Satellite base station systems are being deployed for safe, secure and reliable monitoring of petroleum operations
With exploration companies in search of oil and gas reserves continually pushing the limits and deploying crews into ever more remote and often hostile offshore locations, the need for a reliable rapid response communication system has never been more acute.
Satellite communications are ubiquitous by their very nature, providing a reliable “go anywhere” solution to the communication demands of the industry. It is the ability to have an expert on call to oversee operations that supports these advances and allows oil and gas companies to move into remote areas with absolute confidence.
The demand for hydrocarbon resources shows no signs of slowing, indeed with increasing industrialisation the demand for energy is gaining momentum pushing energy companies ever further in their exploration for new sources of oil and gas.
In these environments, a communication system that allows real-time transmission of field data and two-way audio-visual links is no longer a luxury, it is an absolute necessity.
Get set...go
With crews moving from one location to the next, having a portable system that provides connectivity at any location is critical, these systems need to be easily and rapidly deployed, getting the remote site online as quickly as possible. In order to maintain these communications links on even the most remote rigs and exploration vessels, a reliable portable base station incorporating a complete data and audio-visual communication package is vital.
This type of satellite base station equipment can provide Simultaneous Multi-Site Links (SMSL) enabling direct communications between experts at other sites or locations around the globe.
A spin-off but equally important benefit is the boost to morale provided to crews working in these locations when they are able to communicate with friends and family at home using the internet links that are provided by such a system.
These quick set-up satellite base stations are an essential link in the communications capability of any remotely deployed exploration crew.
Call in an expert
Consider the barriers to deploying a team of experts to every location. The travel costs alone would be prohibitive, not to mention the logistics of physically moving people safely from one offshore location to the next.
A base station set-up in an offshore environment that includes the appropriate equipment to provide real-time audio-visual communication to and from almost any location in the world enables that expert, or indeed team of experts, to “travel” to site in an instant via the satellite communication links. Naturally, they are not physically at the side of the field crew, but experts are sufficiently present via the audio visual links to be able to offer reliable advice and listen to, watch and comment on a field situation as it happens.
This ability ensures best practices are assured at any location with the ability to bring a specialist to the field at a moment’s notice.
The benefits of ensuring best practice at every location need little explanation. Wouldn’t you feel more certain and assured of your course of action if you were in a position to act on the advice of a well-informed skilled individual who can hear and see the subject as it unfolds and can offer real-time advice as if they were stood next to you?
Safety and security
Field safety is obviously of paramount importance and rarely is that more true than when you have a team working at a remote offshore location where the ability to transport an injured person for treatment is likely to be extremely limited.
A complete audio-visual communication system has some major benefits in such a situation. First and foremost, with assured best practice and the ability to bring in an expert, the likelihood of an injury is dramatically reduced. However, if an individual was to fall ill or be injured, the communication links are not just limited to the engineers and technical experts at head office, but would allow a medical expert to assess the situation and offer advice on the best course of action. This is why satellite base station systems are being deployed around the world, offshore and onshore, providing safe, secure and reliable monitoring of worksites and situations wherever they are required.
It is satellite technology that will allow companies to safely, efficiently and economically expand their operations into any remote offshore and indeed onshore location whilst maintaining those vital communication links.
Andrew Jack, Director of Business Development at eye2sky Ltd
