Stavanger: The severe belt tightening by offshore players is having knock-on effects for many service providers including Tampnet, the Norwegian firm which operates the largest offshore high capacity communication network in the world in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Tampnet serves more than 240 oil and gas platforms, FPSOs and exploration rigs. Its managing director Per Helge Svensson admits: “There will be a pressure on cost and a number of upgrades and projects will be postponed.”
Furthermore, he says some fields will move into the decommissioning phase sooner than anticipated.
Nevertheless, he hopes that with the shift towards 4G Tampnet can continue to grow its revenues.
“Our main challenge is to build coverage soon enough, as there is a definite pull in the market. Installations offshore are complicated, costly and need to adhere to the very stringent operational, safety and technical requirements of the oil companies. Furthermore, we are always faced with the restrictions on bed space on the platforms where base stations are installed,” Svensson concludes.
