How should infrastructure design differ between an FPSO and an onshore facility? 

Successful hazardous area digitalization depends on more than connectivity. It requires infrastructure designed around: 

• Physical constraints 

• Operational objectives 

• Long-term data strategy. 

The right infrastructure enables a range of operational benefits, from asset monitoring and environmental sensing to improved visibility of people and equipment across the site; ultimately driving effective hazardous area digitalization. 

An FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel) demands dense, reflection-aware infrastructure within a confined footprint. 

Onshore facilities may require scalable, long-range connectivity across large geographic areas where site-wide coverage is needed. However, some use cases are limited to specific zones and do not require full-site connectivity. The scale of the wireless deployment should be defined by the use case and operational requirements of the site. These differences directly shape how infrastructure must be designed in each environment. 

FPSO: High-Density Infrastructure in a Confined Space 

Wireless deployment on an FPSO and similar offshore facilities (e.g. oil rigs and platforms) is defined by congestion. 

Steel structures are tightly packed. Walkways are narrow. Equipment is layered across multiple decks. This creates: 

• Significant RF reflections and multipath interference 

• Limited mounting options 

• Short transmission distances 

• High infrastructure density within a compact area.

Because coverage distances are short, shorter-range technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are often well suited for sensor networks and indoor positioning. BLE infrastructure can be deployed at higher density within compact space, supporting worker safety and equipment monitoring. 

Wi-Fi remains important for bandwidth-heavy applications and backhaul, but interference management and antenna positioning are critical. 

Mounting strategy is therefore a key design consideration. Limited installation space and complex structures require flexible, adaptable deployment options. 

Solutions such as our EXgate360, a Zone 1 enclosure for access points, radios and gateways, enable standard industrial wireless hardware to be installed directly within hazardous areas. In the confined, high-density environment of an FPSO, the use of stainless-steel construction ensures durability in harsh, high-salt offshore conditions. Its compact design and flexible mounting options support deployment in space-constrained, structurally complex areas. 

It supports: 

• Wall mounting along process structures 

• Installation on ceilings or overhead structures where appropriate 

• Adjustable orientation for optimized RF coverage. 

As a vendor-agnostic enclosure, EXgate360 allows operators to deploy their preferred wireless hardware both in hazardous and safe areas, ensuring offshore infrastructure can adapt as digital requirements evolve. 

In these environments, infrastructure design is not just about achieving coverage. It must also support the specific operational applications required offshore. One of the most critical is location and visibility; understanding where personnel are within a complex, multi-level structure. 

 FPSO: Infrastructure Design for Accurate Indoor Positioning  

GPS performs well on fixed, onshore sites where locations can be mapped to a static physical area. On an FPSO, however, the vessel itself is constantly moving, and personnel operate within steel-dense, multi-level structures.  

As a result, GPS offers little operational value, as it cannot reliably determine deck level or internal position. For applications such as personnel visibility, knowing that someone is “on the vessel” is not enough. Operators need to know exactly which area, zone, or muster point a person has reached. 

Offshore RTLS (Real Time Location System) is built around indoor positioning technologies such as Wi-Fi and BLE, which calculate location relative to installed infrastructure. The focus is internal accuracy, not coordinates. 

Onshore: Designing for Scale and Infrastructure Requirements  

Onshore hazardous area deployments present a distinct set of infrastructure challenges. Unlike offshore environments, sites are often distributed across large geographic areas, with operations spanning multiple process zones and a mix of indoor and outdoor environments. 

As a result, wireless infrastructure must be designed to: 

• Deliver reliable coverage across wide and complex sites 

• Support both indoor and outdoor environments seamlessly 

• Enable connectivity for a diverse range of devices, from sensors to mobile equipment 

• Scale to accommodate evolving digital systems and applications. 

In this context, network architecture and antenna placement are critical to ensuring consistent, site-wide performance. 

Infrastructure Layers: Connectivity and Positioning  

Supporting this type of environment requires two complementary infrastructure layers: 

• Connectivity infrastructure: Enables data transmission across the site. 

• Positioning infrastructure: Enables location awareness of personnel and assets where required. 

These layers are often deployed together but perform distinct roles within the overall system. 

Connectivity Infrastructure 

Connectivity technologies form the backbone of the system, enabling data to move reliably across the site. Some examples include: 

• Wi-Fi provides high-bandwidth connectivity for applications requiring real-time data exchange, typically within defined areas or process units. 

• LoRaWAN enables low-power, long-range communication, supporting distributed devices such as sensors across large areas. 

In practice, multiple connectivity technologies are often combined to ensure both coverage and performance across different parts of the site. 

Positioning Infrastructure  

Positioning infrastructure can be introduced where location visibility adds operational value. 

• GPS provides location data in outdoor environments across wide areas. 

• Location technologies such as BLE and Wi-Fi can deliver more precise positioning in indoor environments. 

These technologies determine location, while the underlying connectivity infrastructure enables that data to be communicated and used within wider systems. 

Deploying a Unified Onshore Infrastructure  

To achieve full site coverage, onshore deployments typically adopt a hybrid infrastructure approach, combining connectivity and positioning technologies into a single, cohesive system. 

Where location-based capabilities are required, this approach allows visibility to be maintained as assets or personnel move between different environments. The specific architecture will depend on site layout, environmental constraints, and system requirements. 

Infrastructure Strategy: Offshore vs Onshore 

Offshore: Systems are typically self-contained. On-premise infrastructure ensures resilience for safety-critical applications. 

Onshore: Centralized or cloud-based platforms are more common. Data can be aggregated to support reporting, analytics, and predictive maintenance across the enterprise.

Designing The Right Infrastructure Around Your Environment 

Offshore and onshore facilities have different requirements, but the objective is the same: safer operations, better visibility, and improved efficiency. The key is engineering the wireless infrastructure to suit the environment from the outset. 

Our certified hardware supports scalable wireless deployments that enable digitalization in hazardous areas. Contact us to discuss your wireless infrastructure. 

About the Author

JE

James Eastwood

Product Manager

James brings experience from engineering and sales into his role as a product manager. His mix of technical understanding and commercial perspective supports the strategic development of our market-leading products.

Last updated on April 20, 2026

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