The Noble Clyde Boudreaux, an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, will serve as the basis for many of the key sets on James Cameron's upcoming sci-fi action-adventure "Avatar".

ComingSoon.net reports that in the film, the off-world mining colony the actors inhabit will have the look and feel of inner workings of the Boudreaux, and the design team at Cameron's production company Lightstorm visited the rig to learn more about how it is all put together.

During a guided tour of the facility in early June, the design team photographed and videoed almost every aspect of the Boudreaux with the goal of replicating key aspects of the rig's working and living environment in the form of real and virtual sets at a studio in New Zealand.

The movie will utilize a blend of live-action photography and new virtual photorealistic production techniques invented by Cameron's team. "Avatar" will open in theaters on December 18th 2009.