Daily Archives: March 7, 2016
ITC Global Awarded Long-term Contract For Ultra-Deepwater Project in Western Africa
Seven Year Contract Further Expands Long-standing Partnership with Leading Oil and Gas Customer
SION, Switzerland, March 7, 2016 / PRNewswire / — ITC Global, a leading provider of satellite communications to remote and harsh environments, announced today that it has been awarded a multimillion dollar contract to provide remote offshore communications to two floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in Western Africa. The seven-year, $6.5 million contract, awarded by Saipem, is part of the Kaombo Field Development Project in offshore Angola. The ultra-deepwater contract is one of the most significant offshore projects in the world today, dedicated to developing oil deposits spread across six different fields with water depths of 1,400 to 1,900 meters (4,600-6,200 feet).
Saipem is a world leader in drilling services, as well as in the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of pipelines and complex projects in the oil and gas market. Saipem was awarded contracts for the installation and commissioning, and operation and maintenance services for the FPSO vessels, which are owned by leading European-based oil and gas company, Total.
“This award speaks to ITC Global’s reputation for delivering reliable communications for highly complex projects in key geographic regions for our customers across the oil and gas sector,” said Joe Spytek, Chief Executive Officer, ITC Global. “Our customers continue to count on us for their long-term requirements in Western Africa, where we are able to leverage our local presence and expertise.”
The FPSOs will both be outfitted with two C-band stabilized antenna systems, delivering between 5 and 10 Mbps high data rate service to each vessel.
“It’s a great example of what ITC Global can do in the current market environment in terms of partnering with a customer to understand their long-term requirements and developing a solution that still delivers more bandwidth and better performance while providing significant cost efficiencies,” continued Spytek.
In December, ITC Global announced that it had been awarded multiple offshore communications contracts for five separate FPSO vessels operating in the Congo, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. This latest award solidifies ITC Global as one of the industry’s most stable and trusted providers. ITC Global was acquired by Panasonic Corporation in 2015. The organization has a long-term strategy for growth that includes an expanding network portfolio of traditional wide beam, high throughput and extreme high throughput capacity, delivering near 100% uptime with coverage spanning 98% of the world’s most trafficked maritime routes. As the world’s largest buyer of commercial space segment, Panasonic is revolutionizing today’s VSAT market with game-changing pricing and service delivery.
About ITC Global
ITC Global is a leading provider of satellite communications to the energy, mining, and maritime markets. Companies in remote and harsh environments require communications with both global coverage and unwavering customer service. ITC Global enables improved real-time decision-making and enhanced health, safety and environmental management through a unified communications solution, tailored to the requirements of each client. Solutions include custom network design, hardware implementation, field engineering, technical support and enterprise-grade satellite bandwidth. ITC Global operates 24×7 carrier-class networks across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. It became a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation in 2015. For more information, visit www.itcglobal.com.
Contact:
Alix Anne Wright, Director of Global Marketing
awright@itcglobal.com
President Zuma arrives in Nigeria on a State Visit
President Jacob Zuma has today, 07 March 2016, arrived in Abuja, in the Federal Republic of Nigeria on a State Visit, at the invitation of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari. The State Visit is scheduled to take place from 08 to 09 March 2016.
South Africa and Nigeria have good bilateral political, economic and social relations underpinned by strong historical ties dating back from the years of the liberation struggle.
The two countries conduct their bilateral relations through a structured Bi-National Commission (BNC) established in 1999 and have thus signed 34 Bilateral Agreements including Memoranda of Understanding, which are coordinated through the BNC covering a broad range of areas, including trade and investment, science and technology, immigration and consular matters, defence, agriculture, the environment, energy, as well as arts and culture.
To date, there are over 120 South African companies doing business in Nigeria in various sectors, including telecommunications, aviation, tourism, banking, property, retail, entertainment and the fast food industries.
With its large population and vast natural resources, especially oil and gas, Nigeria is South Africa’s key trading partner on the continent, providing significant opportunities for its exports and investments and is ranked 7th in terms of South Africa’s total trade in Africa.
President Zuma is accompanied on the State Visit by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane; Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula; Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies; Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Gigaba, Minister of Energy, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson and Minister of Mineral Resources, Mr Mosebenzi Zwane, as well as a South African business delegation.
Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa
Home Affairs upgrades its system
The Department of Home Affairs has started the next phase of upgrading its Live Capture System.
From Monday to Wednesday, smart ID card and passport services will not be available. Full services will resume on Thursday after testing of enhancements has been completed.
The upgrade will affect only the 142 Home Affairs offices that use the Live Capture System. All other Home Affairs services will be available at offices across the country, including services like issuing of birth, death and marriage certificates.
Changes include updating software to make it compatible with the new changes being made in improving the collection side of smart ID cards and passports, and introducing new developments to the system that will make it easy for clients to access Home Affairs services.
SOURCE: SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT NEWS AGENCY
