MAUI Natural Oil/ Gas Platforms, New Zealand Version 1.0 for Flight Sim 2004. 22-03-04
Welcome once again to the latest rendition of Maui Oil Gas Platforms .. This version is completely compatible
with Fs2004 .. It should work with FS2002 but there are no guarantees
Tiis is quite an extensive upgrade and includes:
1. Some excellent 3D model upgrades created by Steve Chase of all the rigs... MauiA , Maui B, FPSO, MAARI, HIWIHIWI TAWATAWA , and POHOKURA . Some of these rigs have absolutely awesome detail.. check them out
2. I have completely redone the gas treatment plant at Oaonui .this is far more accurate than older versions as I was able to visit the plant last year and take some digital pictures ...I was also fortunate to get a free chopper ride out to the rigs..Amazing experience
3. SPecial effects . Steve has included a smoking funnel on the FPSO and natural gas flames on some of the rigs . Also i have included black smoky smoke stacks at oaonui- (DONT FORGET TO COPY THE EFFECTS FROM THE SCENERY FOLDER TO YOUR FLIGHT SIMULATOR 9 EFFECTS FOLDER- also make sure under your display settings that the special effects detail is set to HIGH )
4. Steve has included AFCAD2 files for all the rigs so that you can include scheduled chopper flights ( note oaonui has a grass strip but the AFCAD 2 file for oaonui has yet to be done ..)
Also there are improved icons in map view so that it is easier to go to the rigs and get information on navaids ...
My cousin Milton is a newbie at scenery design but he had an honest attempt at nearby New Plymouth airport and the new plymouth port.. It still needs a lot of development but is way better than the default microsoft scenery so i decided to include it....
Overall a very worthwhile upgrade to have .. Also there have been some very interesting developments regarding the Maui Rigs which are going to have a major impact on NZ power generation in the near future so please read the accompanying documentation .. It is a sobering read when you realise that NZ has depended too heavily on Maui for its energy needs and now is basically in the crap!!!
The Maui field will run out of gas about 2006-2007 when the initial estimate was 2009-2010. The Pohokura field ( see rig in northern taranaki ) is a 1/4 the size of Maui and will be much more difficult/expensive to extract.. so NZ will have to spend billions to find additional new fields or start burning coal again to generate electricity.. very untidy!!! .. no doubt the cost of gas and electricity will soar in 2010 so maybe 2009 would be a good time to emigrate !!
As for the scenery
Delete your previous Maui Scenery first.
Next, extract the self installing file to your desktop and run from there.
All installations will appear in the GPS/Flightplanner view.
Offshore installations can be found in the Airport menu under "New Zealand/Offshore", and the Oaonui Refinery under "New Zealand".
All locations also have a start point under the "addon scenery" airport menu.
Just run the automatic installer to install the scenery into fs2004 .. however i have made the default scenery directory c:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Flight Simulator 9/Addon Scenery/ Maui2004
If your scenery directory is different to this then you will need to modify it when you install the scenery
Pleae note you dont need a flatten file for this scenery BUT you do need to install the NZ 150 mesh scenery to ensure this scenery sits on the correct levels . The NZ 150 mesh is available from
If you have any problems contact Steve Chase at toadend@tiscali.co.uk or Savern Reweti at S.Reweti@massey.ac.nz
Please read the information below which pertains to earlier versions of Maui but still contains relevant information such as VOR and NDB frequencies for all the rigs
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The information below pertains to earlier versions of Maui but still contains relevant information such as VOR and NDB frequencies for all the rigs
Read the enclosed Readme.txt file for installation.
Note below are from original V6 zip file by Savern Reweti
MAUI Natural Oil/ Gas Platforms, New Zealand Version 6.0 for Flight Sim 2002. 12-12-01
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( PLEASE NOTE : YOU DONT !!!!! NEED A 'special' FLATTEN COMMAND ANYMORE!!!! I have included a special AREA 16 BGL in the version 6.0 file which incorporates all the necessary flatten commands )
Aslo note this scenery only works with the following:
NZ default microsoft scenery -2002
NZ 150 mesh scenery or 600 mesh scenery - http://www.geocities.com/ar_nz/
I have generally tidied up version 5.0 so that it now works with FS2002.
Oaonui has had a new flatten file added and some more buildings and vehicles added to it, also the grass polygon is now seasonal.
The saved flights are now located in the fs2002/flights/myflts folder so please ensure the saved flights from this zip file are placed there.
Version 5.0
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Well quite a few bug fixes to version 4.0...
(1) Oilrig visibility was too low for approaches so rigs now visible from 5 nautical miles away to allow you to better plan your approaches
(2) scenery density altered to ensure rigs will always appear no matter what scenery complexity setting
(3) some hardened landing platforms fixed
(4) some missing textures fixed
Additions
This new version includes an updated FPSO . The sides of the tanker look very realistic with rusty dripping sides. Also i have added a building, some cars, and seasonal grass to Oaonui Treatment station.
Also included are the two East coast exploratory rigs HiwiHiwi and TawaTawa which were commissioned this year
The Navaids for HiwiHiwi are - DME only freq 110.12 , NDB 302
The Navaids for TawaTawa are - DME only freq 110.13 , NDB 303
Also note in version 5.0 only Maui_B has a fuel box to refuel your helicopter
Also note no change to maui yachts ...see below for explanation
Version 4.0 Notes
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Well my little Maui scenery has grown out of all proportion !!!. Still it has to be done.
Funnily there have been some interesting developments regarding oil exploration down in New Zealand , Australia and the Pacific. Firstly Australia is starting to run out of home grown oil, their production is dropping fast and their limited fields are maturing. A few high risk off shore explorations in the Timor sea have come up dry......hehhehe. Also australian LPG exports are going to drop by 57% in the next 4 years. To top it off the aussie govt has refused $A700 million loan to PNG for the $A6.7 Billion Queensland - Papua New Guinea pipeline project - a major setback. However in good old New Zealand the oil business is booming!!!. Over 24 wells are going to be drilled this year. Petroconsultants have recently re-graded NZ as the 6th most attractive oil venture location in the world. What has sparked it off is the continuing maturity of the Maui fields, the discovery of more potential in the onshore kauri and rimu fields, and the new discovery of the off shore Maari field, and more importantly the shallow offshore Pohokura basin in northern taranaki.
Pohokura is the largest field to be discovered in New Zealand since Maui was discovered over 30 years ago and the largest field discovered to date by Fletcher Challenge Energy. With the Maui and McKee fields now mature, Pohokura is likely to provide an important source of growth for Fletcher Challenge Energy, and an important fuel source for New Zealand business into the future.
Pohokura may have as much as 40 million barrels of oil and 750 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas which although may not match some of the big Saudi boys will generate some serious cash ... maybe as much as a $1 billion
Two appraisal wells have been sunk and a commercial rig is to follow soon
Now the bad part...Shell the huge dutch oil company is getting greedy and is applying some serious financial muscle. Its trying to buy out Australia's giant petroleum company Woodside for $10 billion and is determined to take over Fletcher Challenge Energy in NZ as well. It wants all the natural gas assets in the pacific and as we speak... it already has made an offer you cant refuse to shareholders and has grabbed those assets I believe. There is nothing to compare with big sharks swallowing small barracudas... Also american companies like GEL exploration and Pacific Tiger Energy are coming in hard to grab the oil so it should be like the wild wild west in NZ for awhile. pity about aussie though ... hehehhe!!
Version 4.0
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Anyway this is a fairly major upgrade of my version 3 scenery
I have removed the generic rig at maui B and Steve Chase has designed a customised rig replacement from photos suplied by Sarah Walker who works for Fletcher Energy and has been extremely helpful in providing oil rig information. Thanks a million Sarah!!!!
Have a look at some of the piccys in this zip file i think you will be impressed by Steve's work.
Also I have included the new oil rig at Pohokura
The navaids at Pohokura are NDB - 301 KHZ and DME only on 111.11 Megaherz
FLATTEN COMMAND
After installation, exit FS2000, use Notepad and amend your scenery.cfg in the FS2000 directory to include the following Exclude and Flatten command EXACTLY! as written.
Please note the Area no. , layer number and local directory would probably be different for your scenery.cfg than the example below. You will need to amend it accordingly.
PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE FIVE flatten commands they must be input exactly or the scenery will not work YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are also important because if you are using the NZ 150 mesh scenery ...there is a fault in it which creates a large ridge in the sea which soars to over 1000 feet near Maui B. This unrealistic ridge must be wiped out with a large flatten command which is included in the file above .......
Version 5.0 will include tawatawa and hiwihiwi -two exploratory rigs on the east coast of NZ near gisborne and an upgraded Whakaaropai
Version 3.0 notes
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RARE BUG: One user noted that after he installed version 2.0 his Go To airport list dissappeared and the only airports that appeared were the maui ones. If this should happen then go to the maui scenery directory and just delete the bgls that end in _afd.bgl and any bgl's that end in _6.bgl and this will fix the problem. However you then wont be able to locate the rigs in map view but will need to select the appropriate flight. Again only one user suffered this problem so it may have been that his afd may have been slightly corrupted in the first place.
Version 3.0 is a comprehensive upgrade to version 2.0. The NDB's/VORS( DME only ) on the various rigs in version 2.0 had only a 20 km range so I have extended their range to 60-80 nm for those who requested it.
Version 3.0 contains new customised rigs for Maui A platform and the Whakaaropai FPSO ( they were designed by Steve Chase from photographs and they are excellent!! ). Maui B is similar to the real rig and therefore remains unchanged. Also I have included Maari a new rig which is to be commissioned and built next year to drill for oil in the Maari oilfield.
I have included some fishing boats, and some oil tankers which routinely collect oil from Whakaaropai and Maari . These tankers change direction with the wind. The
navaids for Maari are NDB - 220 KHZ and VOR/DME only - 108.00 MHZ .
*******ALSO I have included for fun....... two yachts which have been struggling in high seas and have sent out an emergency distress call. Your mission is to rescue them in a chopper using the rigs as jumping off places. PLEASE NOTE the only rig you can refuel at now is Maui B. One of the yachts has a weak NDB with only 5 km range broadcasting on 999 KHZ. It is designed to simulate a sarbe beacon.The yachts are about 60nm - 150 nm from the rigs. See if you can locate them and rescue the people sailing them ...********************************************************************
Version 2.0
Version 2.0 is a comprehensive upgrade of Version 1.0. It contains Maui_A Gas platform ( the Atis didnt work in Version 1.0 ..this has been fixed )
Also it contains the Maui_B Platform which is some 35 km west of Maui_A. Maui_B is a smaller platform and is a remote site ( with no oil workers resident ). It has a lighted helipad for regular inspections and has an undersea pipeline and pumps condensate and gas directly to Maui_A. It contains some moving machinery and a dynamic natural gas flame outlet.
A few km away from Maui_B is the Whakaaropai ( maori translation - pleasant thoughts ) . This unusual structure is a converted tanker which has a built in oil rig attached to its bow (the rig part is not shown in my scenery yet-see version 3.0 ) . The ship is held in place by huge embedment anchors which allow it to move 360 degrees to face the winds and waves. It has a lighted helipad and a natural gas burnoff chimney. It has an undersea pipeline which is attached to Maui_B, and it pipes off some natural gas and condensate to Maui_B , however its main role is to drill for OIL. So tankers come in regularly to offload the oil and take it to storage tanks in New Plymouth
Also this version contains Oaonui which is very close to the coast of Taranaki and is the main Maui production station. The undersea pipeline containing natural gas originates from Maui_A and comes ashore at Oaonui where the gas is compressed and filtered, processed and piped up and down the North Island mainly to Power generating stations
Oaonui has an actual heliport and I have included a fictional STOL dirt airstrip for the fixed wing boys. Also Oaonui has an actual NDB and an actual DME.
I have included some extra flights to take off from Maui_A , Maui_B, Whakaaropai, Oaonui and Maari. Also Oaonui has an airport initial location - you have to goto scenery fs95 and before after uou select goto AIRPORT
NAVAIDS
Oaonui ( MCC ) has the following ACTUAL navaids - NDB - 338 , DME - 111.8 , (F) ATIS - 338
Also Oaonui has a Pilot Controlled Lighting dirt runway activated with COM 1- 118.00 ( FICTIONAL )
Maui_A ( MAA ) has the following ACTUAL Navaid - NDB - 406 , (F) DME - 109. (F)ATIS - 119
Maui_B ( MAB ) has the following FICTIONAL Navaids - NDB - 300 , DME - 110. ATIS - 120
Whakaaropai ( MAC ) has the following FICTIONAL Navaids - NDB - 200 , DME - 111. ATIS - 122
The
navaids for Maari are NDB - 220 KHZ and VOR/DME only - 108.00 MHZ .
The navaids at Pohokura are NDB - 301 KHZ and DME only on 111.11 Megaherz
To install completely remove Version 1.0 if you have previously installed it
Version 2.0 can be installed in the same way as Version 1.0 was ( see instructions below )
Version 4.0 will contain Pohokura ( which will come into full operation in 2003 ) and Kaheru ( approx 2004 )
DONT FORGET TO COPY THE *. FLT AND *.WX FILES INTO YOUR Fs2000\pilots folder!! first
See below for a comprehensive history of the offshore Maui Gas Field in New Zealand....
Quite a few simmers in New Zealand are into helicopter operations so I designed this scenery for them.
As Maui A, Maui_B, and Whakaaropai are drilling platforms this scenery is for helicopter operations only. However you can land a light aeroplane at Oaonui Treatment station .. there is a fictional dirt strip there. Also because the the rigs are elevated platforms - the initial location will not work in FS2K ( see explanation below ), so you can't use 'go to airport' , however oaonui is ok it has an initial location . Therefore the only way you can start your flight at the rigs is to either :
First method:(example )
Make sure you are in slew mode!
Go to Fs2K menu World /map view
Select Latitude S39* 33.28'
Longitude E173* 27.04'
Altitude 164 ft
Heading 250 deg Press OK
Your aircraft will appear on the helipad at Maui_A .
Or Second Method
Goto Menu select Flights, then select the Maui flight you want and select it ( this is the flight situations I have provided in this zip file... )
INTRO:
I did attempt some scenery design for FS98 a few years ago ( have a look at my East Timor on www.SurClaro ). However this is my second attempt at scenery design for FS2000. I was based at Ohakea for most of my air force career and now I am lecturing at Massey University School of Aviation, Palmerston North. Because I was still getting to grips with ASD 2.1 and Airport 2.6. I decided to have a go at Feilding which is a small airfield approximately halfway between Ohakea and Palmerston North. The default scenery only consisted of a runway and a fuel box so I figured anything would be an improvement.
Feilding version 3 is on SurClaro so why not download it ( its got real powerlines,photorealistic & seasonal trees,pilot controlled lighting runway, animated and illuminated windsocks, cows, sheep, beautiful female marshallers, lighted helipad etc)
An excellent rendition of Ohakea has been done by my airforce colleague Deane Baunton and an excellent Palmerston North has been completed by Clive Ryan - check them out also on SurClaro
MAUI A V1.0
I have used a fairly generic oil rig platform macro ( many thanks to Jim Mcnulty ) for Maui A which is not exactly accurate but is a reasonable representation.
The easiest way to land on my rig is to use a good helicopter from Keiths Virtual Helipad http://SurClaro.com/vhelipad/ .....make sure you alter the air. flight file with the realchop utility (download realchop from on www.SurClaro ) which makes hovering real easy- also the oversized helipad will also make it a bit easier also.
MAUI V2.0 is a considerable expansion of my original scenery with the addition of
Maui A(corrected atis ) , Maui_B, Whakaaropai and Oaonui Treament station
1. LEGAL
This scenery is charityware.
You may use this scenery freely, however there is absolutely no warranty or
guarantee of any kind, expressed or implied, for any problems arising from
the use of this scenery add-on.and if you like it then donate something to a local charity..
2. FEATURES
Firstly ALLTHE scenery objects are scaled from very sparse to extremely dense to allow you to adjust for frame rate if necessary.....At very sparse you just get the helipad and basic structure of the rig. You should have a good frame rate by default because all the surrounding scenery is sea. Obviously very dense scenery complexity gives you everything.. Also I have tried to optimise this scenery to have a LOW frame rate even at extremely dense settings. However there are a lot objects on the rigs postioned close to each and this could cause some problems ( see note below ) Please give me some feedback as to frame rate ....
I have incorporated a few nice features ( some of which are not available on these Maui platforms ) :
These include; over sized lighted helipad with built in fuel pad, illuminated and animated windsock, oil worker, moving oil machinery, rotating drill, ramp lights, swaying illuminated buoys, night lights, chimney with smoke plume which changes direction with the wind
INSTALLATION:
The zipped file includes all bgls and necessary textures , however it does not include seed textures. So if you are having any problems with textures not appearing you may need to download and install Aip210tx.zip and asd21txt.zip from www.SurClaro.
PLEASE NOTE::: I use this scenery with default NZ scenery activated and the NZ 150 Mesh scenery activated. Because it is so small it should not affect any other activated NZ sceneries or combinations of NZ sceneries and mesh sceneries. Initially I was going to include the flatten file within an AREA16 bgl. However I found the creation of an Area16 bgl a bit dodgy & played safe by including a flatten command example for you to amend your scenery.cfg.
Because the rig is out to sea the default height should be zero feet ( sea level ) . However with so many other NZ mesh and other sceneries active sometimes this can differ slightly in certain places out to sea. So because the height of the rig and its hardened landing pad must be set! at a certain height it is vitally important that you include the flatten file in your scenery.cfg file ( see below ) .
Unzip the file (make sure when you extract it , you tick the box in winzip which says use folder names ) to a folder of your choice, usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2000\Scenery. The files will automatically go - in this case - to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2000\Scenery\Maui\Scenery and C :\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2000\Scenery\Maui\Texture
Because these rigs are situated above the sea - selecting Go to Airport WILL NOT WORK it would just place you at the rig but in the sea which would result in an automatic CRASH !. So you need to install the flight situation in the appropriate Pilots sub folder of Fs2000 .... The zip file should have done it automatically but it would pay to check your pilots sub folder just to make sure that the flight situations are actually in there....This is the situation you will be choosing when you go to select flight in the Menu and select Maui A or B ( see above for other alternative methods ).
You might have to copy the textures also into the main FS2000/texture directory if they don't work correctly in the scenery....
If you still have texture problems you may need to download airport 2.1 textures and ASD v2.1 textures from www.SurClaro....
In some cases when flying in this scenery the frame rate may drop too low or you may see the odd object on the rig disappear and then reappear. This is because there are almost 180 individual 3d objects within a very small space on the rigs and some 3d cards may struggle with this.....
Therefore the only way you can improve the situation is by reducing the scenery complexity by going into the FS2k menu and adjusting the options / settings /display /image quality/ scenery complexity slide bar density down to NORMAL or SPARSE. Most of the extra objects I have placed on the rig are set too maximum density.
Finally go into Flight Simulator and go to Scenery Library. Click on Add Scenery and locate the Maui folder where you unzipped it. Highlight it then add it and it should appear in the Scenery Library list. Next click in it's box so it's selected as used scenery and then exit the Scenery Library by clicking OK. Then exit FS2000 and make sure you install the flatten command.....
Finally when you are back in FS2000 select Map View from the menu bar and relocate your aircraft to the MAA, MCC, MAB, or MAC icons off the Taranaki coast by clicking and dragging your aircraft icon with the mouse or refer to the two methods above.......
Contact me straightaway if you have any problems with the scenery at S.Reweti@massey.ac.nz.
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge all those API designers who have made a myriad of APIS available to newbie scenery designers like me, especially to Steve Chase who is helping me with version 3.0
History
Maui (Maori legend explains the origins of Aotearoa New Zealand. Maui (a Maori ancestor) went fishing in a huge waka (canoe) which legend claims is the South Island. Upon dropping his anchor, Maui cast out a magic fish hook made from his grandmother's jawbone and caught a huge fish which became known as the North Island, Te Ika a Maui(the fish of Maui)."
New Zealand has hundreds of both minor and large oil seeps. The search for oil in New Zealand began with the discovery of active oil seepages in the New Plymouth, Gisborne, and North Westland regions. In 1866, the drilling of our first well at New Plymouth recognized the potential for oil and gas. Subsequent wells were drilled over the years with varying degrees of success. With the discovery of the Kapuni gas field in Taranaki, large commercial gas development began in NZ. In January 1959, the first well at Kapuni was drilled. Subsequent wells, drilled in 1961 and 1962, showed large amounts of natural gas.
The discovery of the Kapuni field boosted interest in the adjacent Taranaki offshore areas and surveys had started by 1966. In 1968, the first offshore well was drilled. In 1969 the Maui field was discovered. It was more than 30 km off the Taranaki coast, and over 100 meters deep. Production in the Maui field began in 1979. Maui gas is processed at Oaonui and is then piped into the transmission network for distribution throughout the North Island
The Maui field is located 35 km's off the Taranaki coastline. The field comprises two production platforms, Maui A and Maui B and the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) vessel .Full production from Maui A began in 1979, with 14 wells drilled from the platform in a water depth of 110m (a deep water platform for its time).Maui B was installed in 1992 to allow full drainage of hydrocarbons from the field and later to allow production of oil from the deeper reservoirs. The final phases consisted of installation of the FPSO in 1996 and onshore naphtha refining plant in 1999.
MAUI A rests in 110 metres of water 35 km's off the Taranaki coast. A 20 inch stainless steel multiphase pipeline connects Maui A to the shore based processing plant at Oaonui, where gas and condensate are processed after having gone through cooling and water separation plants on Maui A.
MAUI B situated 15 km from the Maui A platform, in similar water depth. This platform is designed to be unmanned and remotely operated from Maui A.
Maui B was originally installed to allow full drainage of hydrocarbons from the field, however has since proved invaluable in the recovery of oil from the deeper reservoirs underneath Maui B. Maui B is connected to Maui A via an undersea pipeline through which gas and condensate transported to Maui A for initial processing. Oil is fed directly to the FPSO for storage and processing. A total of 10 wells have been drilled on Maui B.
Whakaropai - (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) vessel moored 2 km's from the Maui B platform via ten 1.5 km long anchor lines connected to drag embedment anchors. This allows the 137,000 tonne converted seagoing tanker to freely weathervane through 360 degrees. A 10.5 inch oil pipeline and a 4.5 inch gas export return pipeline links the vessel to Maui B.
A study by Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd has estimated that up to 46 million barrels of oil could be extracted from the recently-discovered Maari oil field (PEP 38413) off Taranaki. The STOS scenario depicts a development cost of over $160 million with first oil flowing in 2002. The report assumes production of oil from the two main zones (Moki and Kapuni) but excluding the zone known as M2A. STOS sys considerable upside potential exists when considering future production from the nearby Maui-4 accumulation, the Pike prospect and the M2A zone. Initial flows could be up to 35,000 barrels of oil a day, declining at a rate of about 20% a year for seven years and then at a 10% rate. Total life of the project is expected to be about 15 years. T
Following the farm-out agreement on Maari, Todd Petroleum Mining Company Ltd's interest has now risen to 21% from 15%, Shell (Petroleum Mining) Comany Ltd's interest is now 49% (up from 30%) while Culturs Petroleum NL is left with 30% (previously 50%). Cultus itself is the subject of a takeover offer by the Austrian company OMW AG, one of the leading Central oil and gas groups.
HOW THE GAS IS PROCESSED
As gas is taken from the ground it is treated to remove impurities. For Kapuni natural gas this happens at the Kapuni Natural Gas Corporation gas treatment plant near Hawera. Maui gas comes ashore through a submarine pipeline at Oaonui on the west Taranaki coast and is treated at the Oaonui production station.
Natural gas from Kapuni is piped south to Wellington through 200mm and 300mm pipelines and north to Auckland through a 200mm pipeline. As the gas goes through the pipeline it also passes through compressor or pumping stations which increase its pressure to maintain efficient flow through the high pressure system. Kapuni gas is compressed up to 8600 kPa. Natural gas from Maui travels through large pipelines 750-850mm in diameter. The gas is piped under pressures ranging from 5200 kPa to 8000 kPa to Kapuni and Rotowaro, near Huntly where it is again treated before heading north.
The size of pipelines varies throughout the North Island, dictated by the amount of gas being transported and the area the pipeline is going through.
Once the gas has passed through the compressor station it travels along the pipeline until it reaches a town or city. At the perimeter the gas enters a city gate or sales gate. In some places this is where an odourant is added giving gas its distinctive smell.
Natural gas is non-toxic and odourless. The odurant is a blend of sulphide and a chemical call Mercaptan. One drop is powerful enough to add the required odour to 28,000 cubic metres of gas - a bit like adding one drop of dye to colour an entire city reservoir. The odourant is completely harmless and is added in the interests of safety so gas leaks can be detected.
Gas pressure is reduced at the city gate and this also drops the temperature. The gas is filtered through a water bath heater keeping it at the right temperature for distribution and then goes through meters which measure how much is being sold to the local supply authority or utility company.
Smaller pipelines take the gas to the distributing line regulating station where the pipelines branch out around the town or city until they reach consumers. At the house a much smaller polyethylene pipeline comes into a meter box which measures how much gas is used for cooking or heating in the home.
