Marlink subsidiary ITC Global will perform satellite communications upgrades for Shelf Drilling, which the company has worked with since 2014.
The first upgrade involves implementing a software-defined network management (SD-WAN) service across Shelf’s fleet of 36 jackup rigs. The second upgrade will include installing the high bandwidth, low latency Starlink service on certain rigs operating in the Mediterranean and the North Sea.
Over the past decade, Marlink said Shelf Drilling has progressively enhanced its satellite network. The latest initiative will add Low Earth Orbit (LEO) services, including Starlink, where regional regulations allow.
Rigs chosen for the Starlink upgrade should benefit from improved crew welfare and enhanced communications.
The SD-WAN solution for the full Shelf fleet involves optimizing and managing network traffic to ensure high throughput and low latency. The goal is to combine guaranteed bandwidth services with technology advances to support digitalization and seamless offshore connectivity.
Starlink, serving as a secondary communications channel, will support usage onboard the rigs.
Alexandre de Luca, Marlink's president of Energy, Enterprise & Government, said, “Our hybrid solutions provide the certainty and predictability that drilling operators need to meet the needs of their operational teams, clients and crew.”
