The oil and gas industry has always faced varied risks concerning physically challenging environments, regulations, politics, fluctuating markets and safety, to name a few. And today, the challenge is all the more complex than ever. In order to cope with these challenges, more and more companies in this industry are taking the help of new technologies, especially augmented reality AR) and virtual reality (VR).
What exactly are VR and AR? Well, both of these technologies offer virtual visualizations and allow us to see things that are not actually there. However, there are different. While AR overlays digital elements onto the physical world using a tablet or a headset, VR, on the other hand, immerses the user in a virtual surrounding and shuts the physical world out.
Today, AR and VR are revolutionizing the oil and gas industry and are helping to cope with the challenges faced there. In this post, we’ll make you aware of all the challenges faced in this industry, along with the solutions provides by these two technologies.
- Malfunctioning machinery detection
This is one of the major challenges that are faced by the oil and gas industry. Tons of machines run at the same time and for long hours. This makes it extremely difficult to check the condition of those machines. There may be times when minor technical glitches go unnoticed, leading to the breakdown of the machinery or when they malfunction. The solution? AR glasses. Information on the machines’ working status is collected by the sensors that are embedded on every machine. If the maintenance officer is wearing AR glasses, then the information will be displayed on their glass screen, enabling them to move their head in the desired direction. They will get to know the exact failure points along with the ways to deal and fix those problems – all displayed on their glass screens.
- Training
Did you know that the oil and gas industry spends most of its money in upskilling the employers and training the newcomers? They need to be trained on how to deal with a dangerous scenario, operate machinery and escape from a hazardous situation well, before they enter a mine. In the past, the freshers used to have limited hands-on experience, as most of the training was theoretical. But now, Freshers can sense and feel the actual environment – all thanks to virtual reality! A virtual replica of the site can be created, along with a rig and also the refinery units. This way, they can learn in a faster way, thereby reducing the costs to a great extent.
- Safety
Working in a gas or an oil field is, no doubt, risky. Improving the safety standards is a continuous process in the oil and gas industry. Harmful chemicals and powerful monitoring of equipment can be hazardous to the lives of the people who work there. So, in order to keep a check on the sites, the supervisors of the facility should always be on high alert mode. In case there is a fire explosion at the site, they should help the workers exit safely. And this task, in such a chaotic situation, is really difficult. Here come AR glasses to the rescue! If the supervisors have those glasses, they can easily identify the nearest exit route displayed on their glass screens, thereby assisting the workers to exit through the nearest point.
- Remote aid
In the oil and gas industry, the upstream segment involves the exploration as well as the production of natural gas and crude oil. And most of their installation units are located in remote places, which are not only risky, but also complicated to operate. The maintenance cost is also too high. Virtual reality is like a blessing to these problems faced in the oil and gas industry. With the help of VR, the rig workers can become familiar with the environment before actually visiting the offshore locations. They can even zoom out and zoom in according to their requirement and get accurate details on the units that are installed in those locations.
Do you have a business in the oil and gas industry? Do you want to take help of AR and VR to improve your productivity, thereby reducing the risks and costs? Digital Aptech can help! Call us now!
