The OilComm 2012 exhibition hall opened Wednesday morning to a wide variety of visions for the future of oil and gas communications. Several satellite and telecom service providers, technology developers and value-added services took the opportunity to reach out to an even wider audience this year with the addition of a second OilComm track.
   Speaking from her company’s booth, Harris CapRock Systems Engineer Susan Kawa said that the concept of the digital oilfield is the new reality for oil and gas companies. “This show definitely has a forward-thinking atmosphere,” said Kawa. “The IT professionals in this market are definitely more aware of their options, not only for today, but tomorrow.”
   Just hours earlier, Harris CapRock announced plans to develop a strategic marketing alliance with satellite broadband provider O3b Networks, which will be focused on low-latency exploration and production communications capacities. Harris CapRock plans to add O3b Network’s new O3bEnergy offering to its portfolio for customers in the energy market.
   O3bEnergy hopes to provide oil and gas companies with latencies under 150 milliseconds, unlimited bandwidth and speedy data transfers of up to 2 TBs per day.
   “O3bEnergy will provide fiber-like connectivity to oil and gas platforms and search vessels,” said O3b CCO John Finney. “Oil and gas companies and systems integrators will be able to integrate the low latency satellite offering to get far more from their existing enterprise systems and operational budgets.”
   Orange Business Solutions also made its presence known at the show, offering integration of satellite coverage, VSAT and terrestrial services so that on and offshore sites can be connected directly to a secure IP VPN.
   “Orange is helping oil companies commit to expanding and investing in their future with broadband satellite, microwave and cellular networks, making remote sites no longer quite so remote,” Orange Business Services’ Duncan Seager said. “Companies operating in remote locations face unique challenges due to environment and climate, but have the same needs of less remote businesses, operating more efficiently, being agile and being more productive.”
   RigNet provided lots of its booth space to display technology from its recently acquired subsidiary, Nessco, which designs engineers and deploys turnkey telecommunications integrated networks consisting of fiber optic, microwave and VSAT technology.
   RigNet Vice President of Global Engineering and Operations, Morten Hagland Hansen, who will speak at the event’s closing panel on Thursday, said that innovation in the oil and gas industry has advanced rapidly in the past few years as technology development moves just as quickly.
   "OilComm provides a platform to discuss the evolving requirements for satellite and network services in the future,” said Hansen. “It is a great opportunity to showcase the solutions RigNet provides customers in the field from drilling through production, both offshore and onshore, all around the globe."
   Satellite operators SES, Intelsat, Telesat and Telenor were all on hand to put available satellite capacity – from Ku-band, C-band to Ka-band – on the shopping shelf. All operators that were present on the show floor reported excitement for the opportunities generated with oil and gas exposure.
   Nessco Senior Manager of Satellite Networks Lawson McBay, a customer of SES, said that satellite is making the difference between oil and gas companies retaining and losing their most talented crews. “SES satellites and expertise play a major role in our ability to provide ship crews with seamless connectivity, as they traverse deep ocean waters from one satellite footprint to another,” said McBay. “Access to popular television programming lineups and fast Internet connections are absolutely critical to keeping rig and ship crews happy and in touch with friends, family and colleagues.” Crew welfare and personal connectivity will be a significant theme of OilComm’s panel sessions on Thursday.