ADNOC, one of the world's largest integrated energy companies, operates a supply chain of extraordinary complexity, spanning extraction platforms, refining infrastructure, and global distribution networks that must function with near-zero tolerance for error. For the people who operate and maintain these systems, traditional classroom training has long struggled to bridge the gap between theory and the physical reality of working on a live rig. The brief was clear: build a simulation environment that felt genuinely real.
HoopAI developed an advanced AR/VR simulation that faithfully reconstructs the physical layout and operational dynamics of a real oilrig in three dimensions. Every element of the environment, control panels, safety shut-off mechanisms, pipeline architecture, emergency stations, was modelled from operational reference material, giving trainees a spatial familiarity with the rig before they ever set foot on one. The level of fidelity was not decorative; it was the product of a deliberate decision to make the virtual experience as cognitively transferable to real-world practice as possible.
The simulation was structured around a series of interactive training modules covering the full arc of a trainee's responsibilities. Users perform routine operational checks, navigate between departments, and engage with equipment exactly as they would on site. Critically, the platform also includes emergency response scenarios (fire suppression, pressure failure, evacuation protocols) that allow trainees to rehearse high-stakes decisions in a controlled environment where the cost of a mistake is a restart, not a casualty.
Beyond individual safety training, the simulation addresses a broader operational challenge: the difficulty of visualising the end-to-end supply chain as a connected system. By modelling the process from extraction through to delivery, the AR/VR environment allows operational teams and analysts to trace the flow of crude oil across the entire chain, identify interdependencies, and surface potential inefficiencies that are invisible when each department views only its own segment. This systems-level perspective is one of the more consequential capabilities the platform delivers.
The project reflects a wider shift in how major energy companies are approaching workforce development and operational intelligence. Immersive technology, once treated as a novelty, is increasingly understood as a serious training infrastructure investment: one that reduces risk, accelerates competency, and generates institutional knowledge in a form that scales. For ADNOC, this simulation represents a foundational tool in the ongoing effort to build a workforce that is as sophisticated as the operations it maintains.
