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Canada’s oil and gas industry often operates in remote areas only accessible to industry workers with appropriate safety training. Many Canadians haven’t had the opportunity to truly see and experience what it’s like at a working oil and gas site. Until now.
Experience the Energy: Take the Tour is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality (VR) tour of multiple oil and gas worksites. You can get up close and see the careers and leading-edge technologies that are transforming the industry.
The VR experience, developed by the PetroLMI Division of Energy Safety Canada shows viewers what it is like to work on seven different sites in the energy industry – from conventional and automated drilling, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), mining and processing facilities to natural gas and liquids pipelines.
Ever been in the doghouse? Likely not like this. Watch a driller operate the controls of an automated drilling rig. See mechanics at work on the largest trucks in the world – trucks that are as long as three small pick-up trucks and equipped with 4,000 horsepower engines. See pipeline technicians at work, monitoring pressure and volume in pipelines and storage terminals and watch a smart pig detect the health of a pipeline.
Photo Courtesy of: Canadian Energy Centre
PetroLMI’s VR experience showcases industry careers and is a promising tool that can help connect students and workers to jobs.
“The VR really opened my eyes to the scope of the industry,” Chelsea Gale, a post-secondary student from Calgary explains. “Growing up in Alberta, I was aware of the oil and gas industry – how much our province relies on it – but I had no idea the variety of roles and the number of workers it takes to develop our resources. It’s amazing.”
The VR experience has been designed with Indigenous Peoples, youth, workers in transition and newcomers to Canada in mind. PetroLMI is currently promoting the VR experience throughout Western Canada, partnering with organizations such as Inside Education and the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth to further educate young people about career options within the industry.
Experience the Energy: Take the Tour is available in English and French. Funding was provided by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program for five of the seven worksites – automated and conventional drilling, mining and SAGD operations as well as a processing plant, while the Province of Alberta, working in partnership with the Government of Canada to provide employment support programs and services, funded the two remaining worksites – liquids and natural gas pipelines.
Addressing the challenge through technology
“The experience makes careers in the energy industry accessible in a way they have never been before, using an emerging learning medium that is proving to be a powerful engagement tool,” says Carol Howes, Vice President of PetroLMI and Communications at Energy Safety Canada. The energy industry is experiencing a period of rapidly changing employment conditions, stemming from the prolonged downturn, which began in late 2014. The evolving industry requires new skills and knowledge to support changes in technologies, and workers don’t have enough information about the shifting requirements. This is one of several tools that PetroLMI is developing to help support the industry and workers.
Take the tour now
Experience the Energy: Take the Tour is available for free through the Oculus Store for the Oculus Go VR headset. It is also available on the PetroLMI website, CareersinOilandGas.com, the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
The Petroleum Labour Market Information (PetroLMI) Division of Energy Safety Canada is a leading resource for labour market information and trends in Canada’s energy industry. PetroLMI specializes in providing oil and gas labour market data and insights, as well as resources for workforce and career planning.
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