Oil and gas companies are increasingly using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in their operations in a bid to achieve significant safety and efficiency gains.
Put simply, AR adds digital elements to a live view, often through a hand-held device such as a smartphone or tablet or through AR headsets and glasses.
VR, on the other hand, refers to a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional (3D) environment using special electronic devices, such as special goggles with a screen or gloves fitted with sensors.
There are numerous ways in which AR and VR are applied in the sector, including for planning and training, as well as for maintenance and other support.
Planning and decision making
The success of oil and gas exploration and development can depend heavily on the interpretation of information. With this in mind, VR has proved critical for industry in planning and decision-making by providing an immersive environment to better visualise and interpret sub-surface data and models.
VR gives the user the ability to zoom and view models from different angles and gain detailed insight into structural data such as zones and layers, planned well deviation surveys, logs, reservoir data, faults and horizons. This allows the user to make better decisions when it comes to critical aspects of the development.
Equinor has for several years incorporated VR technology to overcome operational challenges in well planning. Equinor’s VR platform allows drilling engineers, geophysicists, geologists and others to study 3D models of oil and gas reservoirs generated from seismic images using VR headsets.
The 3D vision helps the company’s employees to visualize and study different layers within the formation and identify deposits of oil, gas and water in the reservoir. It also reduces the time to discover new hydrocarbon reserves.
According to an expert at Equinor, the technology allows the collaboration of different individuals, including those from different disciplines, to see the same problem. Moreover, remote collaboration provides the opportunity for experts and teams to evaluate prospects together in real-time.
Upskilling and training
VR and AR are also used to train new personnel and up-skill existing ones. VR allows workers to get ‘hands-on’ with complex and potentially dangerous heavy machinery, as well as experience emergency scenarios, without stepping a single foot on-site.
VR has the added benefits of enabling instructors to view what actions the operator is taking, while allowing them to provide feedback in real-time. Additionally, scenarios which would be too dangerous and expensive to replicate in ‘real-life’ can be undertaken as many times as desired so that workers can gain confidence and hone their skills.
BP uses VR to train field technicians at its refinery in Hull, England. It does so through a unique igloo-shaped VR training facility which projects a photorealistic 3D model of a plant 360 degrees around the walls of the structure.
Using the training facility, field technicians can practice safety critical-tasks, such as safe start-up and emergency shutdown procedures, in virtual production plants.
It further immerses workers through the addition of realistic noises, the creation of steam leaks and other things which a technician might find in a live environment.
The VR training facility can also be integrated with BP’s existing dynamic process simulator and control room simulator, which means that there is potential for the competence of entire shift teams to be assessed by trainers, for greater safety and capability.
Remote maintenance
AR is completely transforming how personnel detect faults and repair machinery. For example, tablet-based systems can be used by maintenance personnel to scan machines to help with troubleshooting. AR glasses also allow personnel access to manuals and detailed instructions interactively while conducting maintenance.
AR technology has the potential to increase operational safety (in case faults were not identified prior to failure) and reduce maintenance cost and duration.
Chevron Corporation has taken advantage of the technology by equipping personnel with AR headsets onto hard hats at its refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The headsets operate as a fully self-contained holographic computer, which enable field personnel to connect with experts located around the world. This allows a remote expert to see exactly what the field-based representative is seeing, and give step-by-step guidance through a resolution, thereby increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
AR headsets also allow users and remote experts to share data in a matter of seconds. They can also ‘draw’ on what they are seeing in full three dimensions.
Chevron’s Lubricants business is currently using AR headsets to ensure quality control and safe operations at its plants in Belgium and in the U.S. At the company’s Louisville plant in the U.S., a team used the technology to scan a specific area of the plant where there were concerns about the safe and effective access for a forklift. The technology helped make things visible which couldn’t be seen otherwise.
Emergency incident response
Chevron is trialling AR technology in another unique way: in 2018, the company’s Australasia business unit’s (ABU) Information Systems team was running field trials with the technology on Western Australia’s Barrow Island to help provide remote expert support.
ABU’s Chief Medical Officer was testing the headset for incident response and tracking people in the event of an emergency. When patients were brought into makeshift treatment areas following an incident, holographic signs above each patient detailed who they were and what was wrong, in efforts to aid emergency medical care and facilitate handover between medical personnel.
The technology stems from NASA’s prior adoption of similar remote collaboration between earth and space on the International Space Station Project.
Looking forward, AR and VR technology is expected to take off in a big way, bringing new value to the oil and gas sector.
According to Ravindra Puranik, Oil and Gas Analyst, GlobalData, the combination of VR with wearable technology opens up enormous possibilities in all the major aspects of oil and gas operations.
“The adoption of VR technology enables companies in improving communication, collaboration and coordination across different functions and thus boosts productivity in operations. In addition, the immersive experiences delivered by VR technology also increases employee engagement and helps in achieving the overall objectives of training programs.”
