Telecommunications and network company Paratus and wireless communications company Ceragon Networks have signed a multi-year agreement to provide high-capacity wireless offshore communication solutions to the oil and gas industry in Angola, Mozambique and Namibia.

The agreement effectively combines Ceragon’s world-class stabilising technology for offshore assets, including rigs and or floating production storage and offloading platforms (FPSOs), with the Paratus onshore network infrastructure to give customers an unequalled service for the fast and secure transmission of vital data.

The Ceragon technology connects offshore floating, rotating and/or navigating infrastructure via a uniquely stabilised live microwave link over distances of up to 100 km offshore to the Paratus pan-African network to provide unparalleled high-quality connectivity.

“For oil and gas companies that have offshore infrastructure, high levels of risk prevail in a harsh oceanic environment, making reliable and resilient communications infrastructure an imperative. Reliable communications are needed to keep onshore monitors in constant contact with their offshore facilities.

“The communications equipment needs not only to withstand corrosion and difficult conditions, but also meet ever-increasing safety regulations, when, for example, operating the equipment in highly explosive environments. Ceragon has an in-house certified solution that complies with ATEX Zone 1 and 2 specifications, and fully meets these stringent safety requirements," the companies said in a statement.

“By partnering with Ceragon, we will now be able to provide best-in-class solutions for offshore operations that need high capacity to transmit data at high speed and with low latency,” said Paratus Group CTO Rolf Mendelsohn.

“Having worked with Ceragon for many years in Angola, this was a natural and logical evolution of our working relationship. Our newly upskilled technical teams are now working with the Ceragon technicians to deliver this world-class solution in Southern Africa, which signals a sea-change for the oil and gas industries in Africa,” he averred.

“With this partnership agreement, we are once again strengthening and enhancing the Paratus offering in Africa and realising our goals to transform the continent through excellent infrastructure and customer service. This is not only good news for us as partners but also for our customers in the energy sector in Africa,” he added.

“This fusion of two players in which the combined strengths of both operators will be offered as a compelling solution for any energy or mining company that has offshore assets and needs to communicate, monitor, and survey their equipment and data at any time,” commented Ceragon oil and gas global sales manager Adam Torry.

“While our tried and tested stabilising equipment for the offshore environment has been successfully deployed in other parts of the world, this agreement is a first for Africa.

"Critically, energy companies prefer to work with one supplier for a solution of this complexity rather than multiple service providers, and this agreement means that we can fulfil that requirement and offer a one-stop shop for operators in the African oil and gas industry,” he said.