Oil and Gas Process Monitoring through Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey

Abstract

Effective measurement and monitoring of certain parameters (temperature, pressure, flow etc) is crucial for the safety and optimization of processes in the Oil and Gas Industry. Wired sensors have been extensively utilized for this purpose but are costly and difficult to deploy and maintain. Wireless S ensor Network (WS N) technology is an emerging alternative that introduces significant benefits in cost, ease of deployment, flexibility and convenience. The impact of WS N is expected to be tremendous in industrial automation owing to a report that projected the deployment of 24 million wireless-enabled sensors and actuators worldwide by 2016. With limited literature on this specific subject matter, this paper presents a critical survey into WS N applications as it directly impacts the Oil and Gas Industry. An overview of WS N is presented, case study applications from literature are highlighted and finally research challenges are discussed.