Wireless communications technology is ubiquitous in most industries across the globe, however, in oil & gas security is a critical factor to any communications. How can wireless communications can be efficiently utilised and secured? Ian Jones, global account manager, Oil and Gas, CommScope MEA explains the benefits of wireless technology.
What wireless communications technologies are being utilised in the oil & gas field?
There are many technologies available today for the oil & gas industry to streamline operations and increase productivity, such as TETRA, UHF/VHF, CDMA, GSM, 3G WiMAX and more recently LTE. These are deployed in indoor or outdoor environments and, in either case, the voice or data traffic would need to be backhauled typically via microwave solutions. Increasingly, the devices used for such communications are multi-faceted and, like in every other telecommunication systems, the requirement for higher bandwidths is increasing.
The increased throughput demands imply more stringent coverage requirements particularly for in—building environments which means that dedicated distributed antenna systems (DAS) would be required, deployed alongside the wireless off-air repeaters that enhance coverage throughout plants and refineries.
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How can oil & gas companies effectively secure their wireless communications?
In today’s cyber threat landscape, oil & gas companies are increasingly more aware of the need to secure not just their critical infrastructure, but their communications as well. With increased pressure to improve the reliability and stability of their operations, utilities and industrial companies must ensure that their communication infrastructure connects all of their equipment and field personnel to gather an accurate, real-time view of their operations and asset performance, regardless of location, terrain or environment.
What are the challenges associated with implementing wireless communications in the oil & gas industry?
The costs of exploration and development continue to rise, while success can hinge on how well you analyse and process massive amounts of market, consumer and geological data.
On a practical level, these challenges mean you may need high-speed wireless coverage that efficiently connects your remote installations — or hundreds of point-of-sale locations. Good coverage, in typical oil & gas remote environments, often a challenge, is no longer an option. Indeed, these have to be capable of delivering high speed data. Today this implies the right mix of deploying off-air Repeaters, deploying DAS solutions and significantly improving the backhaul capability whilst in parallel introducing some new technologies all the while maximizing the use of the existing infrastructure. The right partner, that can provide the right consultative advice, has the right products and can put together the full suite of end-to-end services becomes imperative to save time and cost.
What are the benefits of implementing wireless communications in oil & gas?
Wireless broadband technology can help oil and gas companies handle growing bandwidth requirements and enable advanced network connectivity throughout the entirety of the operation – from the drilling area to the operations area, back office, and headquarters. By eliminating cables, the operational costs reduce and it also provides flexibility in installations and the positioning of devices.
Although there are a variety of different strategies for building a network infrastructure, a holistic approach is key to connecting the crew, monitoring, video surveillance, data and other applications to improve, accelerate production, reduce nonproduction time and improve overall operational efficiency and safety.
What are your top 5 tips to developing a safe, efficient and secure wireless network for an oil & gas company?
First would be to select the right technology – wired or wireless, indoor or outdoor, this is a function of the coverage requirements and the data throughput requirements. Next would be to select the right backhaul technology – here there is a whole plethora of options available from Satellite backhaul to wired solutions.
Third would be to design the right transport and switching network – a key question here would be whether to keep this capability in-house or to outsource. The deployment of an efficient operations and management system would be essential for end-to-end oversight and security management. Finally, the right product and services partner(s) to design, deploy, integrate, commission, the communication systems as well as manage the live systems would be inevitable for success.
