NDT Simulator & Practical NDT Training in Saudi Arabia

Atlantis built the first-ever online practical NDT simulation portal for practice and hands-on experience, and Saudi Arabia is one of the largest inspection markets that tool can serve. The Atlantis Practical NDT simulator is an immersive, 3D, game-like platform that runs in a browser or app. A technician opens a job in a virtual NDT lab, welding workshop, aircraft hangar, oil and gas site or full-size storage tank, sets up the technique, inspects, records the finding and gets a score as soon as the job is closed. The Kingdom's inspection work is enormous and concentrated: the oil and gas fields, gas plants, refineries and export terminals of the Eastern Province, the petrochemical complexes of Jubail and Yanbu, the Red Sea refining and power coast from Rabigh to Jazan, a fast-growing manufacturing and aerospace base around Riyadh and Jeddah, and giant new construction and shipbuilding projects. Turnarounds are large, crews are multinational and the pressure to show competence before mobilising is high.

This page is the Saudi Arabia hub for Practical NDT. It maps where the Kingdom's NDT work is, which simulator environments match each region, how practice sits alongside the ASNT SNT-TC-1A and ISO 9712 certification that Saudi employers ask for, which regulators matter, and how to arrange a demo. City pages for Dammam and Riyadh carry more local detail.

Where Saudi Arabia's NDT work is, region by region

Short answer: Saudi NDT demand clusters in four areas: the Eastern Province oil, gas and terminal belt from Dammam and Dhahran to Ras Tanura, Abqaiq and Jubail; the Red Sea industrial coast of Yanbu, Rabigh, Jeddah and Jazan; Riyadh and the central region's manufacturing, power and defence industries; and the new giga-projects and maritime yards. Each needs a different mix of methods.

The Eastern Province. This is the heart of Saudi inspection work. Onshore and offshore fields, gas-oil separation plants, the Abqaiq processing facilities, large gas plants, the Ras Tanura refinery and export terminal, and thousands of kilometres of flowlines and trunk pipelines create continuous demand for corrosion monitoring, weld inspection on new construction and modifications, and shutdown inspection of pressure equipment. Newer unconventional gas developments add new plant and pipelines. Dammam, Al Khobar and Dhahran are where most inspection companies, laboratories and contractor offices are based, and where technicians arrive before being sent to site.

Jubail. Jubail Industrial City, administered by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, is one of the largest petrochemical and industrial complexes in the world, with refineries, petrochemical and fertiliser plants, steel and metals plants, desalination and power. Plant turnarounds there are major events that bring in large inspection crews for heat exchangers, columns, reactors, piping and tanks. Nearby, the Ras Al-Khair area hosts mineral processing, a large desalination and power plant and a major new maritime yard for ship and offshore rig building and repair.

Yanbu and the Red Sea coast. Yanbu Industrial City, also under the Royal Commission, combines export refineries, petrochemicals and the western terminus of the cross-country pipelines. Further south, Rabigh has an integrated refining and petrochemical complex, Jeddah has a large port, fuel terminals, power and desalination plants and aircraft maintenance at King Abdulaziz International Airport, and Jazan has a newer refinery and industrial city. Coastal heat and humidity make external corrosion and corrosion under insulation recurring themes.

Riyadh and the central region. Riyadh has a refinery, power plants, a dense fabrication and manufacturing base, and a growing defence and aerospace manufacturing sector supported by national industrial programmes. Many owners, engineering firms and EPC contractors have headquarters or project offices there.

Giga-projects and new industry. Large construction programmes on the Red Sea coast and in the north-west, new industrial cities, renewable energy projects and expanding water infrastructure add structural steel, pipeline and fabrication inspection across the country. Localisation programmes such as Aramco's IKTVA (In-Kingdom Total Value Add) have also brought more manufacturing of valves, pipe, vessels and other equipment into the Kingdom, each with its own inspection needs.

Practical NDT across Saudi cities and industrial areas

Short answer: Dammam and Riyadh already have their own Practical NDT pages. The table below covers those and the Kingdom's other main inspection centres, with the environments and methods that best match local work. Every user can open every environment; the table shows where to start.

Dammam, together with Al Khobar and Dhahran, is the Kingdom's inspection capital. Technicians based here rotate through field facilities, gas plants and pipeline projects, so the Oil & Gas Site environment, with 73 jobs covering weld, corrosion, tube and screening practice, is the core of their practice, and the Storage Tank environment covers terminal and tank-farm surveys. Employers here can also use ASNT training for Dammam employers, Al Khobar training and Level III consulting in Dammam.

Riyadh combines refinery and power plant maintenance with a fast-growing manufacturing base. Fabricators of vessels, structures and pipe spools need PAUT, TOFD and RT weld inspection in the Welding Workshop, while defence and aerospace manufacturers need ET and PT in the Aircraft Hangar and NDT Lab. See also ASNT training in Riyadh and consulting in Riyadh.

Jubail and Ras Al-Khair turnarounds are dominated by exchanger bundles, columns, reactors and alloy piping. IRIS on exchanger tubes and PMI on alloy lines are where many technicians feel least practised, and the Oil & Gas Site environment covers both. New fabrication and shipbuilding add PAUT and TOFD weld inspection. See ASNT training in Jubail.

Ras Tanura and Abqaiq combine large tank farms, terminals and crude processing. The Storage Tank environment, with UT shell thickness surveys and MFL floor screening on a full-size tank, matches terminal work closely, and LRUT screening of long pipe runs suits the pipework between units and jetties.

Yanbu has export refineries and petrochemical plants at the western end of the cross-country pipelines. Turnaround work mirrors Jubail, so IRIS, PMI and corrosion mapping are priorities. See ASNT training in Yanbu.

Jeddah and Rabigh mix refining and petrochemicals with power, desalination, port infrastructure and aircraft maintenance. The Aircraft Hangar environment, with 54 airframe and component jobs, suits aviation technicians, while plant crews use the Oil & Gas Site.

Jazan is newer industry, so construction-phase weld inspection with PAUT, TOFD and RT and PMI on alloy components are the most useful practice.

Environments and methods that match Saudi work

Short answer: the simulator has five environments and twelve methods. In Saudi Arabia the Oil & Gas Site and Storage Tank environments match upstream, gas plant, refinery and terminal work, the Welding Workshop matches construction and fabrication, the Aircraft Hangar matches aviation and defence, and the NDT Lab supports trainees everywhere.

The five workplace environments are the NDT Lab (bench specimens and reference blocks, 52 jobs), the Welding Workshop (weld coupons and fabrication joints, 52 jobs), the Aircraft Hangar (airframe and component inspection, 54 jobs), the Oil & Gas Site (weld, corrosion, tube and screening practice in a process plant, 73 jobs) and the Storage Tank (UT shell thickness surveys and MFL floor screening on a full-size tank). Thirty-three guided lessons cover the fundamentals.

The twelve methods are PT, MT and VT (surface); contact UT, PAUT, TOFD and RT (volumetric); ET and MFL (electromagnetic); and LRUT guided-wave screening, IRIS internal rotary UT for heat-exchanger and boiler tubes, and PMI for alloy verification.

Two methods deserve special mention in the Saudi context. PMI is heavily used in Saudi plants, where alloy verification of piping, fittings and weld metal is a routine requirement in many owners' specifications, and a mix-up of materials in sour or high-temperature service can be serious. Practising instrument use, test-point selection and result recording in the simulator helps new technicians avoid basic errors. Radiography is still widely used on pipeline and plant construction, but sources carry strict licensing and exclusion-zone duties. The simulator lets technicians practise RT technique selection and film or digital image interpretation with no source at all, so radiation protection rules for real exposures do not apply to simulator practice.

Certification, vendor requirements and regulators in Saudi Arabia

Short answer: Saudi employers commonly ask for NDT personnel certified to ASNT SNT-TC-1A or ISO 9712 schemes, and major owners add their own vendor and personnel requirements. Radiation use is regulated by the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission (NRRC). Simulator practice is useful under any of these systems but satisfies none of them.

Personnel certification. Both ASNT SNT-TC-1A employer-based certification and ISO 9712 third-party certification are used across the Kingdom, often side by side in the same company, because inspection contractors serve owners, EPCs and licensors from many countries. Some work also asks for ASNT central certification such as ASNT 9712 (formerly ACCP). Atlantis training is ASNT SNT-TC-1A only, delivered online, live-virtual or onsite at the client's facility; Atlantis does not train for or issue ISO 9712, PCN or other third-party certificates.

Owner and vendor requirements. The major national operators publish their own engineering standards, procedures and contractor quality requirements. Saudi Aramco, for example, issues Saudi Aramco Engineering Standards (SAES) and Engineering Procedures (SAEP) and applies contractual quality requirements to vendors and contractors, including requirements for NDT personnel and procedures. Large petrochemical and utility owners have comparable requirements. These rules are set by each owner and change over time, so inspection companies should work from the current documents their contract names. Atlantis makes no claim of approval or registration with Saudi Aramco or any other owner, and the Atlantis Practical NDT simulator is not an owner-approved qualification.

Radiation regulation. The Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission (NRRC) is the Kingdom's regulator for radiation sources and practices, including industrial radiography. Companies using gamma sources or X-ray equipment need the appropriate licences, trained and authorised personnel and radiation protection programmes. Confirm current licensing requirements with the NRRC before any exposure work.

Codes and standards in daily use. Saudi plants are built and maintained mainly to ASME, API, AWS and NACE/AMPP-based codes, adopted and supplemented by owners' standards, with Saudi Standards (SASO) and ISO standards in some sectors. ASME Section V, Section VIII and B31.3, API 1104 for pipelines, API 650 and 653 for tanks and AWS D1.1 for structures are common reference points. The simulator teaches method skills rather than any one code's acceptance criteria, so a company's Level III sets the acceptance rules its procedures use. Atlantis does not offer API 510, 570 or 653 or CWI training.

For procedure and written-practice support, see NDT consulting in Saudi Arabia; to track ASNT and ISO 9712 certificates side by side, see the Saudi NDT ERP page.

For trainees, working technicians and Level IIIs in Saudi Arabia

Short answer: trainees, including young Saudi technicians joining the industry, use guided lessons and NDT Lab jobs to learn fundamentals; working technicians refresh methods and rare defects between turnarounds; Level IIIs and team leads build scenario sets to benchmark large, multinational crews and spot coverage gaps before mobilising.

New trainees. Saudisation targets and localisation programmes mean many companies are bringing new Saudi technicians into NDT, often straight from technical colleges. The 33 guided lessons give each trainee a structured path through set-up, calibration, scanning and interpretation, and the NDT Lab gives them bench jobs to repeat without tying up a senior technician or a reference block. Time on real specimens can then focus on supervised practice that matters.

Working technicians. A technician who spends a year on pipeline radiography may then be assigned to IRIS on a Jubail turnaround. A tank inspector may need PAUT for the first time on a new project. The simulator lets technicians rehearse a less-used method or a rare defect before the job, in camp, at the office or at home, in a browser or app.

Level IIIs and team leads. Saudi inspection companies often field large crews of mixed nationality, experience and certification background for a single turnaround. A Level III can assign the same scenario set to everyone and compare scores objectively, which helps decide who goes to which unit, which methods need a refresher, and how the crew compares with the previous year's. The results are evidence of readiness to discuss with clients, not a certification.

Practice vs certification

Short answer: Practical NDT is a practice and readiness tool. It is not a certification, it does not issue certificates, it is not an owner or operator approval, and it does not replace the practical examination on real specimens that ASNT SNT-TC-1A written practices or ISO 9712 schemes require.

Under SNT-TC-1A, the employer's written practice sets training, experience and the general, specific and practical examinations, administered under Level III oversight, and the practical exam is performed on real specimens. Under ISO 9712, the certification body sets training, experience and examinations. Owner requirements in Saudi Arabia add their own layers on top. None of these accepts simulator scores as a substitute, and they should not.

What the simulator does is make real exams and real jobs less of a first attempt. A candidate who has set up, scanned and interpreted many virtual flaws arrives at the practical exam with established habits. A technician who has rehearsed a rare defect type is more likely to recognise it on a live unit. Employers should treat scores as one piece of evidence alongside supervised work and formal certification.

Turnarounds, heat and remote sites: why Saudi crews practise virtually

Short answer: Saudi turnarounds bring very large crews together at short notice, field sites are remote and hot, and specimen sets are limited. A browser-based simulator lets technicians practise in camp or at home, lets employers check readiness before mobilising, and takes the learning stage away from live units and radiation sources.

Turnarounds are the first reason. Jubail, Yanbu, Ras Tanura and the gas plants run major shutdowns where inspection crews scale up quickly, often with contract technicians who have not worked together. A short scenario set in the right environment before arrival gives the Level III a fast picture of the crew and gives each technician a refresher in exactly the methods that unit needs.

Remote sites are the second. Technicians in field camps across the Eastern Province or on offshore facilities have long rotations with limited access to labs or specimens. A simulator on a laptop or tablet is available in the evening in camp, between shifts, wherever there is a connection.

Specimens are the third. Flawed specimens are expensive, wear out and quickly become familiar. A library of jobs across five environments keeps practice varied and fair.

Safety is the fourth. Practising radiography technique and interpretation without a source, and tank and plant surveys without heat exposure, working at height or confined-space entry, removes risk from learning. Real work still needs all the usual controls, but technicians arrive with the method rehearsed.

ASNT training, consulting and ERP for Saudi employers

Short answer: beyond the simulator, Atlantis offers Saudi companies ASNT SNT-TC-1A training, Level III consulting and an NDT ERP, delivered online, live-virtual or onsite at the client's facility. There is no Atlantis training centre in the Kingdom.

Saudi employers whose clients specify SNT-TC-1A can use ASNT SNT-TC-1A training in Saudi Arabia for Level I, II and III candidates, led by Anoop Rayavarapu, ASNT NDT Level III and founder of Atlantis NDT, with written practice development for the company's own certification system. Level III procedure, technique and audit support comes through Saudi consulting, and the Atlantis NDT ERP tracks ASNT and ISO 9712 certificates, equipment calibration, jobs and reports in one place. City training pages cover Dammam, Jubail, Al Khobar, Riyadh and Yanbu. All are quoted on request.

Bring Practical NDT to your Saudi team

Short answer: request a demo through the contact form. Atlantis will show the environments that match your work, agree a pilot group and set up accounts. There is nothing to install beyond a browser or app, and pricing is quote on request. Affordable, accessible and fully customizable.

Atlantis built the first-ever online practical NDT simulation portal for practice and hands-on experience, and the scenario library was designed by Anoop Rayavarapu, ASNT NDT Level III and founder of Atlantis NDT. Inspection contractors, EPCs, fabricators, laboratories and technical training institutes in Saudi Arabia can use it as it stands or ask for scenario sets aligned to their procedures and job mix.

A typical start: a short call to understand your work, whether upstream, gas plant, refinery turnaround, terminal, pipeline construction or aviation; a live demonstration of the matching environments; a pilot group; then accounts for your technicians. Team leads see results so they can track progress and find gaps before the next mobilisation.

• Request a Practical NDT demo for your Saudi team
• Ask for a Saudi Arabia quote for a crew, a turnaround team or a whole company
• Discuss a custom scenario set for turnaround, pipeline or tank work

Read the Practical NDT overview for the full list of environments and methods.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an NDT simulator available in Saudi Arabia?

Yes. The Atlantis Practical NDT simulator runs in a browser or app, so it works anywhere in the Kingdom with an internet connection, from Dammam to Jeddah. There is no centre to visit; demos are arranged through the contact form.

Is Practical NDT approved by Saudi Aramco or other owners?

No. It is a practice tool, not an owner-approved qualification. Owners' personnel and procedure requirements must be met through the certification and approval routes their contracts specify.

Does it replace the SNT-TC-1A or ISO 9712 practical exam?

No. Practical exams must be taken on real specimens under the employer's written practice or the certification body's rules. The simulator helps you prepare.

Can it help with NDT practical exam preparation?

Yes. Repeating set-up, scanning, interpretation and sizing builds the habits a practical exam checks, so candidates arrive better prepared.

Does it cover refinery and petrochemical turnaround methods like IRIS and PMI?

Yes. The Oil & Gas Site environment, with 73 jobs, includes IRIS on exchanger and boiler tubes, PMI for alloy verification, ET, corrosion mapping and weld inspection.

Does it include radiography, and does it need an NRRC licence?

RT is included, focused on technique and interpretation. No radiation is used, so simulator practice needs no licence. Real industrial radiography requires NRRC licensing and the employer's radiation protection programme.

Can it be used for tank inspection practice?

Yes. The Storage Tank environment covers UT shell thickness surveys and MFL floor screening on a full-size tank, which suits terminal and tank-farm work.

Is it useful for training new Saudi technicians?

Yes. The 33 guided lessons and NDT Lab jobs give new trainees a structured path through the fundamentals before supervised work on real specimens.

Can an inspection company use it to assess a turnaround crew?

Yes. A Level III can assign the same scenario set to every technician and compare scores objectively, as one input alongside certification and supervised work.

Does Atlantis offer ASNT training in Saudi Arabia?

Yes, ASNT SNT-TC-1A training only, delivered online, live-virtual or onsite at the client's facility. See NDT training in Saudi Arabia.

How much does it cost and how do we start?

Pricing is quote on request, depending on users and any custom scenarios. Request a demo and we will show the environments that match your work.

Explore more: Practical NDT overview, Practical NDT Dammam, Practical NDT Riyadh, NDT training in Saudi Arabia, Saudi consulting, Saudi ERP, Digital twins in Saudi Arabia, contact.

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