Testing and Private Networks for Oil and Gas

Oil and gas operations depend on wireless communications for worker safety systems, remote monitoring of wellheads and pipelines, emergency shutdown (ESD) and alarm transmission, and coordination of field crews across geographically dispersed assets. In upstream and midstream environments, public cellular coverage is frequently absent or unreliable. A dropped connection in these contexts is not an inconvenience — it can delay a safety-critical response, interrupt monitoring of high-pressure equipment, or leave remote workers without situational awareness.

Key challenges include: physical remoteness placing sites beyond public cellular coverage; hazardous area (ATEX/IECEx/NEC Division) classifications that constrain which wireless equipment can be used; extreme environmental conditions including temperature range, humidity, dust, and vibration; large site footprints requiring coverage across dispersed wellheads, pipelines, and processing equipment; cybersecurity requirements under IEC 624431 that restrict OT connectivity to public networks; and the need to support a mix of low-bandwidth sensor telemetry, high-bandwidth video, and voice communications on the same infrastructure.

TETRA is well-established for voice and narrow-band data but lacks the bandwidth for modern IIoT and video applications. Wi-Fi has range and mobility limitations in large outdoor sites. Satellite connectivity — particularly geostationary — carries significant latency, limited bandwidth, and external infrastructure dependency that makes it unsuitable for real-time control. Private LTE/5G offers licensed-spectrum reliability, broad coverage with fewer nodes, low latency suitable for real-time monitoring and control, and full operational control. Aker BP, Equinor, and other oil and gas operators are among the industrial organisations now deploying private cellular networks.2,3

LTE-M (CAT-M1) and NB-IoT are the dominant cellular IoT standards for low-power oil and gas field instrumentation — including flow meters, pressure transmitters, tank level sensors, and gas detection devices — because of their low power consumption, long range, and small data payload support. Both standards support PSM and eDRX power-saving features, which can extend device battery life to multiple years in the field.4

The Pico5G Series is used to validate cellular-connected sensors and transmitters for wellhead and pipeline monitoring, flow measurement and custody transfer gateways, gas detection and safety shutdown device communications, SCADA endpoints with cellular backhaul, field worker communication terminals and wearables, remote terminal units (RTUs), portable instruments used during commissioning, and emergency response communication hardware. Any device intended for LTE, LTE-M, NB-IoT, or 5G NR operation in the field can be tested against a controlled network in the lab before deployment.

Deploying untested cellular devices to remote or hazardous sites introduces significant cost risk. The Pico5G Series enables teams to identify and resolve connectivity issues — including edge cases like low-power mode reconnection, signal handover behaviour, and failure modes under degraded coverage — in the lab, where changes are fast and inexpensive, before any hardware goes to the field.

The PicoNet is a private LTE/5G small cell solution that integrates radio and core network functionality in a single unit, designed for deployment in environments where public cellular coverage is unavailable or unsuitable. For oil and gas, this includes remote well sites, pipeline monitoring stations, processing plants, offshore platforms, and exploration camps.3 The PicoNet delivers up to 50 MHz bandwidth with 2×2 MIMO and up to 2×10 W transmit power for robust outdoor coverage, supports LTE and 5G NR across a broad range of frequency bands, and runs on Ubuntu OS for edge application deployment. It supports custom frequency configurations to suit local spectrum availability.

Yes. The PicoNet is designed for rapid, flexible deployment — including temporary, mobile, and relocatable configurations. For exploration drilling programmes, pipeline construction corridors, and commissioning activities, the PicoNet can be established quickly to provide communications coverage, then relocated or decommissioned as the project moves forward.

A private PicoNet deployment keeps all network traffic within the operator's own infrastructure — enabling strict access control, traffic segmentation between OT and IT systems, and audit of all device communications. This is directly relevant to the ISA/IEC 62443 framework for industrial cybersecurity,1 which covers oil and gas pipeline and production facilities and provides structured guidance for securing operational technology environments — including requirements for network segmentation, access control, and maintaining the integrity and availability of critical systems.

A low-risk approach begins in the lab: use a Pico5G model to validate the specific devices and sensors planned for the deployment against a controlled LTE/5G network. Once devices are validated, deploy a PicoNet pilot at a single site — a well pad, a compressor station, or a section of pipeline — and measure real-world performance against your operational requirements. Expand to additional sites based on validated results. Nutaq can support each stage with configuration guidance, onsite support, and training. Contact Nutaq for more information.