New Technology in the Oil and Gas Industry

Energy predictions at the turn of the century were dire. The world was looking at a future of limited fossil fuels and an economy where gas would be $10.00 a gallon or higher in the United States.   By now, cars and trucks were supposed to be running on fuel made from plant material, restaurant waste or hydrogen batteries that never need recharging. Electricity was supposed to be generated from solar panels, or wind generated turbines or neighborhood hydrogen power packs. Fossil fuels were to be extinct, a thing of the past.  However, oil and gas companies have used technology to find oil and natural gas reserves so large that worries about running out have all but disappeared. The result of this technology is an abundance of fossil fuels yet to be tapped. Reports estimate that the United States is on track to become one of the world’s largest producer of oil and gas in a few years. Yet, these reserves aren’t limited to Texas, North Dakota and the deep waters (30,000 to 35,000 feet) of the Gulf of Mexico. Overseas, enormous reserves have been found in the deep waters of the North Sea, East and West Africa, Australia, South America and the Mediterranean.

While most view oil and gas rigs as big dumb chunks of steel with “fly by the seat of their pants” rough necks and roustabouts running everything, the amount of computing and data acquisition power aboard as well as the education level of the staff can be shocking. New geological imaging technologies let drillers find oil and gas trapped miles underground and thousands of feet undersea. Land Based oil rigs “walk” from one drill site to the next. And engineers located in Houston, Texas use remote-controlled equipment to drill for oil and gas in locations around the world.

The result of these new technologies has increased the demand for high speed data and increased bandwidth in automation, control and safety systems within the oil and gas markets. During OTC 2013 in Houston, Texas, a technical session was dedicated to the use and demands of fiber optic cable to support these new oil and gas technologies. During this session, white papers were submitted and supported by personnel from Shell, Chevron, Exxon/Mobil, BP, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton and others. The applications for fiber optic cable and harsh environment connectivity were widespread and diverse including:

  • Subsea fiber applications for ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicle) for well inspection
  • High temperature and high pressure fiber optic cable and connectors for down hole monitoring and control ( up to 65,000 feet below sea level).
  • Fiber optic cable and connectivity for Geological Imaging both land based and subsea.
  • Security and monitoring systems including camera systems.
  • Ethernet and industrial networks such as Modbus, Modbus Plus, Profibus and many others for rig automation and control.

The data demands of the oil and gas industry will continue to grow due to the increasing requirements to drill deeper wells in deeper water and longer horizontal drill runs while protecting personnel, the environment and equipment. OCC has products specifically designed for many of these types of EZ-Mate Connectordemanding applications including:

  • EZ-Mate connectors
  • MHC II connectors
  • ABS LSZH B-Series and D-Series Cables
  • NEMA 4X enclosures
  • MARS reels

The oil and gas industry has seen explosive growth in the technology they implore to find, drill, extract, and process these fossil fuels; which makes for a multitude of opportunities for OCC products. If you have questions about specific applications or products to meet the oil and gas industry, please contact us today for assistance!

BICSI Fall 2012 Wrap-Up With Stephen Porach

This week OCC is wrapping up the recent Fall BICSI 2012 Conference in Anaheim, CA. While this show tends to be the smaller of the two conferences that BICSI hosts each year, it did not go without OCC gaining significant attention to the new products we were showcasing.

The first product we showcased was our new Procyon copper solution. The biggest draw to the Procyon copper solution at the conference was its simplistic approach to high-density connectivity. With 48 ports in one rack unit coupled with pre-terminated cable assemblies, the Procyon copper solution was viewed as the simplest copper system to deploy in the data center. Every time we opened the Procyon cabinet, we reinforced OCC’s value to the customer: providing high performing products, reduced labor costs and ease of installation and access.

Our second featured product constantly drew a lot of attention and kept our sales team busy. The new 4G Cellular Distribution system (CDS) certainly brought a lot of people to the booth. It was perfect timing to introduce our new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) product. This was the first BICSI conference where DAS has taken center stage including a technical forum where the audience filled the room beyond capacity. OCC focused on selling the simplicity of our CDS kit, which consists of the CDS unit, antennas and surge suppression. A single customer summed up the general response from the attendees…’I did not know OCC could so easily solve our coverage problems’. In addition, we can supply the cable assemblies, making OCC a one-stop shop for the entire system. Similar to the Procyon solution, OCC promoted the value of the CDS product and how effectively it works within most environments.

Overall, while the show was less attended than most BICSI conferences, the overwhelming response to the products OCC showcased can be easily recognized.

-Submitted by Stephen Porach, Business Development Manager, Enterprise

Features and benefits of OCC’s Quad Box

OCC’s Quad Box provides the ultimate in flexibility and functionality and is ideal for installations requiring minimal downtime.  Take a look at our video to hear more on why OCC’s Quad Box stands out from all the rest:

OCC in the Broadcast Industry

As more people use their living room as their “movie theatre”, the expectations of high quality and high definition signaling and picture have never been greater. As a result, fiber optic technology plays a key role in bringing unparalleled signal integrity from the studio, arena or sporting event to the home.

OCC’s reputation in providing products for harsh environments fits perfectly into the broadcast industry where down time is not acceptable. We have, and continue to provide, the broadcast market with fiber optic cables that are field-tested to withstand the most extreme handling. OCC’s stadium and arena cables are optimized for the rigors of difficult cable pulls, high tensile loading, and severe crush occurrences and can repeatedly endure the abuse associated with the extreme demands in rapid deployment and retrieval applications. Where standard fiber optic cables are likely to fail, OCC’s broadcast cables are particularly well suited to the harsh environment of field-shoots.

In the coming weeks, OCC will be exhibiting several of our broadcast products at the 2012 NAB show in Las Vegas.  Some of these products include our new MHC II connectors, MARS Reels, Cartridge System, and of course OCC’s line of broadcast cables.  With OCC’s cables, broadcasters have a practical and reliable way of reaping the benefits of high capacity data transmission in challenging environments without the delicacy normally associated with traditional fiber optic cables.

Booth Footage From The 2012 BICSI Winter Conference In Orlando, FL

OCC’s Regional Manager, AG Melson, talks with customers about some of the features and benefits of OCC’s new HC cable at the 2012 BICSI Winter Conference in Orlando, FL!

OCC at BICSI 2012

OCC Booth #1111. We hope that everyone who comes by our booth has a chance to talk to our staff about OCC's new Procyon Solution as well as pick up a digital copy of our new catalog which is now available! Like the look of our booth? Leave us a comment and tell us what you like best!

Why Dr. Ian Timmins is Looking Forward to BICSI 2012

Dr. Ian TimmIns is an R & D Engineer for OCC based out of our Asheville facility.  He specializes in the Data Center, Enterprise, Industrial, as well as Mining industries with an emphasis in T1/E1 Connectivity and CDS development.  Ian has worked on CDS installs at various locations  such as hospitals, colleges, and manufacturing facilities during his career and has also been a part of the Data Center Rack Program with K2.

BICSI in Orlando is always the biggest annual trade show for our industry. Each year, everyone looks forward to seeing who’s booth looks best, catching up with old friends, and meeting new ones. These are all great things, but for me, the reason I look forward to BICSI each winter can be summarized in a single phrase – new products.

2012 is an exciting year in our business as technology has evolved to encompass so many more pertinent aspects to product performance. Gone are the days as to which component has the most head room for crosstalk performance. Now, everything from alien crosstalk to thermal analysis using computational fluid dynamics and energy efficiency seems to be a consideration for every component. The emergence of 40/100G Ethernet using MTP connectors has resulted in products that require 6-12 times the fiber count in a single patch cord, while at the same time the number of connectors in a single rack space are increasing. In short, density and cable management have reached unprecidented levels and I am very much looking forward to evaluating how OCC’s R&D efforts, in which I am intimately involved, will compare to the competition. Other areas of emerging importance also include thermal management systems for cabinets, in which similar levels of technology advancement can be anticipated.

OCC has made a tremendous step forward in recent years with new high density products emerging, a cabinet line, and a complete line of both copper and fiber products. This year will see the introduction of a complete data center system, with several distinct innovations across the product line, making BICSI Winter Conference 2012 the best one ever. So make sure you come by our booth and say hello.

See you in Orlando!

Year in Review: Part Three

The new year is here, which means it’s time to choose our last product to feature in our Year in Review blog series.   Although OCC had many exciting new products launched in 2011, our MARS Cartridge System was certainly a big addition to OCC’s line of Modular Advanced Reels products.

The MARS Cartridge System offers the most advanced, self-contained fiber optic reeling system for broadcast, military or deployable communication environments.  That is why we first launched the Cartridge System in September 2011 at DSEi in London, the world’s largest fully integrated defense and security exhibition.  Those who stopped by our booth were amazed at just how lightweight our reels were as well as how easy it was to use and maneuver the Cartridge System.

The Importance of Cable Management

In our previous post, we highlighted some of the great features and benefits of our new Data Center Cabinet that we launched in September of 2011.  Another outstanding feature of our cabinets is the structured cabling system within it. We thought that feature deserved a blog post of its own.

When talking with folks in the IT industry, one of the biggest complaints we heard was the lack of cable management within the cabinets and the headaches associated with dealing with all that cabling.  Sure, it’s great to have a lot of space within a cabinet so that you can accommodate as many cables as you need, but having a bunch of cables with a lack of organization or structure can turn into a nightmare.  OCC’s engineers quickly got to work and developed a cable management system that maximizes space within the cabinet while also keeping all the cables neatly and tightly secured in-place.

Interested in seeing this new cable management system?  You’ll just have to stop by our booth at BICSI’s Winter Conference in Orlando, FL and be one of the first to see our cable management system up-close and personal!

BICSI Fall Conference & Exhibition Wrap-Up

After a fantastic week in Las Vegas for the BICSI Fall Conference and Exhibition, OCC is very pleased to have been part of such a great networking and educational event for those in the Information Technology Systems (ITS) industry.  We had the opportunity to speak with people from all different backgrounds and areas of expertise about our products and solutions as well as to attend various seminars hosted by BICSI that allowed for our staff to learn even more about the trends and upcoming needs of those in the ITS industry.  So what was our favorite aspect of the conference and exhibition?  Talking to all the amazing people who stopped by our booth, of course!

While OCC showcased numerous products and cables in our booth at BICSI, our most talked about product, by far, was our new Data Center Cabinet.  OCC’s new Data Center Cabinet was designed with the customer in mind; from the configuration of the cabinet on the inside to the overall look and customizable colors and styles of the outside.  The OCC Data Center Cabinet, which is one of the most flexible, configurable, and durable cabinets on the market, also features a cable friendly rack with plenty of room to be adjusted to the customers’ particular needs.

By providing innovative products and solutions like the Data Center Cabinet, OCC continues to demonstrate to our customers and potential customers our ability to create and sell a full solution.   Our hope is that our customers will feel confident calling on us in the future as their source for high quality products and solutions for their business needs.  Look for new and exciting network solutions from OCC this February at the BICSI Winter Conference in Orlando, Florida.