T he first decade of the new millennium has been a stage for the rapid development of wireless communication technologies for low-cost, low-power wireless solutions capable of robust and reliable communication [1]. IEEE Standard 802.15.4 for low-rate wireless personal area networks (WPANs) [2] has been the enabling technology for numerous applications within the field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) [3], and more recently, wireless instrumentation. Although WSNs quickly found their way into a wide variety of applications, the adoption of wireless technology in the process automation and manufacturing industries has been slow. None of the industrial solutions based on standards such as IEEE 802.11 [4], Bluetooth [5], ZigBee [6], and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) over low-power wireless personal area networks (6LoWPAN) [7] have yet to achieve a breakthrough as

The paper provides a study on the use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in refineries, petrochemicals, underwater development facilities, and oil and gas platforms. The work focuses on networks that monitor the production process, to either prevent or detect health and safety issues or to enhance production. WSN applications offer great opportunities for production optimization where the use of wired counterparts may prove to be prohibitive. They can be used to remotely monitor pipelines, natural gas leaks, corrosion, H2S, equipment condition, and real-time reservoir status. Data gathered by such devices enables new insights into plant operation and innovative solutions that aids the oil, gas and resources industries in improving platform safety, optimizing operations, preventing problems, tolerating errors, and reducing operating costs. In this paper, we survey a number of WSN applications in oil, gas and resources industry operations.

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11.08.14 KB. Republished to add published version OA pape

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