On December 13, 2018 the AER released a new edition of Directive 017, which included the updates required to measurement and reporting systems for the reduction of methane emissions from the upstream oil and gas industry.
The major change in this new version of Directive 017 is the redefinition of the reporting of Fuel, Flare, and Vent to Petrinex monthly. The table below shows examples of upstream oil and gas activities that are affected by the Fuel, Flare, and Vent definition changes, and the change in activity codes under which they need to be reported to Petrinex from January 1, 2020 onward:
Upstream Oil and Gas Activities Affected by Directive 017 Changes
| ACTIVITY | PRODUCT CODE | ACTIVITY CODE BEFORE 01/01/2020 | ACTIVITY CODE AFTER 01/01/2020 |
| Pneumatic device gas vented | GAS | FUEL | VENT |
| Pneumatic device gas flared | GAS | FUEL | FLARE |
| Sulphur recovery incinerator make up gas | GAS | FUEL | FLARE |
| Dilution gas | GAS | FUEL | FLARE |
| Blanket gas, pilot gas, purge gas in flare system | GAS | FUEL | FLARE |
| Continuous acid gas flaring | ACGAS | SHR | FLARE |
| Tail gas incineration at sour gas plant | ACGAS | SHR | FLARE |
| Sulphur recovery reaction furnace and unit gas | GAS | FUEL | FUEL |
| Intermittent (upset) acid gas flaring | GAS | FLARE | FLARE |
| Sulphur recovery | ACGAS | SHR | SHR |
Why Upstream Oil and Gas is More Complex in 2020
This redefinition dramatically increased the complexity of reporting for production accounting staff because it’s no longer possible to just receive and report facility fuel meter numbers for upstream oil and gas. Companies must now inventory every single fuel consumer at a wellsite or facility, and perform complex calculations for each wellsite or facility separately to ensure reporting is correct and volumes balance with the facility fuel meter.
The AER also released Manual 015 as a guide on quantifying and reporting for those tasked with quantifying methane emissions required by Directive 060.
Related: Quick Access to the AER’s Manual 15
Ensure Directive 017 Compliance & Save Time with Automated Calculations
Are you looking for a tool to automate calculations as a part of your company’s operations and production accounting process? We can help! Envirosoft’s Fuel Flare Vent Manager application saves you time and gives you the confidence you need that your reporting is done right!
Here’s a quick glimpse of our software’s functionalities uniquely built to help you tackle your biggest fuel, flare, vent management challenges:
- Import all metered fuel and flare volumes from the company Field Data Capture System.
- Calculate theoretical fuel usage for all unmetered fuel, flare, and vent source volumes using defensible calculation methodologies.
- Prorate all of your estimated volumes using the theoretical fuel consumption volumes.
- Add all of the individual fuel, flare, and vent volumes for monthly reporting into Petrinex.
- Output all of your disaggregated fuel, flare, and vent volumes by source type so that the mass of methane can be calculated, which is required by the new edition of Directive 060 (also released in December 2018).
To discover how Envirosoft's solution can ensure your company’s compliance with Directive 017 requirements (and other upstream oil and gas regulations), schedule a Discovery Call!