6 minute read
Managing latency and congestion for improved performance
Charbel Khneisser, regional director – technical sales, META at Riverbed, outlines how oil and gas companies can overcome the negative impact of latency and congestion.
Remote workforces have exacerbated latency, congestion and bandwidth issues.
TO SUPPORT THE remote locations of exploration sites and rigs, oil and gas companies have vast Internet networks. The isolated nature of these sites often means that normal Internet connections are impossible. As a consequence, oil and gas companies are often heavily reliant on VSAT (satellite) links that are often plagued with very high delay and limited ability to expand the volume of information that can be shared over the connection. The result? Oil and gas companies frequently suffer from disconnects and performance challenges that cause frustration for employees and project managers. This, in turn, can mean drilling production is slowed, which leads to costly penalty payments. Furthermore, these issues are now being exacerbated by additional congestion on networks caused by employees ‘working-from-anywhere’ and shifting to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. This can further result in slowed production time and possible financial damage.
It is therefore paramount for oil and gas companies to take control of managing latency and congestion in order to maximise performance for their business. But how do oil and gas companies go about this? The answer lies in end-to-end visibility, performance measurement, and the acceleration of applications.
The test of remote working
In March 2020, oil and gas companies, along with the rest of the world, were forced to completely change the way they operated and communicated. They not only faced some employees operating on rigs or sites in extremely remote locations but also entire workforces working from home, on multiple devices. Systems had to be rapidly implemented to enable communication across all of these varied locations. Companies were forced to quickly embrace collaboration technology to ensure entire remote workforces remained connected.
To overcome the disruptions brought on from having to work remotely from home, oil and gas companies aggressively turned to SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365 and moved to more cloud-based systems. In fact, SaaS technology is expected to account for more than 50% of global cloud services revenue in the energy sector by 2024. As employees were unable to travel to and from rigs and exploration site locations, these solutions became essential for communication and business continuity. Armed with SaaS solutions, dispersed workforces could effectively communicate, keep production lines flowing and remain in contact with coworkers as they adapted to virtual interactions.
However, the fully remote workforce exacerbated the latency, congestion and bandwidth issues oil and gas companies were already facing. Massive strain was being placed on network links as an increased number of employees operated on them, using bandwidth-heavy SaaS applications. As a result, oil and gas companies faced frequent network disconnections and outages, leaving users frustrated and the wider business facing detrimental financial damage. For example, one day of downtime caused by unreliable
connectivity can cost up to US$1mn a day in rig rental costs.
All this presented major challenges for oil and gas IT teams. They had to manage a huge wave of applications and devices that were now on the network – all with a complete lack of sight over who and what was happening at any moment, and were left to rely on users flagging issues. To help resolve these issues and manage latency and congestion, many Riverbed customers turned to performance management tools and SaaS acceleration solutions.
Visibility and optimisation in energy
The starting point for improving bandwidth and latency is to invest in network performance management solutions. Riverbed works with customers to collect and analyse data coming in from every application, across every device in use. Equipped with the resulting insights, IT teams can identify any problems that are occurring and implement application performance actions to rectify them. This in turn means that downtime can be reduced and productivity can be maximised for the benefit of both users and the business as a whole.
One large oil company opted to deploy SaaS accelerator tools to maintain efficient lines of communications between rigs, offshore platforms and land-based offices. The organisation implemented Microsoft 365, but due to the remote business outposts, connections were delayed and performance issues hampered employee productivity. By introducing a SaaS acceleration solution from Riverbed, the customer was able to achieve data reduction of up to 60%, resulting in Microsoft 365 operating much quicker as the data took up less capacity. Not to mention troubleshooting network inhibitors such as high latency and congestion. This had twofold benefits. It ensured issues could be quickly found and resolved so employees could operate efficiently, increase production, and achieve bonuses. In addition, by providing connectivity for entertainment such as TV and films as well as calls to families, employee morale was maintained.
Putting latency and congestion issues in the past
As evidenced from the last 18 months, having the right technology in place to support employees in even the most remote locations is critical to the success of oil and gas companies. However, implementing the right SaaS applications isn’t enough – these applications need to work effectively. By adopting solutions that enhance network visibility and maximise application performance, companies can successfully manage and overcome the negative impact of latency and congestion. As a result, they can operate with the assurance that employee productivity is maintained while innovation and growth continue. With SaaS applications and the right tools in place to support them with both end-to-end visibility and performance, oil and gas companies will be able to thrive in remote locations. n
PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER SATELLITE-ENABLED IOT SERVICES TO OIL AND GAS OPERATORS
INMARSAT, THE GLOBAL, mobile satellite communications provider, has announced a new distribution partnership with Libyan telecoms operator, Rawafed Libya for Telecommunications and Technology (RLTT).
RLTT’s specialist “Digital Oilfields” business unit will use Inmarsat’s ELERA enabled satellite the partnership will provide satelliteservices – IsatData Pro and BGAN – based data services to oil and gas to provide secure, satellite-based companies operating in Libya. data services to oil and gas companies operating in Libya, including real-time infrastructure monitoring and telematics.
Digital Oilfields provides always-on, remote telematic and CCTV monitoring of vital infrastructure, including wellheads at oil and gas drilling sites and production sites across Libya. The services are delivered through Inmarsat’s ELERA L-band connectivity network and benefit from ultrareliable 99.9% availability, security and small-form, robust terminals.
The RLTT Digital Oilfields unit plans to expand its satellite-based offering to Libya’s oil and gas companies with the addition of pipeline monitoring, plus vehicle telemetry, tracking, and fleet management.
“Oil and gas production is Libya’s number one industry,” said Taha Ellafi, chairman at RLTT. “Operators across the country are digitalising their operations to increase efficiency and output and improve on-site safety and security for staff. Our new partnership with Inmarsat puts RLTT in an excellent position to take full advantage of this growth opportunity. Working with Inmarsat, we can provide remote security monitoring to drilling and production facilities across the country – including inaccessible locations beyond the reach of terrestrial fixed and mobile networks.”
Image Credit : Adobe Stock
