Oil and gas are extracted from subterranean reservoirs, stored, refined, and transported around the globe to meet the world's ongoing demand for energy. As oil and gas are moved throughout the petroleum handling network (from exploration facility, to production facility, to storage facility) they must be accounted for and measured. Likewise, as oil and gas are stored at different facilities within the petroleum production network they, too, must be accounted for and measured. In each instance, the oil and gas are subject to changes in temperature, viscosity, and pressure that may affect their volume as well as their other measurable parameters. Consequently, when a shipment is sent or received and when stored product is measured over time, its temperature, volume, specific gravity, and other parameters must be measured and then calibrated to some standardized rheological conditions in order to properly account for or reconcile the quantity of petroleum product. Moreover, by converting shipments and stored volumes of petroleum products to standardized conditions, the integrity of storage and handling systems can be verified and more accurate and fair business transactions can be conducted.
The applicable standard conditions for oil and gas are generally set by both industry standards and governmental regulations. Accordingly, the applicable standardized conditions for a specific shipment or store of petroleum may vary from region to region and from country to country.
To help facilitate the proper conversions to standardized conditions, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the American Gas Association (AGA), and other regulating bodies provide conversion servers that may be used to make the requisite conversions. These conversion servers are often relied upon by members of the industry for accurate product conversions employing the most current rules and regulations of the applicable governing body. These conversion servers typically accept queries containing the rheological conditions of a quantity of product and typically return answers describing the measurements of that same product at “standard conditions.” The converted data may be in the same or different units of measure. By using these remote conversion servers, a requestor does not need to account for specific differences that may exist from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Rather, a requestor can simply rely on the third-party for accurate conversions that comply with an individual jurisdiction's specific conversion requirements.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds