An Integrated Gas Transportation Management System

Abstract

ABSTRACT Today's world of gas brokers, spot markets and interruptible service is not conducive to the monthly cycles of billing and customer reconciliation of imbalances which supported the business of transporting gas for large, established, long-term transportation customers. Today's gas transmission company must be able to monitor, control, and report transportation business within shorter time constraints. Traditional divisions between real-time pipeline control and custody transfer billing must be removed and computer systems supporting these functions must reflect these business changes. GSAM is an integrated computer system designed to support real-time and custody transfer transportation management. Through the integration of meter facility, customer, transportation agreement, SCADA, gas composition, and custody transfer volume data, daily monitoring of customer activities and monthly calculations for commodity billing are accomplished to provide pipeline system and customer imbalance control. In order to function in the deregulated gas industry in North America and remain competitive, gas transportation companies need to not only automate but integrate traditionally segregated areas of real-time pipeline control and custody transfer billing. NOVA Corporation of Alberta is meeting this challenge with a gas transportation management computer system, GSAM, integrating the Gas Supply and Measurement areas.