The Digital Oilfield of the future

From the fluctuation of crude oil prices to the dynamism of demand; and from a shrinking and changing skilled-workforce to increasing reliance on automation; these challenges are driving the Oil&Gas Industry to innovate and adapt using today’s communication technologies and solutions.

Communications solutions have to work together with advanced IT techniques. This allows Oil&Gas companies to exploit reserves in ecologically sensitive environments whilst adhering to international treaty obligations. They must also be alert to the pressures of public opinion, particularly the ongoing discussions on climate change.

The challenge of bringing more oil to market from deeper targets in difficult environments emphasises the need to maximise the deployment of communication solutions in optimising the return on investments.

Move information not people

One aspect of this is ‘don’t move people’, move information. The often remoteness of oil exploration sites necessitates a diversely located work force, which is expensive to keep constantly on the move. Developing resources of difficult hydrocarbons, such as sour gas, tight gas and heavy oil requires sophisticated and complex software tools and applications. Reservoir Management, Seismic Processes and Drilling Techniques generate increasingly large volumes of information and data, which needs to be instantly accessible by engineers and specialists.

Business decisions require instant analysis of the generated data to determine whether the oil find is of the right quality, and whether operations at any location can still be justified. Critical to ensuring the information flow reaches the right people in the right time is a rapidly deployed, secure and reliable communications network.

Dynamics of Oil&Gas communication networks

The dynamics of the today’s communications technology trends is Internet Protocol (IP) based and bandwidth hungry. This equally applies to the communication needs in the Oil&Gas industry. Whilst copper based legacy systems may still be in use today the dynamic is towards IP/Ethernet as the standard medium of choice combined with Next Generation Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and/or Dense Wave Division Multiplex (DWDM) technology at the core of the backbone infrastructure. Both SDH and DWDM have the capability to support the hunger for bandwidth and transport the IP/Ethernet based voice, data and video stream traffic generated through exploration and production processes.

The trend towards IP/Ethernet based systems in the Oil&Gas industry is driven by equipment such as sensors, valves and measuring equipment being IP enabled replacing the traditional SCADA equipment.

In developing the next generation Oil&Gas fields the communication infrastructure is now considered as an integral part of the Oil&Gas field rather than an add-on at some time in the future. A prime example of this is in the laying of pipelines where the fibre/copper cables are laid adjacent to the pipes in the same trench. For on-shore oilfields the remoteness and diverse geographical locations mean vast areas have to be covered by a complex communications infrastructure. For offshore locations, often comprising a compact environment, a single point-to-point network maybe all that is necessary. The challenge, in the case of the on-shore location, is to select the most cost effective solutions that offer economies of scale to minimise the total cost of ownership.

Connectivity options

One option is to select Broadband via Satellite Solutions. They have a unique combination of broadcast capabilities with no limitation of distance, geography or location. They offer high-speed and secure delivery of all types of broadband applications achieved through a single end-to-end solution. The result is a solution flexible to fit present demand, and scalable to fit all future requirements. However, costs scale linearly with bandwidth, so economies of scale are difficult to achieve.

Ground based Broadband solutions may still be the communications network of choice. A combination of fibre and microwave radio transmission technologies can be deployed to provide robust backbone capabilities, with mobile backhauling technologies supporting end-to-end bandwidth connectivity.

The physical environment of oil and gas exploration, and the industry’s requirement to link multiple sites e.g. onshore and offshore and geographically dispersed locations, necessitates the deployment of a combination of wireline, wireless, and mobile platform solutions. The communications dynamics must extend beyond locating and extracting raw energy resources from underground or beneath the sea, to include the various individual segments of the industry such as processing, delivery and distribution. Therefore, communication suppliers must ensure that they are in a position to provide multi-service, multi technology Broadband solutions to meet the complex and extensive voice, data, and video applications needs of this vertical environment.

The growing dependency on Information Communication Technology (ICT) calls for carrier class, mission critical networks. As a result traditional telco equipment suppliers are best placed to provide the communications imperatives in this vertical. Solutions incorporate modular design, International Telecomms Union (ITU) standards, and follow continuous development programs. This approach guarantees the availability of future proof networks throughout the lifetime of the Oil&Gas field and ensures the protection of the investment made in ICT.

Advancing the power of IP-based communication solutions

An understanding of current and future trends in communications solutions is an essential foundation for Oil&Gas ICT Managers. This will aid the planning of network requirements and purchasing decisions. They need to know how today’s communications solutions and associated business models, which are facilitating their deployment, are most likely to yield greater operational efficiencies.

For instance, Internet Protocol IP is clearly shaping the convergence layer for services and applications. However, there is still a need to support legacy systems and new solutions seamlessly over a common infrastructure. Technologies are required, which support legacy interfaces as well as Ethernet traffic in an efficient way. The latest Multi-Service Provisioning Platforms (MSPP) combine reliability, security and the manageability of SDH technology with the advantages of IP/Ethernet. Hence they create a basis for a seamless migration from legacy technologies (e.g. PDH) towards a converged IP network. MSPP is the technology of choice for multi-service and multi-technology networks.

Combining fibre and microwave transmission systems with MSPP solutions for multi-technology capability, and smart routers for advanced IP functionality, offers the optimum infrastructure for future-proof and efficient communication solutions. This combined solution supports any legacy traffic and provides IP connectivity for any existing and future applications, such as Intranet, VPNs, Internet, video conferencing, and surveillance.
Based on this efficient IP infrastructure, a migration of legacy PABX systems to advanced IP PABX systems featuring mobility, voice / data integration and application support is a significant step towards increased operational efficiency at lower cost.

The Future is ‘Technology’

Oil and Gas companies are increasingly embracing information technologies as the use of real time data to exploit new sources of energy takes over from traditional experience. Throughout the industry, from upstream exploration and drilling to mid stream processing and down stream distribution, state of the art communications networks are helping discover and recover new hydrocarbons and control unnecessary costs.

What is certain is that the industry’s exploration and production sectors will continue to rely upon the telecommunications supply sector to provide and deploy the most cost-effective and reliable communication solutions.

Economic factors obviously play a significant part in the oil and gas industry’s prosperity, but ultimately it is technology development and innovation which will determine its long term future. New technology can unlock known reserves that were previously inaccessible or simply uneconomic to produce and help identify new reserves that would otherwise remain undiscovered.

Technological innovation can significantly improve the yield in oil and gas resources resulting in a considerable increase in revenues. To realise this potential the industry needs to keep on innovating and investing in new technology.

In doing so the Oil & Gas Companies will seek to satisfy efficiencies and risk-management needs. They will expect more profitable revenues, reduce total cost of ownership and seek to differentiate themselves in an ever increasing competitive market.

Ericsson the Partner of Choice

Ericsson is the Partner of choice to achieve these expectations. Ericsson has a huge pedigree established over many years combining innovation and technology to deliver high quality communication solutions. It is therefore essential that we fully understand the challenges faced by our clients to actively engage in bringing to market the technologies the Oil & Gas industry needs. Our clients anticipate, and expect, us to provide them with the most innovative technology solutions available.

Ericsson has a reputation for being a pioneer in technology leadership, and we firmly believe that new technology holds the key to addressing the challenges the Oil and Gas industry faces. The Digital Oil Field has arrived and is here to stay.