How to Use Mix Fractionation at Saskatchewan Plants

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Introduction

Mix fractionation functionality at Saskatchewan plants is available when the plant is attached to a gas flow enabled control group. This functionality is for plants that receive mix products for further fractionation. In addition, these plants may also receive raw gas for normal processing. 

The following assumptions are made within our implementation of mix fractionation: 

• Mix volumes received will always be the first to go through the plant process. This means that there should never be inventory of mix products. All volumes received will be sent for fractionation.　　

• There will always be a one-to-one relationship between mix and spec products. This that for example, C3MX will always generate only C3SP and IC4MX will generate C4SP.

• The mix volumes are always fully recovered. This means that the volumes of MX will always match their corresponding SP product. For example, if 10.4 C3MX received then we assume it generates 10.4 C3SP volume.

• Plants set up to allow mix fractionation cannot produce any mix products. They can only receive mix volumes and put them through fractionation. This means that an error will be generated at the plant if the total production of a mix product does not equal 0.

  • The mix products received should be sent as either an inventory transfer from another gas flow facility or as a transfer if being received as an outside receipt. 

• All mix receipts transferred to a plant flagged as allowing mix fractionation will be automatically sent for fractionation, and that same volume will be used to populate the spec volume from fractionation, after determining the corresponding spec product.

  • The mix products that can be further fractionated (C3MX, C4MX, IC4MX, NC4MX, C5MX, IC5MX, NC5MX, C6MX) each have a direct relationship to a corresponding spec product (C3SP, C4SP, IC4SP, NC4SP, C5SP, IC5SP, NC5SP, C6SP). Some of the mix products can also have a parent relationship to a spec product (IC4MX and NC4MX can correspond to C4SP, IC5MX and NC5MX can likewise correspond to C5SP).

  • When updating the corresponding spec product, we will first look at whether the facility is processing the mix product’s directly related spec product. If the facility is not processing that product, then we will look at whether the facility is processing the mix product’s parent spec product. An error will be generated if neither is being processed.

• In addition, because of the above assumption the allocation of the mix volumes being sent for fractionation and the spec volumes generated from the fractionation to the entities will be allocated strictly on a volume basis.

• Petrinex volumetric reporting in Saskatchewan for this type of mix fractionation is as follows:

  • The mix volume being sent for fractionation in a month must be reported at the plant-level under the mix product, and the FRAC activity and the volume must be reported as negative.　 

  • The spec volume received from the fractionation of the mix in a month must be reported at the plant-level under the spec product, and the FRAC activity and the volume must be positive.

• Petrinex SAF/OAF reporting in Saskatchewan is optional; however, if reported the same basic rules apply as with any other activity. The FRAC activity for the mix will be reported as a negative volume down to the stream-owner level, and the FRAC activity for the spec will be reported as a positive volume down to the stream-owner.

Plant Maintenance - Production Tab (Plant Where the Mix Fractionation Takes Place)

Ensure that the plant is ON production and attached to a gas flow enabled control group. At this point there will be a flag enabled on the Plant Maintenance – Production tab within the Allow Mix Fractionation gas flow section. This flag should be set to Yes.

Set the products that will be processed at this plant. This includes the mix products being received in and their corresponding spec products.

• When the plant is flagged as Allow Mix Fractionation there is an edit for each mix product that the plant is processing, checking for a corresponding spec product (as per the rules mentioned above in the assumptions).

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Plant Balance (All Plants Sending Mix to be Fractionated)

Use an inventory transfer disposition for gas flow plants sending mix product to a Saskatchewan plant for further fractionation.

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Plant Balance (Plant Where the Mix Fractionation Takes Place)

The summary and product balance will look slightly different for plants that are allowing mix fractionation. Some additional fields related to mix fractionation will be used in the balancing equations. 

Summary Balance

The Mix for Fractionation field will contain the gas equivalent of all mix product volumes that were sent to be fractionated. This is added to the equation as it is an input.

The Spec from Fractionation field will contain the gas equivalent of all Spec product volumes that were fractionated from received mix product. This is subtracted from the equation as this is an output.

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Product Balance

The Fractionation field will be populated only for spec products and will contain the volumes generated from mix fractionation.

The Sent for Fractionation field will be populated for mix products and will contain the volumes that were sent to be fractionated.

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Petrinex Reporting – Volumetric (Plant Where the Mix Fractionation Takes Place)

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