Maersk Oil’s animated film, Overcoming the Challenges of Al Shaheen has won international recognition at this year’s World Fest Film in Houston, bagging gold in the corporate communications category.
The film combines real footage with 3D animation, allowing viewers to visualise the complex subsurface geology of Qatar’s largest offshore oilfield, which is hidden some 2,500-3,250 feet below the seabed.
The animation also highlights a number of innovative approaches and technologies that have been used by Maersk Oil and Qatar Petroleum to successfully develop the vast field, which spans 2,214sqkm.
The film has been well received by audiences in Qatar, where it has been used in technical conferences and in universities to explain oil extraction from the
Al Shaheen field, as well as to encourage students to pursue rewarding careers in the energy industry. Since its launch on YouTube in 2015, it has been viewed over 10,000 times.
Lewis Affleck, managing director, Maersk Oil Qatar said: “We’re proud this film has received international recognition for its ability to tell the compelling story of Al Shaheen and to help non-industry audiences to understand the challenges of finding and recovering oil.”
World Fest is one of the oldest and largest film and video competitions in the world and counts George Lucas of Star Wars fame and Oliver Stone, director of Platoon and Wall Street among its award-winning alumni.
This year’s event received more than 4,300 entries from 74 different countries. The film was produced by Myriad Global Media, UK, who specialise in creating cutting-edge productions for the oil and gas sector.
 Overcoming the Challenges of Al Shaheen can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUV1OLM3HCc