Shell Oil Company has operations in some of the harshest environments in the world. Their technical procedures and robust operations can be difficult to explain, especially to a broad community-based audience. It is challenging to bring interested parties onsite due to logistics, safety, time and weather. How can Shell bring this first-person oil rig experience to everyone? In 2015, Shell hired the team at 900lbs of Creative to produce an immersive and educational virtual experience that is part of a scalable and multi-phase program.
The Experience
The 900lbs team had to study hours of safety and procedural courses in order to travel to our first rig, in the Permian Basin. Using our custom 360° spherical video capabilities, we produced a way to virtually transport Shell’s clients and the general community to the rig through an iPad. Once the user selects a vantage point from a diverse range of locations, they are able to move the tablet around in 360 degrees, watching the oil operations unfold around them, as if walking around the rig themselves. We created layered interactive touch points that appear above important machinery or stages in the process that launch traditional videos providing more in-depth information in both English and Spanish. The mobility of this experience has enabled Shell to bring their operations to trade shows, events, town hall meetings and industry conferences all over the world. New rig locations, languages, and more interactive layers are just the beginning of this scalable experience.
