A Revolution in Satellite Communications for Oil & Gas Field Professionals

Ensuring field engineers can share data and communicate efficiently can be a costly and complicated venture. The introduction of Inmarsat’s BGAN service and Thrane & Thrane’s EXPLORER satellite terminals is changing this scenario though. The combination of high bandwidth satellite communication and cutting edge satellite terminal technology can make site analysis and data evaluation faster and more effective.

Inmarsat’s BGAN, or Broadband Global Area Network, provides broadband quality and speed, almost anywhere on the planet. BGAN is the world’s first mobile communications service to provide both voice and broadband data simultaneously through a single, truly portable device on a global basis. It is also the first to offer guaranteed data rates on demand, which in the field analysis and site engineering business, can lead to far more efficient operation and lower data and voice communication costs. This in turn has the potential to speed up ground analysis and reduce time to first oil.

As most oil and gas exploration takes place in remote areas, accessing the corporate network, the internet or your colleagues at headquarters can be a difficult proposition. Slow data speeds, patchy signal and low quality voice communications are part and parcel of what field engineers have had to put up with. However, when BGAN is combined with a highly portable, easy to set-up and use terminal, like those of Thrane & Thrane’s EXPLORER family it is possible to set-up a mobile office in mere minutes.

A True Mobile Office

Field teams can be in contact with their colleagues just as if they were in the room next door. And though they may be in a remote, far flung place, an EXPLORER BGAN terminal can still provide all the benefits of a broadband equipped office:

• Simultaneous voice and data communications over BGAN
• High-speed data transfer up to 492 kbps
• Access to corporate network
  
• Seamless global coverage
  
• Support for streaming IP at 32, 64, 128 and 256 kbps
  
• Standard LAN, USB, Bluetooth and phone/fax interfaces

The Thrane & Thrane EXPLORER Family offers features and functionalities for any requirement for mobile broadband communications. At one end, the EXPLORER 110 and 300 take care of the single user who values an easy to use mobile broadband solution. At the other end, the EXPLORER 500/527 and 700 are ready to challenge the highly professional user's expectations of mobile broadband communications, but are still extremely user friendly, utilising the same user interface as ‘smaller’ products in the EXPLORER family.

For oil and gas professionals the EXPLORER / BGAN combination covers many applications and provides many benefits. To start with, standard office applications such as e-mail, intranet, internet, VPN, telephony, VoIP, file transfer and fax are available. This enables all workers to be in contact with whoever needs to be in the loop. Other more specific applications of the technology include:

• Site engineers and geologists sending exploration data and pictures to headquarters for analysis
• Project managers sending progress reports and chasing suppliers and contractors
  
• Oil well and pipeline remote maintenance teams doing repairs and scheduling workforce
  
• Service teams checking isolated installations, enabling near real-time business reaction to well/rig asset status
  
• Remote pipeline and well diagnostics

The field equipment required to carry out these jobs, no matter where you are in the world is light and easy to carry, the goal being that EXPLORER shouldn’t ever be a burden to professionals who already need to carry lots of equipment such as laptops, cameras, power adaptors and well and pipeline monitoring equipment. Making the transportation of EXPLORER even more flexible is the fact that Thrane & Thrane offer four different power solutions: Solar, Mains, Battery or Fuel Cell.

Rely on EXPLORER

In addition to being highly flexible and portable, EXPLORER and BGAN itself is highly reliable. The terminals themselves are extremely robust and there is no requirement for a special carry case, however, for those applications where the terrain and weather is extreme, Thrane & thrane offers an accredited hard case carrying solution. The Peli Hard Case is an unbreakable, watertight, dust proof and chemical proof brief-case for EXPLORER that holds everything you need to set up your mobile office. For permanent installations, once a site is operational, there is also an IP67 weatherproof enclosure that will keep the EXPLORER safe in absolutely any weather conditions.

The reliability of EXPLORER and BGAN translates to the reliability of the site itself. The system can serve as a back up to existing fixed site communications and can reduce well and equipment downtime by providing more flexibility to service engineers who can be in contact with headquarters or base camp no matter how remote they are.

World Class Service

As with any technical equipment, there may be a need for service and support so Thrane & Thrane maintains an extensive support program to ensure optimal performance of the products and best value for money. A broad network of dealers and distributors sell and support the EXPLORER range, providing World Class Service to customers and users by supporting distributors and service centres.

The Thrane & Thrane distributor or dealer is the first line of contact for any support, including user training, activation and commissioning, upgrades, PIN codes, accessories, applications, repairs and spare part. Supplementing the distributor network and ensuring efficient and prompt repair services, an important part of the support program are the Thrane & Thrane Certified Service Centres. The Certified Service Centres perform repairs on behalf of Thrane & Thrane in their well equipped workshops having spare parts as well as factory trained technicians available at all times.

For oil and gas professionals, communication and data sharing is a very important aspect of the job. Whether exploring and analysing new sites, servicing or repairing wells and pipelines or maintaining operations at an established site, BGAN provides a true revolution in satellite communications. With EXPLORER, BGAN is easy to use, fast, flexible and cost effective. Words that two years ago could never be associated with satcoms for oil and gas field personnel.