The working environment aboard offshore drilling and production facilities is tough enough on fixed machinery and on drill string or wellhead equipment. But it can be extremely harmful to electronics and communications instrumentation, as well.
On both mobile drilling rigs and fixed or floating production facilities, corrosive fluids often spatter everything in sight, seeping into the tiniest crevice or oozing behind the tightest protective panel. What’s more, the ambient atmosphere - either outside or inside closed spaces - is laced with salty moisture paired with oilfield chemical vapors. Conventional fixed desktop computers are easily damaged under such conditions. But laptops, with their ease of portability, are even more vulnerable.
That’s why Stone Energy Corp., Lafayette, LA, recently decommissioned its conventional laptop units to equip its Gulf of Mexico area operations staff with Panasonic Toughbook notebook computers.
According to Stone Energy officials, the company had experienced frequent expensive and interruptive repair issues with the older PC equipment. Major selling points for deploying the Toughbook CF-29 wireless notebook unit were its tight seal to dirt, dust and moisture, its daylight-readable LCD, magnesium alloy case, shock-mounted hard drive and long-lasting battery.
Supplied by Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., a unit of Panasonic Corp. of North America, the Toughbook 29 notebook is built with the severest conditions in mind. Designed for reliable and safe operation in practically any field environment, it is particularly suitable for offshore petroleum operations.
The wash-down-breakdown connection
According to Dave Kennedy, Stone Energy’s IT director, the company’s less-than-favorable experience with laptops aboard drilling rigs was a telling factor. He explained that in addition to the overall salty, vapor-laden environment around the rig, drilling crews often conduct saltwater wash-downs of the drill floor, where engineers often take laptops for making on-site calculations. In so doing, he said, their laptops often get drenched.
“We had a high laptop turnover rate, so I looked into Toughbooks,” Kennedy said matter-of-factly.
The Toughbook 29, which offers integrated wireless and a built-in touch screen, fit the company’s requirements, he said.
“Our guys can go from one job to the next and know that their notebook will work the same, exact way,” he said. “They also know they can take the Toughbooks down to the drill floor to record information rather than having to do it by hand. The special screen makes data input a breeze. The offshore guys live and die by the touchscreen.”
And because Toughbook 29s are Class 1, Division II-certified, they can be taken where other portable computers can’t be, he said. Of particular benefit is its wireless access to telemetry inside downhole drill string tools.
“Having the Toughbook connected wirelessly to information systems behind the drill bit facilitates real-time decision making,” he said. “That information can be translated into an accelerated completion of operations and, therefore, huge cost savings.”
Thell Gillis, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co. business development manager, agrees. “When combined with industry software solutions from Panasonic partners, Toughbook-users achieve reliable access to mission-critical data to help improve accuracy, reduce man-hours and increase productivity.”
In addition to the industry proven Toughbook 29, the company also offers the Toughbook CF-18 convertible tablet and its new Toughbook Wireless Display, a light (2.6 lb.), rugged device that can connect wirelessly with other computer resources within 300 ft, such as with fixed computers located inside closed compartments aboard drilling rigs.
According to Gillis, Toughbooks are engineered to provide access to all current wireless technologies, including CDMA 1xRTT, GMS/GPRS, EV-DO, EDGE and HSDPA. They incorporate the Intel Centrino chipset for seamless connectivity t local networks, and can be configured with Bluetooth technology for connection to local printers, headsets and networks. Toughbooks also offer optional integrated GPR antennae.
Toughbook powers up despite Katrina’s mud
“Such tools are important in streamlining and improving overall offshore operations,” said Gillis. “Getting computers out of the doghouse and closer to the action improves accuracy and real-time decision making. Toughbooks have proven that they’re up to the test.”
As proof of meeting offshore challenges, Stone Energy’s Kennedy recalls one Toughbook’s journey through the ravages of Hurricane Katrina as the storm bullied her way across the central Gulf Coast in late August 2005. The notebook was in use at one of the company’s onshore staging centers.
“It was sitting on the desk of the foreman’s office when Katrina hit,” he recalls. “The desk floated out into the warehouse and the Toughbook slid off into 18 in. of mud. We found it there, and out of morbid curiosity, we hit the power button. And it powered right up.”
Panasonic Computer Solutions has delivered reliable, durable mobile solutions through its Toughbook line for some 14 years, expanding the boundaries of wireless technology through a broad portfolio of products ranging from fully rugged, industrial-strength notebook and tablet PCs to thin and light, semi-rugged notebooks. Its corporate parent company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., and its subsidiaries control the entire process of design, manufacture, quality assurance, service and support.
Panasonic Toughbooks are recognized for having the lowest failure rates in the industry. Government, industrial and commercial users - fromFortune 1000 companies to small businesses - rely on solutions from Panasonic, wherever their work takes them.
For more information on Panasonic Toughbook notebook PCs, contact Panasonic Computer Solutions Co. on the Internet atwww.panasonic.com/toughbook. The email address is [email protected]. The toll-free telephone number is 800-662-3537, option 5.
