by Martin Jarrold
Chief of International Program Development, GVF
Nothing succeeds like success. So goes the maxim. Working, then, from this maxim, the upcoming ‘Oil & Gas Communications: North Africa & the Middle East’ conference—or O&GC3—on June 16th to 17th is certain to be a stimulating event. The conference takes place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Corniche El-Nile, Garden City, Roda Island, Cairo, Egypt, and is focused on the communications imperatives of the key oil & gas industrial vertical.
The success referenced above pertains to the O&GC3 that takes place just five weeks after the highly acclaimed conclusion to the Aberdeen conference ‘Oil & Gas Connectivity: Digital Applications & Communications Dynamics’. This event is also organized by UK-EMP (UK Event Management Partners) with the support of Global VSAT Forum (GVF).
Looking a little further into the future, plans are already in progress to deliver another body of rich conference content in a different location within the global oil & gas patch—namely Southeastern Asia. This particular region is one that offers the exploitation of major new oil & gas discoveries, primarily in offshore environments, and very likely, in hostile deepwater locations. All such discoveries will require the kind of cost-effective, reliable, and scalable communications connectivity solutions that is the subject of debate in Scotland’s self-styled “Energy Capital of Europe”, aptly named due to being immediately adjacent to the hydrocarbon resources beneath the North Sea.
This fact was further validated as the Aberdeen event bought together more than 40 companies from the communications and applications solution provider market together with companies from the oil & gas user community. These included: 3MS Networks, Advantech, Arqiva, Astra Broadband Services, Avanti Communications, Baker Hughes Inc, BHP Biliton Petroleum, BP Exploration, Cameron Oil, Canadian Natural Resources, CapRock Communications, Cisco Systems, Comtech EF Data, Euroconsult, Hermes Datacoms, Intelsat, Kongsberg Intellifield, Macom Consulting, Maersk Contractors, Nera Ltd, Network DNA, Parallel Ltd, Procomsat, Prosafe, Redline Communications, Remote Data Services, RigNet, Schlumberger Information Solutions, Sematron, Skylogic, Talisman Energy, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Thales Security Solutions & Services Division, Total, Union Fenosa Telecomunicaciones, Verizon Business, Vizada, and YR20.
O&GC3 is expected to achieve the same success in Cairo, being similarly organized around a two-day program – one that is designed to be regionally complementary to the earlier conference. The Cairo event has already attracted the registration of sizable delegations from Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest producer, and from Petrojet, a multi-disciplinary, integrated, construction contractor that specializes in petroleum related projects in the North Africa and Middle East regions. Also in attendance will be delegates from International Egyptian Petroleum Company (IEOC), the Eni/Egyptian National Petroleum Company (ENPC) j/v, Dolphin Energy, Ganope Petroleum, Khalda, Suez RBO, and Centurion, amongst others.
Moreover, on the first day of the conference conference delegates will have the distinct privilege of listening to a special feature presentation on the subject of ‘Broadband VSAT Services - New Perspectives for Oil and Gas Applications’ from a representative of Saudi Aramco.
From the solutions provider community the involvement of Schlumberger, Hughes Network Systems, Advantech Satellite Networks, Hermes Datacomms, MobiServe, Caprock Communications, Thales Alenia, Intelsat, Eutelsat, Radyne, Newtech, UDCast, YahSat, Satcom Group, and Paradigm have been confirmed, and still more companies are registering daily.
A series of themed panel sessions, together with a number of “Showcase” presentations, will comprise the Cairo program. In detail, the themes for ‘Oil & Gas Communications: North Africa & the Middle
- Application & Technology Dynamics: From SCADA to Broadband Data Networking – An Overview
- Communications Infrastructures Alternatives in the US$100+ Barrel Environment: Investing in Future Mission Critical Delivery
- Enablers of the 21st Century ‘Digital Oilfield’
- Regulatory & Licensing Solutions: National & Regional Answers in an Oil & Gas Wireless World
- Local & Global Connectivity Links: Fibre & Wireless Factors for Oil & Gas Business
- Integrated Solutions from the First to the Last Mile
- New Training Dynamics for Oil & Gas Communications
- Platform-Technology Neutrality in E&P Applications Development
- Real-Time Remote Collaboration & Operations Support Centre Networking
- Communications Terminals: Installation, Maintenance & Performance Metrics Case Studies
- Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity & Environmental Impact in North African & Middle Eastern Oil & Gas
- The Energy Industries & GVF Market Sector Initiatives
O&GC3 will be an important event on the satellite communications industry calendar. It will provide extended networking opportunities between key leaders of oil & gas companies, the vendors of cutting-edge oil & gas industry applications, and the suppliers of state-of-the-art communications links. The conference will create opportunities for companies in the oil & gas vertical to call upon all ICT solutions providers—terrestrial wireline, wireless, and satellite, in the communications field. These solutions providers together with developers/vendors in the digital applications field will match their offerings more closely to the specific demands and requirements of the oil & gas patch.
The complex interrelationship between oil & gas sector applications supply, and the communications infrastructures required to support and deliver them, will be comprehensively investigated. In addition, the O&GC3 program poses an absolutely central question— how can satellite, and non-satellite, communications solutions help ‘enable the digital oilfield’? The dialogue around this question will go beyond what is implicit in the ‘enabling of the digital oilfield’, which is, the imperative requirement for systems resilience and data security. This in addition to analyzing today’s communications product and service environment in which the players in the solutions vendor community compete to provide for the efficiency and data risk-management needs of the buyers of Digital Oilfield ICT solutions in the E & P environment.
The Cairo dialogue will also consider how the use of different communications platforms are helped, hindered, and determined by geographically determined supply factors. The discussion will also include an analysis of the potential for spectrum allocation conflicts between terrestrial wireless and satellite solutions in different parts of the global oil & gas patch. In combination with the consideration of key regulatory and licensing issues, the Cairo debate will reflect facets of the oil & gas operating environment of North Africa & the Middle East that are quite different to the European environment that was addressed in Aberdeen.
Full information about O&GC3, the full program, speakers, sponsors, venue location, and more, can be found at www.gvf.org. In addition, I can be contacted for information about O&GC3 at martin.jarrold@gvf.org.
Reference copies of speaker presentations from the Aberdeen ‘Oil & Gas Connectivity: Digital Applications & Communications Dynamics’ conference may be downloaded at the above listed site and from the UK_EMP events web archive.