Conference Agenda

On several occasions throughout the last five years, oil prices have risen and fallen sharply for reasons often beyond the control of producers. Nobody knows what a ‘traditional economic cycle’ is anymore, or how long it will last. Without stability, how can oil and gas technologists build and complete the long-term projects that aim to not only keep their companies on the cutting edge, but also provide much-needed cost efficiencies? What does this latest economic downturn mean for the adoption of next-generation telecommunications, 5G wireless, and satellite constellations?

The “Comm” in OilComm powers the IoT, M2M, and smart device networks that power the digital oilfield. Integrating data-driven technologies into our operational workflow saves billions in operational costs and enhances the safety of our workforce in the field. How have these technologies performed during one of the most challenging years in our industry’s history? Does COVID-19 change the narrative on the importance of seamless connectivity and contact-less operations? What’s the argument for comms being the most critical investment during a period of crisis?

The COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented. It created an environment where nearly all of our workforce transitioned to a work-from-home environment. This also created new vulnerabilities for our enterprise networks. What lessons did we learn from this world-changing event? How did COVID-19 change the way we approach network security? How do we handle managing networks that include integrated work and consumer devices in an environment we can’t monitor? Which videoconferencing platforms served the industry well during this period? Learn new approaches to manage your network security strategy that accounts for a large, remote workforce.

The FCC just allowed LEO satellite constellation operators to apply for rural and remote broadband funding as “low latency providers.” Some of these constellations are promising what would be the lowest levels of latency ever achieved by communications spacecraft. So, are LEO constellations for real? Can they serve the oil and gas industry as more than just a back-up? And, will the service be affordable? What does the ground segment look like? With recent bankruptcies at several major operators, will the remaining constellations survive? This session will explain the new capabilities that LEO constellations can bring to O&G in 2020 and beyond.

While 5G boasts the ability to support massive machine-type communications for O&G, the present-day use case that will push 5G to the remote edge is Enhanced Mobile Broadband (emBB). This session will explore successful deployments of emBB to the edge, including details on costs, standards, and hardware. This session will also address the reliability of emBB services and what factors into most service disruptions.

The early 2020 oil price drop combined with the COVID-19 shutdown created both challenges and opportunities for oil and gas IT professionals. On the one hand, budget cuts forced everyone to do more with less. On the other hand, the lull in activity creates an opportunity to re-evaluate and perhaps simplify network architectures. Is this the perfect time to re-assess the value of fully managed, software-defined services? Is this the time to simplify and unify your network? This session will address these questions and create a dialog with managed service providers about the evolving needs of the industry.

Our second Cybersecurity Workshop delves into security technologies to protect physical assets. We’ll explore the new capabilities of drones, smart cameras, and sensors and outline their connectivity requirements. We’ll also present some new use cases for asset tracking, as well as how to protect data from health tracking and safety applications used during the pandemic.

We find ourselves at the beginning of a new era for the energy industry. Oil and gas companies are investing heavily in renewable energy. What does this mean for the OilComm community and the technologies we work with? Several barriers must be overcome to effectively integrate renewable generation technologies. Renewable technologies must be cost competitive and meet operational requirements. How should technology providers and O&G industry end-users prepare for this change and create exciting new opportunities?