TotalEnergies has upgraded the OT network on its North Sea oil and gas platforms with next-generation infrastructure from Allied Telesis, working with its channel partner, Process Safety Solutions (PSS).
The new network comprises multiple dual redundant networks, interconnected among three oil and gas platforms. They serve over 400 nodes and the platforms’ Distributed Control System, Emergency Shutdown Safety Instrumented System, Fire and Gas Safety Instrumented System, Electrical Control System, Multi Phase Pump Control System and Alarm Management System.
The upgrade project included more than 200 items of Allied Telesis hardware installed in 18 equipment rooms across three platforms located approximately 500 kilometres north of Aberdeen off the Scottish coast.
With the legacy network experiencing component failures and concerns over availability of spares as well as concerns over support for the ageing infrastructure, Allied Telesis believes they have provided TotalEnergies with a reliable, supportable and secure network for the remaining asset life.
The customer is extremely happy,” says Myles Gowen, Systems Manager at PSS. “We did a post-project review with them, and they were just full of praise.”
Chris Dyke, Sales Director UK & Ireland at Allied Telesis explains that “The TotalEnergies upgrade was a complex project, secured following a competitive evaluation thanks to the technical strength and cost-effectiveness of our Allied Telesis solution along with the quality of our pre-sales engineering support team”.
Cybersecurity baked-in
The new network vastly improves cybersecurity for the oil platforms. The Allied Telesis equipment allows for system hardening in-line with IEC 62443, providing enhanced security including VLAN segregation, port blocking, and dedicated management ports.
There is physical access control as well. Media converters and racks are utilised to extend the Emergency Shutdown Safety Instrumented System and Fire and Gas Safety Instrumented System peer to peer communication networks between the various offshore modules.
Allied Telesis will be appearing at The Security Event 2024, on stand 5/P95. You can read more news from The Security Event 2024 here.
