Vår Energi AS, operator of the Goliat field in the Barents Sea, announced Thursday it has entered into an agreement with Telenor Maritime to equip the field with 2G and 4G networks, in an effort to improve safety and emergency response capability in the region.
Installation of the equipment on the Goliat floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit will commence in the second quarter of 2019, with an expected completion third quarter same year. The deal also includes supporting vessels to the Goliat license and other users in the area, within approximately 70 kilometers of the Goliat field.
According to Asbjørn Skoge, Asset Manager Barents Sea in Vår Energi, the agreement will enhance network reliability on the Goliat field. “Other offshore activities will benefit from improved safety and emergency response due to the mobile network coverage available for people at sea,” Skoge explained.
Lars Erik Lunøe, CEO in Telenor Maritime said the firm already operates mobile 4G networks on the Norwegian continental shelf. “We are building on the experiences made from delivering tailor-made mobile solutions in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea, as we expand our businesses into the arctic waters of the Barents Sea,” he said.
“Mobile operators and technology have through time transformed how businesses operate. A state of the art high-speed 4G network will facilitate Vår Energi to carry out even more innovation and efficiency improvement on the Goliat field, benefiting from high-speed mobile coverage, with improved communications between offshore installation and supply vessel. Low latency, high capacity, stability and available wireless communication will promote the industry’s opportunities for integrated operations,” Lunøe said.
“As operator of the Goliat field, we are dedicated to taking corporate social responsibility in regions where we operate. Major ripple effects in the northern region have taken place as an effect of the Goliat development, and we expect to retain substantial ripple effects due to ongoing operations and future maintenance activities. In this case, we are content with the mobile communications services creating a safer environment for people offshore, including the fishing fleet and growing tourism industry,” Skoge said.
In periods with production shut down such as turnarounds or other activities, the network may be impacted, but the objective is to keep the networks’ uptime as high as possible.