In the oil & gas and petrochemical industry, the issues around flow measurement are grossly underestimated. At many locations, flows, often multiphase, are measured for reservoir management, allocation, custody transfer, and fiscal data. Usually, only the custody and fiscal measurements are given enough attention regarding the accuracy, but the upstream measurements are essential for allocating the revenues

In practice, flow measurement is treated as a stepchild, even though the figures it produces are critical to the revenues at the end of the day. There is a misfit between the value of the data, produced by flow measurement, and the amount of money spent on the metering itself, including the maintenance, it is just regarded as a cost item.