The very first certificate from NMi’s EuroLoop calibration facility was officially issued on 23 March to Elster-Instromet. “The international oil and gas world has been looking forward to the commissioning of EuroLoop for some months. Nowhere else in the world is there a facility which can assess and calibrate industrial oil and gas meters with such low measuring uncertainty,” according Frank Michels, Managing Director Elster-Instromet Essen.
Accurate measurement 24/7
After a test-run period and conducting comparisons with existing installations, EuroLoop NMi has introduced an installation to the market which exceeds all expectations in terms of stability and accuracy. Thanks to its loop construction enabling a considerable gas supply to be used time and again, NMi is no longer dependent on purchasing gas, as occurs with the current facilities. This means NMi can serve its clients far more rapidly and can conduct calibrations in a 24/7 situation.
NMi’s sister institute, VSL, bears responsibility for the traceability of the installation to international measurement standards. This is a complex but crucial step in the creation of EuroLoop given the substantial (financial) interests of accurate measurement in international trade and the broad range of process conditions (from low to high pressure and flow).
Gain for the international oil and gas trade
The issuinge of the first certificate is an important moment in the development of one of the world’s largest test and research facilities for oil and gas meters, and also marks the start of calibrating high-pressure gas meters. This involves huge meters up to 30 inches (750 mm) in diameter, built into the international transportation grid for oil and gas and constituting a vital link in the oil and gas trade. Meters from the entire world will come to EuroLoop to be calibrated.
In front of the EuroLoop building: Frank Michels, Managing
Director Elster-Instromet Essen, with the first certificate, presented
by Pieter van Breugel, Director NMi (standing left of Frank Michels)
