Wireless communications in oil & gas are fast gaining traction and complementing the popular process automation technologies, but there are still hurdles to be overcome, writes Piers Ford.
Although wireless communications technologies have been used in the oil & gas industry for some time, they are still relatively new in many areas of operation; radio has long been the de facto standard for communication in the field.
This is partly to do with terrain and environment, which, by definition of the industry, are often fraught with obstacles.
There have also been lingering reservations about security. Many of these have been fuelled by headlines about data breaches via public WiFi networks, which are not robust enough for the special requirements of oil & gas companies.
But mud sticks and in a world that is potentially so susceptible to industrial espionage, malicious attacks and physical security threats, it does help to explain why the industry has been tentative when it comes to the more integrated adoption of wireless communications.
“While wireless technologies can compete and win against wired connectivity in some operations, we still cannot practically depend on it in some other real-time control and emergency operations,” says Ibrahim Al-Alawi, deputy CEO at AlMansoori Specialised Engineering.
He says that in addition to radio, there are four main areas for wireless application: data transmitting sensors in control rooms, for monitoring and reporting (typically, SCADA and ICS systems); wireless remote control; mobile phone and 3G data services; and surveillance and security cameras and border monitoring. All of these could be supported by a single network, in which wireless is an increasingly important component.
“Wireless technology is an important element for support operations and a key step in assisting productivity in the industry,” says Pierre Leretz, president, process automation, India, Middle East and Africa, at power and automation engineering company ABB, which recently secured a $30m+ automation project in the Shah natural gas field in Abu Dhabi.
“Wireless means fewer cables, less installation and far reach, which leads to a tremendous amount of savings, safer operations and environmental protection. It also holds exciting prospects, including immediate and significant progress in performance and data throughput,” explains Leretz.
Leretz says that wireless is also helping to automate tasks such as measurement, logging and adjustment at wellheads and on drilling rigs, which were previously performed manually by engineers required to travel vast distances in remote areas.
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“Wireless can significantly enhance the efficiency, productivity, safety and security of oil and gas exploration and production,” he adds.
“Drilling rigs and wellheads can be monitored remotely, in real time, to better use skilled engineering resources, enable faster problem resolution and eliminate wasted driving time. In addition, a wireless network can cost-effectively provide voice and high-speed data services to field facilities, even in areas that lack cell coverage.”
However, within this framework there is the scope to adopt a range of different wireless technologies, and therein lies the industry’s greatest challenge: there is not one that works, and one that does not.
Vendor Huawei is addressing this with eLTE, its Enterprise Long Term Evolution wireless technology, which is a combination of microwave, wi-max and vSat.
“The solution should be a combination of these technologies, depending on customer needs and challenges on the ground,” says Abdelrahman Abdellatif, principal consultant at Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group in the Middle East. “Before proposing any solution, there should be a study conducted about the challenges and the main issues.”
Use is governed by the specific need, according to Stephen Patrick, director at Wireless Excellence, which specialises in Free Space Optics, an infra-red technology which uses laser to transmit data.
He says oil exploration is a typically complex environment in which wireless comes into its own.
Not all exploration sites are in plain desert, and sometimes sensor network grids need to be established quickly and efficiently in areas cluttered with infrastructure, where a wired network could take weeks or longer to install. Oil fields are getting harder to find, and surveys are costing more, so the pressure is on the industry to use precise sensor grids.
“When the detonation takes place you need to know that you’ve captured the data in real time,” says Patrick.
“Saying, ‘Sorry, I didn’t get that, can you do it again?’, is not an option. Wireless is ideal for connecting parts of the network across any obstacles and we’ve adapted our Freespace Optics technology to suit the wide variety of conditions in these environments.
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It’s license-free, there’s no risk of interference and while it offers slightly lower bandwidth than some wireless and physical network technologies [in the 100-200Mbit range], it can run over longer distances.”
This resilience also featured in a recent project for BP in Cairo.
Heavy microwave congestion in the city, combined with premium regulator charges, meant the oil giant needed an alternative wireless communications technology to support its administrative and organisational presence in the Egyptian capital city.
“They needed multiple building connections,” states Patrick. “The cost of fibre would have been enormous and a physical network would be subject to unintended breakage and disruption. BP came to us for a Gigabit solution with a triangulated mesh of full duplex links so there is no single point of failure. They own the kit, so it isn’t dependent on third-party SLAs, it’s redeployable so moving offices is not a problem, the infrastructure goes with them.”
Patrick says wireless technology is also coming into its own as backup for fixed networks or even standalone infrastructure in shore-to-rig communications, a particular consideration in the Middle East where many rigs are relatively short distances from the coast but undersea cables can suffer damage. Even microwave links can be established over increasingly long distances, up to 200km.
“Wireless links tend to be self-healing,” he states. “Once the disruption is removed, they can start working again, which is not the case with fixed cable. Loss of service is a high-tension moment in any area of oil & gas, and the priority will always be to get comms up and working again.
Wireless fits in as part of the tool box. It isn’t a panacea. It replaces cable where fibre is not convenient, it gives flexibility, control and resilience, and it increases the reach of fibre networks.”
So why has it taken so long for wireless to establish a stronger presence in oil & gas? Security aside, lingering scepticism about reliability compared with physical links has also been a problem. Vendors such as vMonitor, a Rockwell company which provides remote monitoring and control systems, have clients in the region who are effectively becoming standard bearers for the benefits of wireless.
“People have started to see that you can implement wireless networks to monitor your wellhead and remote facilities in a very short time, compared to hard-wired solutions,” exlplains regional sales manager Thony Brito Cardier.
“Another challenge is how to help customers realise they can still use their maintenance and asset management programmes with our instrumentation, transmitting data between the radio system and the management software.”
As well as environment, regulation is a thorn in the side of oil & gas companies in the region when it comes to wireless.
“Not all countries allow the use of the frequencies that are embedded in the radios or wireless networks,” states Cardier. “For example, in Kuwait there are restrictions on the use of 2.4ghz frequency. Compliance is a challenge, but the logistical challenges of the environment are the same as for any hard-wired communications system.”
