TWO SAUDI Aramco onshore sites will be linked to 10 offshore oil production platforms when a 250 km underwater communications upgrade is completed in the Safaniya, Zuluf and Marjan fields.

The new system will become part of the company's telecommunications infrastructure, and is the first in a series of projects which will eventually replace all analogue microwave systems with broadband fiber optic systems.

The project, which officials say is ahead of schedule, is being carried out mostly underwater and will serve about 750 people onshore and offshore, bringing the offshore workers into the Internet age, the company says.

The system will be able to provide user interfaces for much faster data transmission speeds. It will have the capability to provide user interfaces for data transmission at speeds kilobits and megabits (million bits) per second, with an overall capacity of 2.5 gigabits (billion bits) per second, compared with current user interfaces of only 4.8 kilobits (thousand bits) per second with a total capacity of 1.4 megabits per second.

Operational efficiency will be enhanced by the system's capacity to reliably provide field data when required.

Cable for the project, which was cut to size in Norway, comprises sections from 5km to 80km in length, and is being laid by a new vessel mobilised specifically for the project.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco Marjan Offshore Producing Division (MOPD) recently successfully upgraded two of three power generation units at Marjan gas oil separation plant no. 2 (GOSP-2).

According to the company, Unit D and E control systems were upgraded and major mechanical work completed on Unit E. Each is designed to produce 20 MW, thereby ensuring smooth operations at the GOSP around the clock.

The upgrades were carried out in-house, whereas similar control system upgrades are normally carried out by vendors through capital project funds and by sending equipment abroad.