INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
Petrobras plans to connect a 5G system on 29 production platforms by 2024
To make a fifth-generation connection possible , the company is installing a fiber optic network of more than 1,600 km in the Campos and Santos basins in Brazil .
Petrobras , a Brazilian oil company , plans to enable the 5G system in 29 production platforms in the Campos and Santos basins and 17 onshore units by 2024 , including refineries , gas treatment units and ports .
The expectation is to increase the speed of data transmission dozens of times , boosting remote operations and real-time monitoring technologies in confined environments , besides leveraging Augmented Reality ( AR ), Mixed Reality and the Internet of Things ( IoT ), among other advances .
The first results of the expansion of connectivity in the company are already beginning to appear with the implementation , in progress , of 4G LTE ( Long Term Evolution ) private networks and the leap will occur , in a second stage , with the activation of 5G in a further evolution of the 4G LTE standard .
Optical fiber network
To provide data transmission coverage and enable 5G operation in the offshore environment , the company is installing an extensive fiber optic infrastructure , which will have more than 1,600 km along the Campos and Santos basins in Brazil .
The network is being installed from Praia Grande , on the coast of São Paulo , and the works are expected to be completed by the end of 2023 .
Onshore , Petrobras plans to install 5G in 17 units under its operation , including refineries , gas processing units ( GPUs ), thermoelectric plants , ports , warehouses and corporate environments , in addition to its research and innovation center ( Cenpes , in Portuguese ).
With the fifth-generation network , the purpose is to increase the remote control of drones and robots anywhere in industrial plants , both in onshore and offshore environments , as well as expand the digitization of processes and reduce the exposure of professionals to risk .
Boosting the Internet of Things
In addition to onshore platforms and systems , Petrobras intends to extend 5G to mobile units , the Maintenance and Safety Unit ( MSU ) and support vessels . With 5G , the company expects to increase process efficiency , reduce costs , raise operational safety , obtain more data extracted from field operations and accelerate decision making .
According to a study from McKinsey , the combination of 5G and LEO ( Low Earth Orbit ) satellites can generate gains of up to US $ 70 billion for the global oil and gas industry in the coming years .
At Petrobras , 5G will also drive state-ofthe-art innovations , such as the Internet of Things . Furthermore , Petrobras already has a series of ongoing projects gathered at its Center for Excellence in IIOT ( Industrial Internet of Things ).
At this center , the company ’ s specialists are focused on developing the various aspects of IIoT , such as industrial data governance , architecture , security and standards , aimed at developing projects for sensors for predicting equipment failures , applications for remote monitoring and image processing . p
64 INTELLIGENTCIO LATAM www . intelligentcio . com