Oil and gas companies are constantly on the lookout for potential new drilling sites and new reservoirs of mineral product. Identifying untapped sites and assessing new oil wells and gas reserves is a long, painstaking process undertaken by geologists and prospectors in some of the most remote and treacherous locations on the planet. Long before an oil company can start drilling, it must invest millions of dollars in exploration, often carried out by small mobile teams who work quickly and rarely stay in one place for more than a few weeks. These teams operate outside the boundaries of terrestrial communications, as virtually all the world’s long-term fossil fuel projects are beyond the reach of fixed-line, GSM (Global System for Mobile), cellular or other forms of modern ground-based communications. Satellite communications has often been the only option for establishing any sort of reliable voice or data connectivity in the field.
Until recent times, however, oil and gas companies have typically had to choose from one of two options when evaluating satellite solutions for their field teams: fixed installations, which can be expensive, require extensive set-up time and are unable to meet the mobility needs of short-term project teams; or satellite phones, which are portable and can provide voice communications, but fall short in enabling data connectivity and providing workers with access to services such as video-conferencing, video streaming or even just sending and receiving e-mail or browsing the Internet. It becomes a choice of form versus function; the options are poles apart.
To compound the issue, there is sometimes a negative perception of satellite communications: “The equipment is too cumbersome and expensive”; “Airtime rates are so high that they will stretch my budget too much”; or “I don’t believe that satellite communications can deliver the reliability or the quality of service that I need”. However, as technology and communications have improved, so have satellite communications services and the equipment that supports it. The options available to companies in the oil and gas market are expanding.
Most oil companies will agree that communications is a key factor in reducing ‘time to oil’, with the goal always being to locate, drill and bring new oil online in the shortest time and at the minimum cost without compromising commitments to health and safety or social and environmental responsibilities.
However, many oil and gas executives responsible for addressing their company’s communications challenges have been frustrated with the lack of connectivity options available for teams of mobile, remote workers.
It seems there has always been a long-standing gap between the fixedline or cellular telecommunications and long-term satellite systems, with few options in between. The gap in services has been felt most keenly by remote area teams who work on a given project for just a few days, or even hours, and then move on to another job, perhaps on the other side of the world.
Progressive oil and gas companies are always on the lookout for new and advanced technological solutions to enhance operations, seeking the most cost-effective way possible to find new sources of oil and gas. Many companies within the sector are turning to Inmarsat’s Broadband Global Area Network or BGAN service.
The BGAN service is an all-in-one solution that offers voice and broadband data connectivity through a highly portable terminal. It delivers standard IP connectivity at up to 492kbps, guaranteed data rates of up to 256kbps and circuit-switched voice at cellphone quality. Voice and Standard IP services can be used simultaneously.
Quick to deploy, BGAN establishes essential communications wherever they are needed. It can deliver secure and on-demand access to telephony, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), file transfer, videoconferencing, e-mail and the Internet to multiple simultaneous users in a mobile environment. To date, BGAN has been deployed in more than 176 countries around the world. Although the network has wide-ranging applications across a number of industry sectors – it is used extensively by the media sector, for instance, for ‘live by videophone’ reporting – it is also ideal for oil and gas exploration teams seeking to reduce ‘time to oil’.
One North American major experimented with mobile satellite communications by deploying a precursor service – Inmarsat’s R-BGAN – in 2004 at a drilling rig in the Algerian Sahara, near the border with Libya. Though it featured lower data speeds at 144kbps and did not offer a voice component, this predecessor service provided a glimpse of what was to come. Company executives and others quickly recognised that the enhancements in speed, portability and capability that would define the next-generation service, along with the introduction of simultaneous voice functionality, would ultimately yield a service that could be of great value.
Fast forward to the summer of 2007 where the company has equipped mobile teams with BGANs, using the service for the execution of timecritical projects such as filing detailed geological reports from remote locations, allowing for informed decisions about whether or not to drill in a particular area to be made more quickly.
Geologists use BGAN to communicate with colleagues around the world, sending still images and video. The service has also been deployed by remote health and safety teams, who are more comfortable having an established and guaranteed link with their headquarters and regional office, ensuring constant connectivity in the event of any emergency or mishap.
The service is now gaining momentum and popularity with companies around the world operating within the sector. Companies such as Schlumberger, Shell, Petrobras, Saipem and Lukoil are currently either evaluating, trialing or deploying BGAN across their mobile workforce.
Most companies cannot do business today without having some form of reliable communications network in place. The same holds true for companies in the oil and gas sector, only the challenges for establishing that network are much more substantial.
Satellite communications is not a new option for these companies, but a new standard is emerging marked by greater speed, portability and the availability of the same communications tools they would expect to have at their disposal if they were sitting in a high-tech office building in a modern city. The advances are sure to support oil and gas companies in their efforts to safely explore new territory and quickly bring online new sources of energy.
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