Communication needs of oil and gas companies

Communication needs of oil and gas companies

Some industries just cannot operate from a single location.

Unlike geographically centralized industries such as the
garment industry, many heavy industries need operations in many
different areas, often spanning thousands of kilometers from
their headquarters. The oil and gas industry is a very good
example.

Oil and gas companies may have dozens, even hundreds, of sites
where they conduct exploration to find new reserves and extract
deposits. They operate onshore as well as offshore, work nonstop
day and night in the middle of wild jungles as well as in the
middle of raging seas, far away from the comforts of modern
civilization.

Not surprisingly, these companies have tremendous overhead
costs, and must therefore ensure that their operations run as
smoothly as possible. If, for some reason, work is halted for
just one day, the ensuing loss will be staggering. In addition,
there are other amenities and basic needs that must be supplied
regularly as well as on demand, such as food and medication.

Understandably, logistics is the heaviest task at oil and gas
companies. Spare parts should arrive on time to ensure that
operations continue. Meanwhile, field workers are out in the
middle of nowhere for months at a time, and they appreciate being
able to call their families once in a while.

In fact, few other asset-intensive industries have
communication requirements to match those of the oil and gas
industry.

In this era of efficiency, competition and public
accountability, oil and gas companies are hard pressed to find
the most reliable and cost-efficient voice, data and video
communication solutions to link their vast operations -- whether
on a rig in the Java Sea or at a site on the tip of Sumatra -- as
mobility, portability, bandwidth capacity and reliability must be
carefully weighed against costs.

Oil and gas companies need a multi-mode communication service.

One option is to build and operate their own communication
infrastructure. However, this means a significant amount of
resources must be channeled to a non-core business activity. A
more sensible alternative, therefore, is to use the services of a
provider that has everything they require.

They need to partner with a provider that has a comprehensive
range of communication infrastructure, facilities and gadgets,
including mobile phones, leased lines and broadband Internet
access.

Specifically, what are the communication requirements of the
oil and gas industry? They need mobile communication with
extended coverage that include all their areas of operations.
They need all types of communication services, including radio
trucking, paging, text messaging, emergency calls and national
and international roaming.

Oil and gas companies are heavy users of ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning), SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition) and other telemetry applications. Therefore, they
also need services that provide high-speed data communication
support for these systems.

Reliability and speed are crucial in ensuring timely responses
in the event of a crisis, which is not uncommon in the harsh
environment of their operations.

Other services needed include the VPN (Virtual Private
Network) for a secure, remote access to confidential company
data, intranet access from mobile devices and other added-value
services that give them the most bang for their money.

Clearly, they must choose a provider with an extensive
communication package and years of experience in serving this
unique industry, which is one of the main industries that
contribute to the Indonesian economy. -- Zatni Arbi