Electricity + Control April 2015

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Stephen T. (Steve) Stark is an inde-
pendent advisor, consultant, coach,
and teacher with over 35 years’
experience in measuring natural
gas, crude oil, and hydrocarbon
liquids. Before forming Stark &
Associates, Inc. in 1997, he was Manager of Meas-
urement Technology with Williams Energy having
previously managed the Measurement Department
for Williams Natural Gas Co. In the 1980s, he worked
for Phillips Petroleum Co in the Corporate Engineer-
ing Fluid Measurement Group at their headquarters
in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Before that, Steve was a
field measurement technician with Transok Pipeline
Company and even earlier worked as a Rigger with
Jetco, Inc., a perforating and logging company located
in Oklahoma City. Steve has served on numerous oil
and gas measurement standards-writing committees
including those of the API (American Petroleum Insti-
tute), the AGA (American Gas Association), and the
GPA (Gas Processors Association). He has been directly
involved in writing many of the measurement stand-
ards in use today, now serving mainly on various API
committees. He has chaired activities of the Southern
Gas Association and Gas Research Institute and served
on the Board of Trustees and General Committee of
the International School of Hydrocarbon Measurement
(ISHM) where he founded and was the first Chairman
of the ISHM Scholarship Fund in 1997. He currently
serves as an ISHM Principal Advisor and teaches most
years during the ISHM annual conference. He received
the American Gas Association (AGA) Award of Merit in
October 2006; the Laurance Reid Award in 2011 for out-
standing contributions to hydrocarbon measurement
and control; and the American Petroleum Institute 30
year Service Award in 2011. Steve was appointed an
Emeritus Member of the American Petroleum Institute
Committee on PetroleumMeasurement in 2013. Steve
holds several U.S. patents relating to flow measure-
ment and works regularly on new ideas.
Enquiries: Stephen Stark. Email
Visit
* NOTES
A As of the writing of this article in March 2015, API MPMS Ch. 21.1 has been revised and reprinted. As is common in many hydrocarbon
measurement standards, it is necessarily vague in some sections while over-cooked in others due to the viewpoints and biases of the many
authors and contributors all of whom (like all of us) have limited knowledge and individual opinions.
B The selection of tested and verified values depends on the specific meter type, meter design, and intended use. In the example given, orifice
meters have been selected as the primary measurement device.
C Latest and pending revisions to industry measurement standards are reviewed to help ensure that all applicable measurement calculations
and parameters are checked. For example, API MPMS Ch.14.3 (orifice metering) has undergone revision with additional changes pending.
D The ‘intermediate’ and ‘transitional’ values mentioned in this article include discharge coefficient, compressibility, expansion factor, water
vapor correction factors, acceleration of gravity correction, calculated Btu, calculated MMBtu (Dth), and other flow-dependent variables that
are selected depending on the particular meter type for which the flow computer is designed.
FLOW MEASUREMENT