The satellite industry is left to fretfully question the result of a turbulent oil and gas (O&G) market. According to Judson Jacobs, senior director of upstream exploration and production at IHS energy consulting, many oil companies currently still see satellite as too expensive.
“We certainly see oil prices hampering technology investments and tracking this spending, we’ve seen a sharp decline from 2014 to 2015. Both the oilfield service companies and oil companies are spending 15 to 20 percent less on formal research and development. Many companies are cash-stretched right now and are emphasizing the investments that can deliver near-term value,” says Jacobs.
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HTS and MEO: the Market Disruptors?
With the flight of High-Throughput Satellites (HTS), the subsequent more affordable bandwidth and cost-per-bit pricing, there is potential for positive change. One network making this potential more favorable is the Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation introduced by satellite operator O3b.
“There is a growing trend in large energy companies to increase consolidation of upstream and downstream operations in order to increase efficiency. HTS can service both, so again it’s fit for purpose,” says Keith Johnson, senior vice-president of energy at SpeedCast.
Downsizing and the Rise of IO
The financial squeeze on O&G hasn’t just impacted spending on formal research and development; the industry has had a flurry of redundancies, resulting in a loss of expertise. This downsizing will likely see a rise in Integrated Operation (IO) centers followed by increased use of video and telemetry data being transmitted back and forth between the center and the remote asset.
“IoT and the big data it produces are two trends that impact operations and associated communications. The number of connected devices and sensors is expected to grow exponentially in the near future,” says Rolf Berge, chief technology officer at Harris CapRock.
LEO Satellites
Corry Brennan, EMEA sales manager of Simplex at Globalstar, notes that LEO satellite networks offer specific benefits: “Assuming similar ground processing parameters, LEO satellites demonstrate about 10 times less propagation time. In addition to significantly less latency, LEO satellites are also less complex and lighter, making them more economical to launch, operate and replace.”
Due to many O&G installations being in remote and harsh environments, satellite will be the enabling technology as new applications emerge. Where terrestrial can’t reach, satellites are best poised to deliver the connectivity needed in today’s increasingly globalized oil and gas operations. VS
