Fluenta, a leading provider of ultrasonic sensing technology for flare gas measurement, has successfully completed a project at Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery. The company installed 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines within the refinery. Dangote Refinery, which began operations in May 2023, can refine 650,000 barrels of oil per day, meeting Nigeria’s fuel supply needs with a daily surplus for export.
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Flare gas measurement is crucial for regulatory compliance and environmental monitoring, especially in the context of Nigeria’s efforts to reduce emissions. Flaring involves burning excess or waste gases to prevent the release of harmful or combustible gases into the atmosphere.
Fluenta collaborated with its Nigerian representative, Daptem Engineering, and the Dangote project team for over four months to deliver an accurate and reliable flare measurement solution. The project’s engineering challenge included a wide variety of pipeline sizes, ranging from 18″ to 90″ diameters, which can affect measurement accuracy due to the acoustic pulse’s travel distance.
The project required innovative and customized solutions, considering the difficulties of measuring high CO2-content flared gas using ultrasonic technology. Nigerian law imposes a ‘tax’ on flared gas, encouraging reduction in flaring, emphasizing the importance of accurate flare measurement.
Radek Kurkowski, director at Fluenta, highlighted the significance of flare gas measurement for environmental compliance and safety. Fluenta’s work contributes to Nigeria’s energy security and the broader African region.
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Fluenta, with extensive experience in Africa, previously developed bespoke flare measurement solutions for an International Oil Company (IOC) operating in Nigeria. The IOC ordered additional Fluenta flare measurement meters, and Fluenta became the preferred supplier for flare gas flowmeters.
Fluenta will address combustion efficiency challenges and industry efforts to monitor methane emissions from flaring at the Nigeria Hydrocarbon Measurement Conference (NiHMEC) on October 4-5 in Lagos, Nigeria.