By Martin Myraker, Tampnet
In offshore oil and gas, a quiet revolution is underway. It's not driven by concrete or steel, but by data, software and connectivity. As the industry pushes into deeper waters, harsher climates and more complex reservoirs, the future of platform design is shrinking—not expanding.
Take Aker BP’s Hugin A platform as an example. Set to come online in 2027 as part of the Yggdrasil development, it’s built to manage up to 700 million barrels with just 60 beds, which is half the crew required on platforms that started production 10 years ago. Hugin A is also designed for periods of unmanned operation, enabled by a fully digitalized operating model.
With high-quality and high-bandwidth connectivity, the industry can build smarter infrastructure, which is nimbler and more responsive to real-time data. The result is significantly lower capex (e.g., less concrete and steel) and opex (e.g., fewer people offshore), and most importantly, safer operations.
From the platform to the edge
For years, telecoms in offshore environments were simply about keeping in touch via phone calls, emails and video feeds. Today, they are the backbone of a much broader transformation. Edge computing and private 5G networks are allowing oil and gas companies to shift intelligence out to the platforms themselves.
This is what Tampnet has done with its recent deployment of the world’s first offshore 5G edge network on Aker BP’s Edvard Grieg platform. It’s a milestone, not just for connectivity, but for how offshore operations can be run.
With full wireless/5G coverage and on-platform compute, Tampnet enables low-latency data processing right where the work happens. That means real-time condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, remote inspections, and autonomous drones or robots all running in environments far from shore.
Why size matters
In places like the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico/America and Newfoundland, the logistics of getting people on and off platforms are time-consuming, weather-dependent and risky. Helicopter flights are expensive. Storms cause delays. The more tasks that can be done remotely or autonomously, the more resilient and efficient the entire operation becomes.
But to do that safely and reliably, you need a communications infrastructure that matches the ambition. That means private networks that don’t go down when the weather turns or during planned shutdowns. It means edge computing that keeps operations running even without a link to shore. In other words, mission-critical design for mission-critical work.
The old model, where platforms were built bigger to accommodate more people, systems and redundancy, is being replaced. Instead of scaling up on concrete, companies are scaling up on software. Every sensor, drone, pump or valve becomes a node in a connected ecosystem. And as the infrastructure gets smarter, the platforms get smaller and ultimately better.
Aker BP is again an example; they have plans for fully autonomous production platforms within the next 12 to 18 months. These are not satellite tiebacks or testbeds. They’re central production assets, built for the next chapter of offshore energy.
The future is coming fast
The shift from concrete to code is accelerating. And those who embrace it, through smart investments in connectivity, edge computing and secure digital infrastructure, will reduce costs, improve safety, boost uptime and unlock capabilities that were impossible even a decade ago.
The offshore platform of the future won’t be defined by its size but by its intelligence. The race is no longer to build the biggest; it’s to build the smartest.
