following Directive 017 sections:

• 4.3.3 – Gas Measurement/General Requirements/Production Data Verification, Audit Trail, and Volumetric Data Amendments
• 6.3.3 – Conventional Oil Measurement/Base Requirements for Oil Measurement/Production Data Verification and Audit Trail

Compliance Areas: Verification and Calibration

TESTit and PROVEit have robust scheduling and field activity tracking and reporting capabilities for meter validation, calibration, proving, and sampling. The functionality provided in these solutions meets calibration and proving requirements, validating results and identifying exceptions, enhancing the accuracy of the data.

TESTit and PROVEit can help address the following Directive 017 sections:

• 2 – Calibration and Proving
• 8.4 – Sampling and Analysis Frequency

Ready to get started?

By leveraging the flexibility and capabilities of Quorum’s advanced suite of measurement applications for oil and gas, companies operating in Alberta, Canada can streamline their measurement processes and ensure compliance with Directive 017. We’re here to help you solve your compliance challenges.

Speak with our measurement experts about improving your process when it comes to Directive 017.