Pro meter: a comprehensive guide to hydrocarbon custody transfer in transit projects

Comprehensive Professional Guide Pro meter
Measurement Systems in Oil and Petroleum Product Transit Corridors metering systems

Practice. Metrology. Legal Protection.

This guide is being created as a systematic and applied document reflecting the full lifecycle of commercial accounting of oil and petroleum products — from the first contact with the Client to operation, audit, and work with reference standards.

This is not a textbook.
This is not a promotional booklet.
This is a concentrate of many years of engineering experience, which is usually transferred only “in the field.” Engineer Basharov will share it with you.

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Purpose of the Guide

The main purpose is to transfer practical engineering experience to those who:

design and operate commercial accounting systems;

are responsible for accuracy, Legal Shield, and financial results;

manage projects in oil and gas transit corridors;

make technical and managerial decisions.

Separately and directly:
after the suspension of hydrocarbon transit through Latvia in 2022, the accumulated experience must not be lost.
This guide is a way to preserve it, structure it, and transfer it to the professional community.

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Who This Guide Is For

lead engineers and chief metrologists;

project managers and technical directors;

design and engineering companies;

terminal and pipeline operators;

equipment manufacturers and integrators;

lecturers of specialized universities and training centers.

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Structure of the Guide

Core Section (≈ 200–300 pages)

A single, complete guide in which the following are consistently covered:

the logic of commercial accounting;

regulatory and metrological framework;

Legal Shield;

interconnection of design, metrology, and operation;

real examples and typical mistakes.

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Modular Section (25–30 topics)

Each topic is an independent practical module, which may be:

a separate lecture (45–90 minutes);

a PDF document;

a video clip (10–15 minutes);

a package of templates and calculation files.

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Topics of the Full Guide Modules

You will find detailed coverage of the following areas:

Receiving an assignment from the Client: from the first request to the contract and preliminary Technical Specification

Preparation of competitive and tender documentation

Issues of measurement system design

How to write a Technical Specification for design

How to develop an Operation Manual

Development of methodologies (MVM, VM, applied methodologies)

Documentation hierarchy and project document management

Measurement methodologies and protocols
– no fewer than 10 typical methodologies
– separate breakdowns for each measuring instrument

Mathematics, algorithms, calculations

Project implementation: from installation to commissioning

Methods for improving measurement accuracy

Analysis of Coriolis mass flowmeter operation

Quality block and interaction with laboratories

Verification, proving, work with provers

Work with reference standards and verification schemes

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Material Delivery Format

The material will be released on a regular basis — 1–2 times per week:

articles and news on the website;

short video clips;

analysis of real documents:
measurement protocols, methodologies, calculations;

PDF materials and Excel files for independent analysis.

I will take real working documents and step by step show:

what kind of document it is;

why it is needed;

which parameters are critical;

how data for the acceptance and transfer act are obtained from it;

how to understand measurement accuracy, where error and uncertainty originate, and how their model is built. You will not be afraid of such definitions as error and uncertainty. This is my strong point.

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Important Note

Equipment manufacturers, integrators, and service companies reasonably protect their know-how.
This is normal.

But in this guide you will find engineering logic, organizational solutions, and practical advice that allow you to:

understand the system as a whole;

communicate with suppliers on equal terms;

make justified technical decisions;

defend measurement results in audits and disputes.

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On Cost and Value

Yes, to some it may seem expensive.
But here we do not work by the hour.

This material includes:

decades of practice;

real projects;

measurement archives;

engineering mistakes and solutions found.

Please treat this with understanding — as professional work, not as an information product.

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What’s Next

What’s Next

On the Pro meter website, the following will be published on a regular basis:

— announcements of guide modules;
— articles and video materials;
— examples of real working documentation;
— feedback forms for discussions and professional consultations.

It is important to understand that this project is, by its nature, extensive and alive.
It is not and cannot be exclusively a “desk-based work of a single author,” even with a large volume of accumulated materials.

The interruption of transit occurred unexpectedly.
As a result, unfinished project solutions and engineering ideas remained that were not brought to their logical completion.
Some of them have potential patent value and practical significance at an international level.
I am ready to share this and expect collaboration and startups around these ideas.

I consider this project to be a serious engineering undertaking that requires live professional interaction.
My experience has always been formed through dialogue — discussions, debates, and joint work with engineers, institutes, manufacturers, and clients.

My authorship is not lost, and I am ready to share it.
On the contrary, it becomes stronger when practicing engineers, the academic community, industry institutes, and equipment manufacturers are involved.
I am open to joint development of solutions and shared authorship, provided the approach is professional, responsible, and open.

On any professional topic and any working issue, I am ready for open, substantive, and respectful communication.

Thank you.