The Panametrics Custody-Transfer Natural Gas Flowmeter Sentinel™, by GE Sensing, Offers <0.1% Flow Calibrated Accuracy

BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, June 19, 2006.

The Sentinel™, part of the Panametrics product line brought to market by GE Sensing, has now better accuracy than ever. The instrument is a high-accuracy, multi-path ultrasonic flowmeter specifically geared to the fiscal custody-transfer of natural gas even at non-ideal conditions when dealing with liquid carry over and built up. The Sentinel can be used for such typical natural gas applications as transmission, distribution and storage, or for any measurement point where high accuracy is needed. Sentinel has received NMI approval on June 1st 2006 from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands.

“GE Sensing has long been a leader in ultrasonic flowmeter technology, especially in clamp-on technology, Bundle Waveguide Technology for LNG, and for specific applications like flare gas flow measurement,” says Jacob Freeke, product line manager for GE Sensing. “The Sentinel provides our customers with a new approach to custodial transfer, and applies our advanced transducer and signal processing technology to fiscal natural gas flow measurement with a flow accuracy of 0.1%, relative to the calibration of the facility. With this new NMI Approval, Sentinel enters a new era and is recognized as a leading edge technology in the field.”

Sentinel is available in pipe sizes ranging from 4 to 24 inches and meets AGA9 criteria. Legal metrology approval was obtained through NMI, which means that the Sentinel system is certified for Custody Transfer applications on Natural Gas pipelines. The system uses a two- diametrical-path, single-traverse meter body design with a 10 diameter upstream pipe run and a flow conditioning plate. This configuration provides sufficient flow conditioning to handle any upstream flow disturbance and provides a well-known flow profile at the meter body.

Advanced Panametrics ultrasonic transducer technology, combined with signal processing optimized for speed and robustness, give the system the capability to operate even in air at atmospheric pressure—important for field verification of the meter system during commissioning.