Communication Network Optimization for Subsea Processing Fields Development

A new generation of subsea equipment on process and power systems have been qualified which requires state-of-the-art technology to support the requirements on communications, safety and reliability. This paper evaluates the communication network requirements for complex subsea processing systems, proposing a comprehensive design basis that covers environmental operation conditions, communication and reliability. A detailed study of the system requirements has been conducted to ensure the most stringent demands would be met. Moreover, this paper proposes a network topology capable of handling the subsea process and power systems. Physical and logical interfaces are taken into consideration for the design using industry standards, modern network interfaces such as fiber optics SFPs and electrical fast Ethernet. Extensive experimental results for electrical Ethernet links and their compliance with the standards and the system requirements are presented in this paper, to assure reliable and suitable communication system. The performed tests cover the physical and data link layers of fast Ethernet.