Submitted by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) can now measure and certify crude oil for its national oil and gas sector.
This milestone comes pursuant of Article 6 of the Petroleum Agreement, where the GNBS has been delegated to perform the functions of the Minister as set out under Regulation 12 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Regulations. This very significant role now ensures accurate measurements during the lifting of crude from the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel(s).
Inspectors received the requisite training from the Measurement Service Division of Bureau Veritas of North America in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute (API) Petroleum Measurement Standards. The relevant API standards will be adopted as National Standards and will be used for verification of the metering system on the FPSO.
Another important facet of the GNBS is the expansion of its calibration services in the areas of Mass, Temperature, Pressure, Volume and Length to industry especially those which are directly involved in the Oil and Gas sector. Many companies now demand traceable measurements as they aim to ensure that their process is correctly measured, temperature parameters are maintained, and dimensions are accurate.
The new expanded areas of calibration:
- Force Equipment-Compression Machine-to 2000 kN
- Torque Equipment-Torque Wrenches-to 1500 N.m
- Pressure Equipment-Analog Gauge to 700 bar/10000 psi, Digital Gauge-to 700 bar/10000 psi
- Dimension Equipment-Caliper-1 mm to 300 mm, Micrometer-1 mm to 300 mm
The Bureau will soon begin testing crude oil in five parameters: basic sediment, water content, sulphur,viscosity and salt in crude. It will also acquire the capability to test heavy fuel oil, medium oils such as kerosene, gasoline, and diesel.
The direct and indirect business opportunities driven by the oil and gas industry are significant. Guyanese businesses project to experience significant growth as our petroleum industry starts to mature. This is driven with new opportunities to directly service and supply the industry as well as indirect opportunities, such as in education, technology, infrastructure, housing, marketing and food and beverage. Many local businesses in Guyana are determined to up their standards to meet the requirements of becoming key suppliers in the petroleum sector.
Safety and health; environmental and regulatory compliance; quality; cost competitiveness; ethical business practices and the ability to meet schedules are some of the areas these businesses must improve in the coming years. The GNBS has been providing technical assistance to companies and business in Guyana over the years to bring up to scratch to certification and accreditation ready towards various quality management systems. One of the most popular and important one is the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Over the years, GNBS has worked with several companies in Guyana towards ISO certification/ accreditation. These include Assuria Life (GY) Inc. and Assuria General (GY) Inc., Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital, Mines Services Limited, Nand Persaud and Company Limited, Power Producers and Distributors Inc. (PPDI).
