Satellite services for the energy sector
The energy industry — oil and gas, mining, renewable energy, and utilities — is among the most intensive users of satellite services globally, driven by the remote locations of energy assets and the operational and safety criticality of their communications. Offshore drilling platforms in the middle of the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or South China Sea have no option for terrestrial connectivity; satellite VSAT has been their primary communication medium for decades.
Oil and gas applications
Offshore platforms use satellite VSAT (historically GEO Ku-band, increasingly LEO) for: SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems monitoring pressure, flow rates, and safety systems; crew welfare internet (a significant crew retention factor for extended offshore rotations); video conferencing for operations management; and remote expert support for maintenance. The harsh marine environment requires ruggedised terminals (SOTM-capable for FPSOs — Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels that move slowly) and high availability (oil platform operators typically specify 99.9%+ availability SLAs).
Renewables and smart grid
Wind farm operators use satellite links as a backup to terrestrial connections for SCADA systems — illustrated graphically when the Viasat KA-SAT attack in 2022 disabled remote management of approximately 5,800 Enercon wind turbines in Germany (a cascading effect not directly targeted by the attack). Solar farm monitoring across large agricultural regions in Africa and Asia relies on satellite IoT. Earth observation supports renewable energy site assessment: SAR-derived wind resource maps, optical imagery for solar irradiance analysis, and InSAR for ground stability monitoring at geothermal and hydro sites.