Abdul Aziz Syed, regional sales manager Middle East and North Africa (MENA), for Fotech, a bp launchpad company, has discussed the opportunities for fibre optic monitoring and the challenges he is overcoming through approaches that add in-country value
Fibre optics detect and monitor vibrations, strains and temperature changes in real-time. Thousands of pulses of light are sent along fibre optic cables every second and when these encounter vibrations, strains or temperature changes, the light reflected back changes in what?s called ?backscattering?. The changes ? which could come from a range of sources, such as vehicles being driven, people climbing or digging, leaks, human and animal intrusions or even explosions ? are interpreted by our sophisticated software using advanced algorithms and AI, expained Syed.
In MENA we?re moving away from traditional sectors, such as oil and gas pipelines, and focusing on sectors where we?re seeing real growth. Water pipeline monitoring is a really important application. It?s an area that is close to my heart as the region has serious water stress and fresh water loss is an issue, but fibre optic sensing can detect faults, such as a burst pipe, quickly. There is heavy reliance on desalination plants across the Middle East because of poor groundwater and the infrastructure required to ensure a reliable water supply needs to be monitored more effectively so problems can be detected and remedied without delay.
Yes, definitely. Fotech?s parent company, bp, is making major investments in renewables and there are significant developments in solar and wind power generation in UAE and Saudi Arabia. And in North Africa, Morocco is a major growth market for solar energy, so we see plenty of opportunities there. Indeed, all utilities can benefit from fibre optic monitoring technology because it is a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, unobtrusive way to protect these important assets, Syed further added.
There is so much potential because of the significant investment in rail and metro projects across the MENA region, some of which have been completed and some of which are still underway. Rail investment is critical to smart cities, and fibre optic sensing can monitor everything from possible intruders on rail networks to track faults before they become major hazards.
And road transport is offering exciting new opportunities with autonomous vehicles (AVs) projected to become commonplace in the years ahead. AVs need smart roads, and this is where DAS technology will come into its own.
Airports are like small smart cities. There are businesses, pipelines and infrastructure that need protection, so the opportunities for DAS technology to bolster safety and security are numerous. The customer experience matters in airports too ? DAS can monitor footfall in areas such as duty-free shopping and food courts to help these businesses plan for busier times, as well as to screen for intruders and other hazards.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are our top MENA markets, and they are massive investors in a range of major infrastructure projects, but we are interested in the whole region. Qatar and Kuwait are particularly important, as well as Jordan, especially with its potential for upgrading water infrastructure. The UAE normalising relations with Israel is also beneficial and we are already working with Israeli companies and exploring the scene there, Syed commented.
It is essential that we understand the different markets across the region ? it is a very segmented market with each country having unique needs, so we must tailor the way we work with different clients across ? and even within ? countries. Within the UAE, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are very separate markets even though they are about an hour apart by road.
Clients are focused on the security of their assets, but they don?t want the monitoring to be intrusive. DAS technology is underground, and one cable can provide so much information, while protecting privacy because all data is anonymised. Data is the fuel to transform economies and to enable innovation. We monitor and decode the data in real-time ? it is the peak of information excellence. For many clients, budgets are tight, but fibre optic sensing is cost-effective, concluded Syed.
