International process control specialist Krohne’s R50-million contract to design and supply meter provers for State-owned freight logistics group Transnet’s new multiproduct pipeline (NMPP) from Durban to Johannesburg is expected to reach completion in August.

The project, which started in May, is overseen by the company’s local office and involves the design and installation of three meter provers with seven turbine meter runs.

The 24 inch meter provers and 16 inch meter runs are being installed at Terminal 1, in Island View, at the Port of Durban.

Krohne South Africa CEO John Boxley tells Engineering News the instruments will accurately calibrate the turbine meters through which products flow and ensure that these adhere to international standards.

He adds the main feature of the meter provers is the U-shaped pipework, which calibrates a known volume of 1 350 m3/h. This volume is transferred to the various turbine meters to generate output, which is then used in the computation parameters of the flow computer.

“The meter provers have several unique engineering subtleties, such as a British Standards 6374 Part 2 lining system, and effective launch and receive capabilities,” he adds.

The lining enables smooth transition of the sphere around the meter prover and gives the system a longer life span.

The meter provers are to be imported from Krohne Oil & Gas, based in the UK.

“This particular project has proven Krohne South Africa’s meter proving abilities in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa,” Boxley notes.

The company’s meter provers have been successfully used in various African projects, including the Mozambique–Zimbabwe Pipeline Company’s fuel pipeline project, as well as oil and gas company Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas’s production plant, at Bonny Island.

Other African Projects

Last year, Krohne received its biggest order to date: a R10-million contract to supply about 30 basic ultrasonic flow meters to Transnet’s NMPP project.

Boxley says three-beam in-line flow meters are being installed in the pumpstations to monitor flow from pumps, as well as on the pipeline to measure the flow rates at various points. The collected data will then be fed into the pipeline’s leak detection system.

“The project is currently 50% complete; however, its completion date depends on Transnet’s project schedule,” he notes.

Developed and constructed in Holland, the UFM 3030 flow meters are either 10 inch, 12 inch, 14 inch, 16 inch, 20 inch or 24 inch in diameter and can measure the sonic velocity to determine different products as well as the volumetric flow rate of clean liquids.

He adds that the benefit of the flow meters is that their non- moving parts, straight bore and three beams allow for compensation for flow profile and Reynolds number changes.

The devices can be used in all industries that require accurate flow measurements for nonconductive mediums, such as hydrocarbons, demineralised water, chemicals and black liquor, a by-product of the papermaking process.

To continue its growth, Boxley says Krohne is investigating further pipeline transportation project opportunities throughout Africa and aims to continually monitor the market and react accordingly in terms of product design and supply.

The company was recently awarded a R30-million meter prover contract for the Strategic Fuel Fund, at Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape.

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