RigNet, a global provider of remote managed offshore communications systems to the oil and gas industry, announced on Monday, that it has signed an agreement with O3b Networks to bring high capacity, low latency connectivity to operations in the Gulf of Mexico. This agreement has the goal of providing mission-critical connectivity to the offshore market through the deployment of O3bEnergy’s service system designed for remote-site offshore energy operators.
O3b Energy uses heritage technology with Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites to offer an alternative to laying expensive fiber cables or high-latency geostationary satellite connectivity.
According to RigNet, MEO satellites orbit much closer to the earth than traditional satellites providing much lower latency for better performance. The company also claims this solution brings lower cost, faster connectivity that allows offshore crews to use thin-clients for cloud applications that were difficult to use with high latency traditional geostationary satellite connections.
Simon Maher , Vice President, Enterprise, O3b Networks said: “In the past, getting low-latency, high capacity and affordable connectivity into offshore environments has been quite a challenge for energy operators. Not only will O3bEnergy support critical voice communications and operational control systems, it will also provide improved data capabilities that will boost morale of offshore workers to help them stay connected socially, as well.”
This announcement comes after RigNet received a five-year contract to connect two deepwater tension-leg production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico via a satellite and wireless network on November 20, 2015.
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