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Somebody has to keep accurate records of how much oil is transported from the well-site to various distribution points. That is why there are companies like Measurement Technologies Inc., to make oil extraction, transport and delivery calculations possible.
Established in 2003, MTI has rapidly grown to become an award-winning meter distribution service and repair center covering oil interests in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
MTI owner Daniel DiStefano was raised in Houma and at 16 began working in the oil measurements field by repairing equipment. He went to college then continued a career in liquid and gas measurement. He identifies himself as having grown with the industry.
When the time seemed right, DiStefano launched his own operation, which deals exclusively with liquid measurement in the petroleum industry. “It is one of those burning desires,” he said of becoming a business owner in 2003. “Two years ago, we opened an office in Houston and, last year, opened an office in Corpus Christi, Texas.”
MTI sells, repairs and calibrates the devices and instruments that measure oil coming from production locations. “Our claim to fame is hard-core liquid measurement,” the company owner said. “A lot of people are strong in gas. We are strong in liquid.”
DiStefano emphasized that while a bulk of MTI’s work originates offshore, that is not the company’s exclusive field of operation.
“[When oil] is produced, it is measured as an allocation,” he explained. “From there, it is put into a lease allocation custody unit and then it goes into the pipelines.”
By pipeline, the oil is transported to tank facilities and re-measured. From that step, the product is transported to a refinery, separated into products, again checked and ultimately sold to appropriate fueling locations.
“There are many different segments, so the oil is measured several different times,” DiStefano said.
MTI employees contend they have an advantage over other companies by having advanced training and service. The edge is enhanced by having Shell Oil – the top producer in the Gulf of Mexico, carrying 75 percent of the oil there – as MTI’s largest customer.
MTI goes in as a third-party contractor between the seller and buyer of oil. Service agents check meters and report to involved parties totals delivered. “You can have water and sediment in the oil,” DiStefano said, offering an example of the details involved. “You have flow rates that make differences and gravities that make differences. There are many different stages [oil] goes through, but, at the end of the day, that meter is the cash register for the oil that comes out of the ground. Our job is to calibrate, service and repair the measurement equipment. We are not the pipeline and we are not the police.”
For DiStefano the most challenging part of this work is attention to detail.
“In measurement, you are not going to find a problem tomorrow if it is measured today. You are going to find the problem six months from now when it goes from that little ticket that is written to marketing and somebody says, ‘We show we should have 10,000 barrels. We only sold 5,000. What happened?’ Now you have five months to go back and figure out what you did wrong. Several points have to be exactly accurate. So, we have to do everything by the book, the same way each time. Then, if anything is questioned, we have our records to go back on for each situation.”
On a less technical level, DiStefano said the most rewarding part of his work is being able to meet a variety of folks.
“There are many good people and groups in measurement in the oilfield. It is like its own community. It is rewarding to help others as you grow in your career. It is rewarding to watch the industry progress as well as my people. The time coming looks really good.”
DiStefano admits that the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster of April 2010 hurt his business as well as others in the petroleum industry. “People were so frightened that they didn’t want to spend money,” he recalled. “I would say until six months ago, people were scared to do anything. They didn’t know what the future held, but now it is getting back where people are calling for orders. So, I feel like business is back on schedule.”
As a business owner, DiStefano said the daily challenge keeps him going. “The one thing people in this industry need to understand is that cheap and accurate don’t go together,” he said. “Measurements need to be accurate. We have the best equipment out there and it is worth it.”
Measurement Technologies Inc. repairman David Wallace checks meters before they are sent to location. As a third-party service provider, MTI makes sure oil content and amounts are the same from production site to customer desitnation.
