How Do Offshore Communications Work?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=337
Thirty years ago communications between offshore facilities and onshore locations was limited to a two-way radio
and daily reports. Back then, oilfield workers stationed offshore were virtually cut off from the rest of the world.
Additionally, the amount of staff required on each rig and facility offshore was great because all the information to
make decisions was gathered at these remote locations.
Offshore communications have come a long way since then. Now, real-time communications networks not only
allow for wi-fi connectivity and personal cell phone use, but also real-time transfer of offshore data to onshore
offices. Allowing for remote unmanned and totally subsea developments, the way the offshore industry works has
been transformed by improved communications systems.
Telecommunications Technologies
There are a number of communications technologies that can work together in a system or singly to solve offshore
communications challenges. Communications solutions are chosen because of the distance data must travel, the
remoteness of the installation, and the amount of data that must be transmitted, as well as the availability of the
technology. Different communications technologies include satellite, microwave, fiber optics, and cellular services.
Satellite Installation on an Offshore FacilitySource: : Schlumberger
The most widely chosen solution for offshore communications, satellite communications requires a VSAT, or very
small aperture terminal, at the offshore site; a broadband satellite connection in space; and a teleport onshore.
Available anywhere in the world, satellite services are used many times for vessels that may be on the move, or
extremely remote locations. The only drawbacks to satellite services are a slight delay in data transmittal and finite
bandwidth.
Using microwave telecommunications technology, data is transported via wavelengths that measure less than one
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meter in length. Microwave communications solutions offer more bandwidth for data, but at shorter distances. Many
times, microwave telecommunications are chosen for locations that are within close proximity to each other, such
as a cluster of facilities on a field.
Umbilical Containing Fiber Communications CablesSource: JDR Cable Systems
Although limited because cables must be run from point to point, fiber is an optimal communications solution for
clustered facilities or offshore locations that are in high-traffic areas, such as the North Sea or US Gulf of Mexico.
Also, fiber cables are used to transmit data between subsea trees, manifolds, jumpers, sleds and controls via
umbilicals.
Even cellular services can be accessible at some locations offshore. Specifically, the US Gulf of Mexico has
cellular towers installed offshore that allow cellular communications from rigs and platforms near the coast to
onshore locations, allowing offshore workers to communicate through their own private cell phones.
Integrated Solutions
Sometimes, a telecommunications solution for an offshore development might require satellite communications to a
main facility and microwave or fiber between wells or facilities within the development. In other words, a unique
combination of telecommunications technologies is integrated into each offshore situation, which allows everything
from real-time transfer of data from subsea wells to office-like environments at offshore facilities.
Because real-time transmittal of data is available now in offshore environments, not as many workers are required
for rigs and developments located offshore. Advances in telecommunications technologies have made immediate
decisions to be made from shore. Now, offshore developments are trending toward unmanned and completely
subsea installations.
Furthermore, improvements in offshore communication technologies have improved work-life balance environments
for those workers who are required to work at these remote locations. Now, offshore staff is able to use wi-fi, talk to
family and friends on the phone and watch television during their off time.
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