Oil & gas sector connectivity demand grows as new services and technology enable operational efficiencies

OSLO/PARIS – Marlink reports a significant boost in demand for more bandwidth and new installations from new energy sector customers and increased activity from its existing customer base at sea and on land. 

Strategically important markets such as the Middle East, America, Africa, Northern Europe and Gulf of Mexico are regions in which Marlink is expanding both in terms of number of activated terminals, satellite connectivity and managed network and IT solutions as well as onsite resources such as sales or in country field service teams.

Within these regions, Marlink has recorded significant year-on-year growth for H1 2019 at 11%, and is projected to be as high as almost 20% by end of year. The increased demand and activity are coming from diverse customers including NOCs and oil majors as well as rig operators and companies providing E&P services.

The growth reflects a healthy recovery in several cost-sensitive oil & gas markets. Key customers have been looking for increasingly sophisticated hybrid connectivity and IT solutions for onshore and offshore operations to drive the digital transformation of oil rigs, drilling and offshore supply vessels, production platforms and FPSO vessels.

Marlink’s portfolio of flexible and scalable satellite connectivity as well as IT solutions are providing a cost-efficient means to i.e., enable the monitoring of complex operations as well as improving welfare for remote workers. Achieving gains in operational performance through Marlink’s connected services is a key support for a return to operation for previously shelved assets.

Additionally, with more processes being performed digitally and remotely than ever before, interest in high-throughput and low-latency hybrid connectivity solutions is growing. These include the projected use of future LEO satellite constellations to further enable cloud-based applications and integrated SD-WAN networks for remote operation.

"Marlink’s energy customers require solutions that support them to optimize efficiency and reduce operational costs,” said Erik Ceuppens, CEO, Marlink Group. “More operators are seeing cloud-based and digital operations as a way to maximize performance when fewer assets and experts are available due to challenging market conditions, which is reflected in the growing demand for our future-proof, managed network infrastructure, the technology we use and services we provide.”