The oil and gas industry faces unique challenges, ranging from staffing shortages to rising costs to safety concerns.

This will be old news if you work in the sector. So here's a fresh newsflash for you: our extended reality (XR) technology can help overcome many of these issues – at least indirectly.

It's a bold claim, sure. Of course, XR can't do everything – and we'd never claim it could.

It can't magically fix fluctuating market prices, or somehow make sustainability targets easier to hit. But it can give you the tools you need to better address industry challenges.

Investing in XR means investing in your staff. It means helping them collaborate across great distances, access effective training and carry out processes more efficiently and accurately.

For you, this means a more productive, connected and informed workforce – a workforce that's equipped to solve problems faster than ever before.

But this is all abstract chit-chat. We know you're here for solutions.

Let's take a look at a few.

XR can connect global workers

One of the most fruitful use cases for XR is enabling remote collaboration and assistance. The technology has the power to bring global employees together and facilitate fast, seamless knowledge sharing.

This is useful for businesses across many sectors. But it's the oil and gas industry that – arguably – is set to benefit most.

After all, for most industries being "remote" means working in another part of the country or an office overseas. Oil workers might literally be "over sea" on an oil rig. Or they could be at a drilling site in a far-flung corner of the planet.

Then you have to consider that expertise is in short supply. If you require specialist help, you might have to fly in an expert from another country at great expense and inconvenience.

Now imagine that none of these roadblocks existed. Picture a reality where field workers could contact experts instantly and enjoy instant assistance – no travel necessary.

You don't have to think hard, because XR devices are already making it happen.

All you need to do is equip staff with assisted reality (aR) headsets or smart glasses. These devices work like powerful, head-mounted tablets, complete with front-facing cameras, microphones and miniature screens. In other words, everything you need to join video calls.

Wearing these headsets, staff can dial into experts and stream high-quality "see-what-I-see" video from just about anywhere on the planet. Your remote specialist can join using just about any web-enabled device, and deliver step-by-step instructions to address the issue.

You save on travel costs, problems get fixed faster, and costly mistakes are all but eliminated. Win-win-win!

XR can make health and safety easier to manage

Remote assistance isn't just about fixing problems. It can reduce the impact of staffing issues too, by allowing one specialist staff member to focus their attention on multiple sites.

Take health and safety inspections, for instance. Using aR devices, inspections can be carried out remotely – you just need an on-site worker to be the "eyes and ears" of the inspector.

This means improved productivity and huge potential cost savings. Instead of stationing individual health and safety experts at each site – or ferrying them between locations – you can empower one specialist to do it all.

If this sounds fantastical, consider this: we've already made it happen.

We helped engineering firm Soletanche Bachy conduct health and safety inspections remotely when the COVID-19 pandemic put restrictions on long-distance travel.

Using aR headsets and our best-in-class video collaboration software, the company was able to preserve a visual link with on-site staff and maintain excellent health and safety standards.

But this wasn't just a quick fix for uncertain times. Soletanche Bachy planned to continue using the technology, even after the pandemic.

"Once life gets back to normal, we’ll return to site – perhaps less often", a spokesperson said, "but managing safety will simply be easier and better than before as we have a tool in place to improve visibility, dialogue and collaboration".

XR can improve training delivery and outcomes

You don't need us to tell you twice. There are major skills deficiencies in the oil and gas industry. Bridging these gaps is a major challenge for firms right now.

There are numerous reasons for this, not least that it's tricky to deliver effective training.

Take the difficult task of educating engineers, for a start. Not only do they need to be taught how to work with specialist machinery, but this equipment is often located in challenging and high-risk environments.

To make matters more complicated, once they're in these environments it can be hard to access the support they need to do their jobs effectively. This can lead to complacency and error.

That's why tech-dependent companies are increasingly turning to augmented reality (AR) devices to assist in training delivery.

These devices have a unique power – they can overlay realistic virtual objects on top of real-world environments. For instance, they can conjure up any piece of machinery, right there in the training room – or even manifest 3D tools that you can pick up and interact with.

It's easy to see how this can have positive implications for training. Wearing AR headsets, trainees can engage in realistic training scenarios without risk or travel costs.

Users maintain full awareness of the world around them, too. This means students can interact with colleagues in real time and real space – or, indeed, respond to feedback from tutors.

XR technology can assist with ongoing training delivery too. For example, by providing access to step-by-step repair instructions while keeping engineers' hands free so they can work quickly and safely.

You could even display real-time internet of things data – like sensor read-outs – on top of the machinery it relates to. The possibilities are almost endless.

It's important to note that this isn't science-fiction thinking. Companies like BP, Siemens and Safeway are already using XR to deliver immersive "off-shore" training exercises on land.

And it's not just big-name brands, either. One study found that 40% of SMEs are using AR, VR or both to help improve training outcomes.

This isn't the future, it's the now. Don't get left behind.

Want to see how our devices can benefit other sectors? We've got the info you need – explore more XR technology use cases here.