About Natural Gas
The world of Natural Gas is complex and highly technically driven.
Natural Gas is a backbone to the Energy industry in most parts of the world.
Natural Gas has specific advantages over other forms of energy.
The trade of natural gas as one of the most important forms of energy
has developed over the past 50 years from a regional to a completely globalized business.
Ways of transportation of natural gas are:
• as natural gas (NG) in pipelines with pressures ranging from millibar to more than 100 bar
• as liquefied natural gas (LNG) at temperatures below - 160°C mostly in seagoing ships
• as bottled or containerized compressed natural gas (CNG) at pressures of up to 250 bar
• as bottled liquefied gas (LPG) (propane or butane)
Natural Gas is traded in large quantities, under various pressure conditions from atmospheric pressure
to very high pressure, under different temperature conditions from very low temperatures
< -160°C for LNG up to + 70°C and more after compressor stations.
Natural Gas is transported over long distances through pipelines onshore or subsea, as liquefied natural gas (LNG)
at very low tmepratures in large vessels oversea, or as compressed natural gas (CNG) under very high pressure
in bottles or trucks. It is also being sold als Liquified Petrol Gas (LPG) better known as Propane or Butane in bottles
for mainly residential or commercial use. In 2011 approx. 3500 billion standard m_ of natural gas were produced,
transported and traded safely. For trading natural gas it is mandatory to measure the energy
to be able to bill the energy sold.
Natural Gas, as the word "natural" says, is mainly a product from nature with many
different compositions. Chemically Natural Gas is a composition of low molecular hydrocarbons
in gaseous phase under atmospheric pressure conditions and temperatures,
mainly made up of methane CH4 with further hydrocarbon up to C9+ and other traceable components.
Natural Gas is:
• the lowest carbon footprint fossil fuel
• available in many areas of the world
• found in many different natural underground "storages"
- conventional onshore and offshore
• as low molecular hydrocarbon in gaseous phase in oil fields
• as natural gas in porous stones like limestones
- unconventional
• in hard rock formations like shale as "shalegas"
• in coalfields as "coal bed methane" or "CBM"
• subsea as hydrate
• produced as "bio-methane" or "synthetic Methane"
can be:
• transported over long distances by
- pipeline (NG)
- seagoing vessels (LNG, CNG)
- truck (LPG, CNG)
• stored in large quantities above ground or underground in
- the gas transportation network
- above ground steel spheres or pipe bundle tanks
- depleted gas fields
- in salt caverns
- in aquifers
• mixed from various points of the world
• compressed for transportation and storage
• used in many ways
- power generation
- heating plants
- combined heat & power stations
- as fuel for stationary power plants (NG)
- as fuel for vehicles (LPG, CNG)
- as fuel for seagoing vessels (LNG)
- feedstock for industrial production
- feedstock for fertilizer plants
Jost Körte
Jost Körte has been serving the natural Gas industry for about 20 years through the leading global equipment
and solution suppliers for fiscal metering and pressure regulation with a focus on measurement and control
in various technical, business, and general management functions.
He is a customer and market driven executive with a specific sense for market developments
and product innovations - highly internationally experienced executive in several technically driven industries
in multiple functions (Product development, Production, Quality Management, Marketing, Sales and General Management)
and experienced in market development around the world, setting up of technical and commercial operations in Europe,
China, India and Russia.
Specialties
• Fiscal (custody transfer) measurement of natural gas,
• pressure regulation for transmission and distribution networks,
• data communication, data management & transfer
• Strategic and operational Marketing in the Energy sector, especially natural gas applications
• Development of operations in international environment (examples: China, Russia, India, Slovakia,
Portugal, Turkey, UK, NL, US, South Korea).
CV - Jost Körte
Since 2012 GasCon Consulting & Investment GmbH Owner & Managing Director
Since 2010 Lüft GmbH Owner & Managing Director
2006 - 2011 Honeywell / RMG Messtechnik GmbH Director Strategic Marketing Global Gas - Honeywell Process
Solutions Marketing Director RMG Managing Director RMG Messtechnik GmbH
2003 - 2006 SCHOTTEL GmbH & Co KG Managing Director
1994 - 2003 Elster GmbH Managing Director Business Director Industrial Business Unit Manager
Business Segment Large Volume Measurement
1985 - 1994 3M Deutschland GmbH Various technical and management functions Education: Dipl.-Ing. Maschinenbau
(Mechanical Engineering) Technical University Braunschweig (Germany)
The Value of Accurate Gas Measurement
In fiscal or custody transfer measurement the verified (calibrated under governing rules for
custody transfer) meter is the cash register for the natural gas company as a seller of gas or
the purchasing register for the distribution company buying the natural gas from a
transmission company. An error in the measurement is a first degree error in the company´s
P&L – not only on the top line but directly down to the bottom line of earnings. As such the
technical specification and the capabilities and reliability of a meter over the lifetime of the
meter, easily between 10 and 40 years, should not only be of interest to any technical
director, but especially to the CFO of any gas company.
Especially the larger capacity commercial and industrial meters should be in the focus of the
responsible managers of each gas company. The pure maximum permissible error (MPE)
limits at the initial calibration are only a first indication. Usually the MPE of the most
commonly used rotary, turbine, or ultrasonic meters are internationally defined as +/- 1%.
In many cases the MPE under operation is even 150% of the initial MPE. What is the value of
such an error of 1%? The potential loss as you can see from the following examples can be
up to more than 1 mio € over the lifetime of a single meter. The potential loss is in each case
a magnitude times the initial cost of the meter. No gas company can afford to lose this type
of earnings – despite all other potential issues of miss-measurement.
Commercial application:
A medium sized commercial rotary meter of a size G 40 (max. flow rate 65 m³/h) being
operated at an operating pressure of 4 bar absolute pressure will register at an average load of
25% a volume of approx.. 570.000 std m³/yr. At 0,25 €/m³ this equals to a billing value of approx.
142.000 €/yr or approx. 3,5 mio € over the lifetime of 25 years. A 1 % error
equals to 35.000 € potential earnings loss over the lifetime operation of the meter.
Industrial application:
A medium sized industrial turbine meter of a size G 650 (max. flow rate 1000 m³/h) being
operated at an operating pressure of 4 bar absolute pressure will register at an average load of
40% a volume of approx. 14.000.000 std m³/yr. At 0,25 €/m³ this equals to a billing value of
approx. 3.500.000 €/yr or approx. 88 mio € over the lifetime of 25 years. A 1 % error
equals to 880.000 € potential earnings loss over the lifetime operation of the meter.
Large city gate meter:
A large sized industrial ultrasonic or turbine meter of a size G 2500 (max. flow rate 4000 m³/h)
being operated at an operating pressure of 30 bar absolute pressure will register at an
average load of 25% a volume of approx. 260.000.000 std m³/yr. At 0,20 €/m³ this equals to
a billing value of approx. 52.000.000 €/yr or approx. 1.300 mio € over the lifetime of 25
years. A 1 % error equals to 1.300.000 € potential earnings loss over the lifetime operation
of the meter.
Pressure Regulation and Flow Control