What is Ensured Rates?

The option to define Ensured Rates is available in the Manifold Well Groups. It would normally be used in association with the Sequential Choke option in the Facility - Excess Policy Tab.

In some situations a contract or agreement may dispose that the sources are granted a certain fraction of the processing capacity. For instance, the contract could specify that S1 must be granted a processing rate N1, S2 a rate N2 and S3 another rate N3. The quantities N1, N2 and N3 are called ensured rates, or contractual nominations. The reader should note the dynamic nature of these conditions.

Ensured Rates can for example be defined as follows:

In a downstream facility of S1, S2, S3 which is being fed by all 3 facilities, select the sequential choking option and set the sequence as S1, S2, S3.

Then define the ensured rates N1, N2, N3 in the Manifold Well Groups created for S1, S2 and S3.

That strategy will choke first S3 by some amount e3 which ensures the rate does not surpass the ensured rate. That means that S3 will be granted a production of X3 - e3 which is greater than N3 provided its potential capacity X3 is at least as big as the ensured rate N3. Next, the source S2 will be granted a processing capacity N2 and so on.

Note also that the sequential strategy will also ensure that all the spare capacity, if any, is assigned first to the source S1. If the potential X1 of S1 is below that spare capacity, then whatever is still available is automatically assigned to the second source and so on in the direct order of the sequence.