Test Facility is First in the UK to Receive International Accreditation

UKAS has awarded NEL’s (UK) Elevated Pressure and Temperature (EPAT) test facility ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation [calibration laboratory No 0009]. This makes it the first and only high-pressure, high-temperature facility in the UK to have gained the internationally recognised certification.

NEL, supported by the UK’s National Measurement System, invested £1 million to create the test facility, which performs meter calibrations that are closer to actual in-field service conditions. These more realistic measurements reduce oil and gas operators’ financial exposure as the uncertainty of meters deployed in the field are minimised significantly.

Chris Mills, Project Engineer at NEL, said: “This is an important step, as it will give both our UK and international customers confidence that the system has been independently assessed and that all of the measurements it makes are traceable and auditable.

“Oil and gas production is increasingly taking place in fields where high temperatures and pressures are the norm. The EPAT facility more effectively fills the gap between calibration and real field conditions, allowing manufacturers to prove the performance of their meters, while operators and taxation authorities can be assured of more accurate fiscal reporting,” concluded Mills.

The EPAT system has two separate flow lines, which cover a wide range of flowrates and different line sizes. The test sections can be constructed to offer long straight lengths upstream or, if necessary, specific configurations designed to replicate actual installations.

The facility can calibrate flowmeters at temperatures between 20°C and 80°C, at flow rates between 0.5 – 100 l/s and at fluid pressures between 4 - 93 bar g. It can therefore allow a large selection of flowmeter sizes to be calibrated at service conditions.