Transform gas metering and pipeline monitoring through digitalization: Is hydrocarbon dewpoint a dependable metric?

Paul Stockwell is the Managing Director at Process Vision. With more than 40 yrs of experience in oil and gas systems, Stockwell was instrumental in the introduction of laser absorption spectroscopy using tunable diode lasers for natural gas measurements assisting in the development of the first TDL system for natural gas. This system has now become the industry-standard method for moisture measurement in natural gas. With a long history of dewpoint measurement systems, in 1991, Stockwell created International Moisture Analysers (IMA) with Business Partner David Parker. From the outset, the company intended to have the ability to look at multi-species analysis, and Stockwell served on working parties for the National Physical Laboratory in the UK for the improvement of moisture measurement. He developed a dewpoint measurement training program for process engineers covering hygrometry and a variety of techniques for measurement engineers. As a Managing Director for 34 yrs, Stockwell has gained insight into the safety and cost impacts of processes and their problem areas. The development of LineVu, a permanent monitor for gas/liquid separator efficiency, has revealed some surprises and shown that we still do not know everything about hydrocarbon dewpoint and what is going on in gas systems. In 2017, Stockwell led the de-merger of IMA to form Process Vision. He is the named inventor on 24 granted patents, with 9 pending patents, and firmly believes that a thorough understanding gained through imaging can make a significant difference to the oil and gas industry. Stockwell now sits on two working groups for GPA Midstream and has presented > 30 papers at industrial conferences.