It’s easy to picture oilfield workers staying in touch via
two-way radios if the nearest cell tower is a hundred miles away. It’s not so easy to visualize the sophisticated data-communication networks that keep today’s oilfields safe and productive.
A recent white paper from Motorola Solutions notes that an oil rig can generate a terabyte of data in a single day — enough to fill 20 high-resolution Blu-ray DVDs. These data demands illustrate the rise of what Motorola Solutions calls the “digital oilfield,” which relies on internet protocol (IP) networks, high-tech sensors, two-way radios and advanced wireless technologies.
In the white paper “Improving Safety and Productivity in Oil and Gas Operations,” Motorola Solutions notes that oil demand is expected to increase by more than one-third over the next 20 years. Though the fourth quarter of 2014 saw an oil supply glut that has pushed prices lower, industry