Category: Blog

Oilfields monitored remotely with Inmarsat BGAN satellite service

The world’s first large-scale SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) network based on Inmarsat’s mobile BGAN satellite service provides previously unmatched remote site management options for the oil and gas industry.

This groundbreaking BGAN SCADA network has been deployed for a major oilfield services company to monitor and control several hundred remote unmanned sites.

Inmarsat distribution partner Stratos Global and its channel partner Zedi Inc., a specialist in end-to-end management of oil and gas operations, are installing the IP-based network at the customer’s sites. The network will enable the customer to monitor and control its worldwide sites from its global operations center.

With the expanded remote site management capability made available by the network, the customer will be able to monitor critical technologies used in the oil and gas industry, such as electrical submersible pumps and downhole pressure and temperature gauges. The deployment will be expanded to include progressive cavity pumps and other upstream facilities. This network will replace the end-user’s older-generation Inmarsat GAN mobile packet data service.

Satellite BGAN ideal for remote site management

BGAN uses highly portable, lightweight terminals to provide simultaneous, high-speed IP data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world. BGAN satellite service is ideally suited to enable communications in areas where terrestrial or cellular networks are damaged, congested, or non-existent.

The BGAN satellite SCADA service uses the reliable Inmarsat I4 satellites operating in the L-band frequency, which are proven to withstand rain fade and other environmental factors.

Ruggedized BGAN

The network uses Addvalue’s Sabre Ranger, a ruggedized, compact BGAN terminal developed by Addvalue in partnership with Stratos and the end-user. The SABRE Ranger terminal is specifically designed for permanent fixed-site deployment and 24/7 network connectivity . It’s designed to withstand all environmental challenges associated with remote SCADA applications and to reliably transmit mission-critical data to the user’s corporate headquarters from hard-to-reach locations.

Secure portal

In this deployment, the BGAN satellite terminals are connected to the Zedi Intelligent Network, which delivers highly reliable and accurate data to the desktop via Zedi Access, a secure web portal. By using Zedi Access, the customer is able to make better-informed decisions and manage more wells.

Groundbreaking deployment

“This groundbreaking global deployment is the result of a strategic partnership between Stratos, Zedi, Addvalue and the end-user that included nearly two years of rigorous testing,” said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. “Before this deployment, BGAN-based SCADA networks of this scale did not exist.”

Live news of miners’ rescue relies on BGAN connectivity

The whole world has been focused on the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for more than two months. Many of us who watched these events unfold via the internet and our televisions were able to do so from the pit-head via BGAN….broadband global area network – mobile satellite communications.

The BGAN Satellite System provided news teams the ability to send both live and store-and-forward video reports of the rescue operation from the mine in Chile’s remote Atacama desert – a remote location that made BGAN the perfect portable satellite internet solution.

Inmarsat was able to re-allocate spot beam capacity because of the high demand of usage amongst the various news crews on the scene.

Network Reliability

According to John Stoltz, director of media sales at GMPCS, they were confident about deployment in Chile because of how successful BGAN was in Haiti earlier in the year.

“Using our BGAN terminals and the BGAN X-Stream service, our news network clients were able to broadcast from a very remote area where satellite trucks and the internet are not readily available,” he said.

Main equipment

“It was fantastic to witness the Chilean miners’ rescue live via Inmarsat.”

Some of the networks used as many as three terminals – often with BGAN as their main equipment, John reported.

The BGAN X Stream service which was used by most of the news channels not transmitting 24 hours a day experienced 384kbps up to 450kbps data speeds while streaming the events live.

FTP site

“Typically journalists sent recorded video footage to an FTP site before doing a live report to the camera,” explained John.

“Power wasn’t much of an issue as generators and in some cases AC mains were available. If not, the BGAN’s internal battery could give at least an hour of power, which was enough to send a clip or do a live shot.”

HumaniNet, a non-profit humanitarian service provider supported RedeTV, the first 3D network in Brazil using the Inmarsat satellites.

HumaniNet’s executive director Greg Swanson said: “News and media organizations need the same level of equipment used by relief workers in emergencies to provide essential information to the outside world.

“This helps raise awareness of the disaster worldwide, leading to a better understanding of what’s needed to help victims, increased donations, and a keener interest in preparedness for future events.

“Enabling networks to broadcast quickly and completely, with on-premise audio and video services, is a win for everyone – and most of all in this case, the trapped miners.”

The Project “VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge” led two robotic vehicles (solar powered) on an 8,000 mile journey through Eastern Europe, Russia and China without the use of human drivers. Both vehicles were equipped with BGAN Thrane Explorer 727 mobile satellite communication terminals that transmitted the trek via live satellite video. Also on board were solar powered laser scanners and seven video cameras for the purposes of detecting and avoiding obstacles. This project was funded partly by the European Research Council.

The project manager Professor Alberto Broggi of VisLab says the goal was to show that modern technology is evolved enough for deployment of non-polluting, non-oil based “robotic driven” vehicles. Live Video streaming as well as store-and-forward video, blogs and photos were sent to the VisLab website via BGAN satellite connectivity. Professor Broggi also shared “We also used BGAN for uploading the GPS position and vehicle data on to our website, to transfer short segments of code, and to make short phone calls”

The purpose of the first robotic car was to experiment with camera sensing, decision making and feasibility to manage the onboard electronic systems. The second car, without any human intervention, followed the first car’s route successfully to Shanghai where both vehicles would be showcased at the World Expo 2010

Using LaunchPad to align and register your BGAN terminal

To achieve the best signal strength possible, you will need to position your BGAN terminal in the direction of the satellite as accurately as possible for establishing a data connection.

The quality of the service will be compromised should the antenna be pointed in the wrong position which results in a reduction of the quality of service and data rates achievable via the network.

Here are two ways to point the antenna for best results:

1) Depending on which BGAN terminal you are using there will be audio and visual indicators to aid in pointing the terminal properly.

2) Use the launchpad

Use the following steps in BGAN Launchpad to help you point the antenna correctly and to register on the network.

a. The world map available on Launchpad interface will show your given location and help in pointing the terminal:

* There will be a drop down menu on map which you must select the nearest city of your current location. Your location will be indicated by a red dot.

* Below the map is an area which will help you to choose what Satellite to point your BGAN terminal to (Americas, Asia-Pacific, EMEA).

* You can choose 1 of 2 satellites that can be accessed from your location with affiliated angles and elevation. You may find that one satellite has a stronger signal due to lack of obstructions such as trees, mountains and buildings.

b. The more the sound increases the better the signal strength. You will also be able to see visually the number of bars on the Launchpad is increasing in bars the greater the reception.

c. When the maximum signal strength is obtained, click “Register with the network now” The BGAN terminal will attempt to make a connection. You will see the following screen when the connection to the network has been successfully established.

The BGAN terminal is now ready to use with the Inmarsat network.

Isat Phone Pro Satellite phone ideal for Worldwide Crisis Deployment

Emergency communications aid agency Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) have adopted Inmarsat’s new handheld satellite phone for worldwide deployment in crisis zones. Currently being used in Haiti and Indonesia, in the wake of the natural disasters in those countries, the Isat Phone Pro satellite phone is being praised for it’s outstanding voice quality and worldwide coverage. The IsatPhone Pro is an integral part of three emergency telecom kits being routinely deployed by the country’s national emergency response teams as they undertake to control the deadly cholera outbreak that has hit the country following January’s devastating earthquake.

TSF teams have also extensively employed the IsatPhone Pro satellite telephone throughout Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands in the aftermath of the tsunami that claimed hundreds of lives in that country last October. The lack of telecommunications on those impoverished islands has further prompted TSF to permanently maintain their presence there, in partnership with the European Union, in order to establish an emergency response system for use in any future natural disasters.

TSF’s Myriam Annette is quoted as saying: “An additional 14 IsatPhone Pro handsets will be deployed in the next few weeks to help Indonesia’s national disaster management agency and non-governmental organizations, which are still working to help the population in the very poor Mentawai Islands. The satellite phones will be included in emergency telecoms kits also containing BGAN equipment to enable relief workers to stay connected with coordinating bodies in Padang and Jakarta.”

Annette goes on to say that “Our staff is unanimous – the service is excellent in terms of voice quality and global coverage,” noting that the TSF also plans to purchase additional quantities of IsatPhone Pro satellite telephones for allocation to its bases in France, Thailand and Nicaragua. “The IsatPhone Pro will now be systematically integrated into all our operations.”

The Inmarsat-2 F1 which was launched off aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta rocket on Oct 30th 1990, was only supposed to be in orbit for a decade however the life of the satellite has extended into its third decade of service.

The F1 which was designed and built out by the British Aerospace and Hughes (US) was one of 4 Inmarsat Satellites launched in the nineties to provide world telecommunications solutions.

The sole purpose of the F1 was to serve the maritime market specifically the shipping sector coverage millions of miles of territory at the time. Inmarsat’s chief technology officer and program manager of the Inmarsat 2 Gene Jilg, says he is not surprised at the life cycle of the satellite.

“The Inmarsat-2 design was robust, the contractors were diligent and competent, and Inmarsat carefully monitored the program. The satellites have stood the test of time,” he said.

To find out more about International Satellite Services, visit us on the web at www.issi-us.net or call 888-511-3403

Oil and gas support vessels to benefit from comms upgrade

Bourbon Offshore, a division of the Bourbon Group headquartered in France, operates in 30 countries with 388 offshore vessels at sea and a further 111 on order. Recently Bourbon ordered the Thrane & Thrane FleetBroadband 500 for installation on 25 of its offshore oil and gas support vessels, a move designed to upgrade their ship-to-shore capabilities to state-of the-art real time satellite communications technology. Specifically, the FBB Sailor 500 will be installed on 25 new platform supply vessels and anchor handling tugs being built at Sino Pacific Shipyards in Dayang and Zheijang, China.

Having originally decided to go with the earlier version Fleet 77 marine satellite internet system, the decision was made to upgrade to the Fleetbroadband 500 instead, allowing Bourbon to take advantage of the Sailor 500’s superior feature set (functionality) and the inherent significant cost savings over the Fleet 77.

“Inmarsat Fleet has served the marine and offshore sectors well. It made the best use of satellite technology available and enabled real use of internet at sea,” a satellite communications spokesman said. “This has provided tangible benefits to users, but the huge jump in bandwidth provided by FleetBroadband (Sailor series terminals) enables a next generation of offshore vessel applications.”

Thrane & Thrane business development director Mike Kellner said it was vital operators chose not only a solution that can withstand the harsh offshore environment, but also one which benefits from a strong support network. Kellnor added: “As the project to supply SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband for Bourbon Offshore’s ‘newbuildings’ demonstrates, a foundation of reliable feature-rich hardware is vital, but the support and customer focus behind it is important too.”