Virtual Reality in the Energy Sector – Achieving Net Zero

Virtual Reality (VR) can help?oil and gas enterprises on their contribution to meeting climate change obligations through the optimisation of maintenance routines, education of stakeholders, and adequate training of the workforce to prevent major accidents. The promotion of sustainable development and combating climate change are focal points for planning, analysis and decision making in the energy sector. Accounting for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, the sector is a key contributor to climate change. Methane, which is the main component of natural gas and often a byproduct of oil and gas production, is the second-largest contributor among greenhouse gasses after CO2. In 2019, it accounted for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the US.?

During COP26, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposal to reduce methane emissions by around 41 million tons by 2035, an amount compared to taking about 200 million cars off the road for a year. Unfortunately, many stakeholders involved in this global challenge have either never visited an oil installation or do not spend much time there. Methane emissions are an invisible odorless threat, but being on an oil rig for example, provides a greater level of awareness.

As the digitisation of oilfields continues to grow in popularity, VR technologies can be applied in several ways by oil and gas companies to address climate change. VR solutions have improved over the past few years, are readily available, and easy to deploy to support critical operations in the sector. The following highlight how VR can be applied to optimise oil and gas operations, and reduce carbon footprint:

Optimised Maintenance Routines

VR can help reduce intermittent flaring through improved leak detection and repair. Some simple activities like closing a thief hatch on top of an oil tank can have such a great impact in reducing methane emissions. The same experience in VR demonstrates the ease and benefits of the modest but vital action. Gadgets like portable analysers or optical gas imaging cameras can be used by field teams to simulate detection and quantification of leaks as they walk around an oil and gas facility in VR, using a VR headset and our ROVR treadmill. Our social VR platform enables co-located or geographically separated teams to train together in VR with oversight from an expert joining from a PC.

Stakeholder/Consumer Education and Enablement

Explaining concepts like Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) to the uninitiated, as well as highlighting the environmental effects of CO2 emissions can be difficult, but it is important to gain widespread support for these initiatives. ROVR Systems background with experiential marketing for Wells Fargo, shows that VR offers compelling and memorable experiences to enlighten large numbers of people.

VR experiential learning on carbon capture, storage and utilisation in general, Waste Heat Recovery (WHR), and Direct Air Capture (DAC) can gain the added advantage of people having experienced a VR message, going on to provide personal advocacy to friends and family, adding force to the message.

VR can educate more effectively and with better retention than any TV advert or lecture, why carbon capture, and the many Greening routes, are a crucial part of climate action, and what businesses hope to achieve by offering cleaner products/solutions to support global emission targets.

VR creates lasting memories through storytelling and makes key topics and concepts more relatable. Imagine being transported to a CCUS facility that otherwise you would be unable to visit. VR represents scale true to real-life, not possible via any other medium. A similarly complex topic presented through ROVR VR, gained 74.6% of users positively advocating to friends and family and 95% went on to talk about the experience.

Major Accident Hazard

Although significant advances have been made with plant and procedures, the release of hydrocarbons continues to pose a major threat in the oil and gas sector both from a safety and climate change standpoint. VR provides an immersive environment for learning and training, allowing users to experience major hazards without having to be physically present in real, hazardous environments. Trainees can walk through scenarios depictive of actual hydrocarbon release events, providing full engagement and understanding of the leading circumstances. This memorable experience allows for reflection on the lessons learned, and guards against complacency which is typical of monotonous safety procedures.

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ROVR Systems are keen on working with the oil and gas industry in a number of ways to catalyse, fast-track, and scale innovative solutions for optimising maintenance, training, and education through VR. We work closely with our customers to create novel experiences that resonate with any audience. Our turnkey VR solutions do not only provide a means of navigating VR in natural/intuitive ways, but also offer tailored and realistic content in 3D with spatial audio. Contact us today: [email protected]

ROVR SYSTEMS - https://www.rovr.systems