CUSTOMER: BG TUNISIA

SOLUTION: APRISA SE POINT-TO-POINT

CASE STUDY DIGITAL ACCESS RADIO

DATE: JUNE 2004

APRISA IS HERE
DELIVERING RELIABLE, COST-EFFECTIVE
VOICE, DATA AND VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS
BETWEEN OFFSHORE GAS PLATFORM AND
MAINLAND

BG TUNISIA BOOSTS OFFSHORE COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY

BACKGROUND
With the Miskar gas field in the Gulf of Gabs supplying some 80% of Tunisias gas requirements
and estimated to have enough reserves to meet the countrys needs for around ten years security The distances involved and the system
and continuity of supply are strategically vital. For the operator of the gas field BG Tunisia, therefore, installation here presented a tough
reliable voice, data and video communications between the Miskar offshore platform and its onshore challenge for any transmission system. This
operations are a must. However, with 125 kilometers of sea, highly variable atmospheric conditions region in the south Mediterranean sea also
and large, moving structures to contend with, providing a reliable connection cost-effectively is no typifies the most difficult atmospheric
easy task. conditions in the world.
BG TUNISIA OBJECTIVES Alex Tollenaar, Chief Systems Engineer,
BG Tunisia has a 100 per cent interest in the offshore Miskar gas and condensate field, as well as 4RF Communications.
interests in two exploration permits in the area. Its gas sales contract with the Tunisian State electricity
and gas company, Societ Tunisienne de lElectricit et du Gaz (STEG), gives it the right to supply
over 230 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd). During its lifetime, it is estimated that
the Miskar field will produce more than 700 billion cubic feet of sales gas.

Sixty-two meters under the sea, and 125 kilometers out in the Gulf of Gabs, the Miskar gas field
covers an area of 352 square kilometers. Sour gas from ten wells is sent through a sub-sea pipeline
and processed at the Hannibal plant 20 kilometers south of Sfax.

Gas production parameters at the Miskar platform need to be continuously monitored. This is not
only to ensure successful co-ordination between the offshore platform and the onshore storage and
processing plant, but also to ensure that production targets and contract terms are being met.

Prior to working with 4RF, BG Tunisia was using an analogue radio connection between the Miskar
platform and the coast. This had a maximum data throughput of 9.6 kbit/s, and frequently the dial-
up connection would go down, meaning data would not only travel very slowly, it would frequently
have to be resent. BG Tunisia knew it needed more capacity to provide faster, more reliable data
connectivity for email, web access and applications like enterprise resource planning (ERP), as
well as telemetry and to handle real-time PBX telephony and video communications.
PTO
4RF APPROACH ABOUT 4RF COMMUNICATIONS
4RF needed to employ all its radio engineering expertise to provide BG Tunisia with a solution that SOLUTION LEADERSHIP
would meet all its requirements reliably and cost-effectively. An experienced team from 4RF advised
To ensure 4RF systems remain at
on path engineering, systems design, integration, and frequency planning.
the forefront of point-to-point wireless
There were several tough challenges to overcome. First of all, the gas platform itself is a continuously solutions, were committed to substantial
flexing object: any radio solution would have to be able to cope with the continual movement of the ongoing investment in engineering
sea. Second, the Gulf of Gabs is an area of extreme temperatures: extremely hot during summer expertise and R&D.
days, with much lower temperatures during the night and in winter, giving rise to unusual atmospheric QUALITY ASSURANCE
conditions that alter the curvature effect over the sea and cause significant fading. Third, the
To ensure our products performance
distances involved are long, and there is a limit on the height of metal structures because of safety
is second to none, we invest in high-quality
regulations.
manufacturing and testing resources,
THE SOLUTION leveraging New Zealands engineering
To simplify the engineering task, 4RF deployed a three-hop sea path solution to Miskar, using the expertise and low cost-base.
Ashtart platform and the Isles of Kerkennah for repeater points. Aprisa SE point-to-point digital COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT
microwave radio transmission systems provide these three maritime hops and connect the onshore
To assure your success, our
station at Guebiba Tower to the Hannibal plant and to the public telephone exchange at Sfax.
internationally recognized engineering
Thanks to the Aprisa SE systems carrier-class performance and in-built flexible interfaces, BG and technical expertise is available to
Tunisia is able to combine its voice, data and video traffic efficiently into a common narrowband RF support you via consultancy, business
channel. Telephony and video traffic is carried using fractional E1 interfaces, while the data traffic case advice, network design and path
is carried over a 256 kbit/s Ethernet interface. The Ethernet interface can be easily upgraded to 512 planning. Our worldwide distributor and
kbit/s, or higher, capacity. support infrastructure provides prompt
communication, technical support
As well as delivering the technical solution, 4RF provided commissioning, technical support and
and training.
optimization services to ensure that BG Tunisias solution delivers the best possible performance.
BUSINESS INTEGRITY
THE RESULTS
New Zealand, our home base, has a
BG Tunisia now has a robust, high-capacity link to carry all its voice, data and video traffic between
safe political and financial environment
the Miskar platform and it onshore facilities. Traffic is not only handled faster and more efficiently,
from where we manage our company
it is also less prone to errors thanks to high-gain antennas, transversal adaptive equalizers that
based on international best practice.
boost signal strength, and smart forward error correction (FEC) procedures as well as having 1+1
standby link protection. JUST CALL US
We invite you to tell us about your network
SUMMARY
and what you would like to achieve.
The robust, efficient radio transmission solution provided by 4RF means that BG Tunisia can monitor
Wed be pleased to visit and present our
and manage production at the Miskar platform closely. This enables the company to match production
credentials, table our reference sites and
very precisely with demand, and to ensure that it is meeting its targets and commitments accurately.
testimonials, help you prepare a network
Safety, accessibility and quality of life are also improved for those who work on the platform.
design plan, and demonstrate our solutions.

Guebiba
Repeater

10.2 km 36.7 km

Kerkennah
Hannibal Repeater
Onshore Terminal

51.7 km 4RF COMMUNICATIONS LTD

26 GLOVER ST, NGAURANGA

PO BOX 13-506
Miskar Oil
Platform WELLINGTON 6032
43.7 km NEW ZEALAND

Ashtart TELEPHONE: +64 4 499 6000

Repeater
FACSIMILE: +64 4 473 4447
EMAIL: sales@4rf.com
4RF.COM URL: 4rf.com

Version 1-2. 2004 4RF Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. This document is protected by copyright belonging to 4RF Communications Ltd and may not be reproduced
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