Principles and Economics of Oil Refining

Course Summary
Principles and Economics of Oil Refining is designed to provide delegates with a thorough understanding of the technical principles of refining and its economic drivers. Through a combination of presentations and case studies, delegates will learn the principles of refinery operations and planning, the commercial aspects affecting crude selection and operation of the refinery. Throughout the course delegates participate in a refinery simulation whereby they select and purchase optimal crude cargoes, nominate finished product sales. The refineries are also exposed to the vagaries of the international oil market.
Please note: a laptop and up-to-date version of Office would be an advantage in order to engage in market data; however it is not essential.
What You Will Learn
 

• The chemistry of crude oil, interpretation of a crude oil assay and their influence on the refinery operation
   
• The chemistry of the key refining processes
   
• The technologies, costs and optimisation of key refining processes
   
• Financial evaluation techniques as applied to project investment
   
• The workings of tanker markets and how freight is calculated
   
• Commercial aspects of crude oil selection
   
• Blending of intermediate streams into finished products
   
• The significance of finished product specifications to the refiner, shipper and end user
   
• The workings of the international oil trading markets
  
  Suitability:
  
  
  
  • Personnel within the refining sector who have direct involvement in the technical, operational and commercial aspects of the refinery operation (e.g. planners, engineers and process operators)
    Personnel within the supply trading sector who have a direct involvement in refinery operations (e.g. supply planners and operators)
     
  • New graduates to the refining and supply departments
     
  
  Course content:
  Combining 24 presentations, 7 exercises and an ongoing refining simulation with refining videos, the course contents include:
  Introduction
  
  
  
  • Terms used
     
  • Oil markets
     
  • Physical crude and product markets
     
  • Paper markets
     
  
  The chemistry of crude oil
  
  
  
  • Crude oil characterisation
     
  • Interpreting the crude oil assay
     
  
  Overvie- of refining objectives
  
  
  
  • Types of refinery
     
  
  Crude Oil Selection and Valuation
  
  
  
  • Gross Product Worth
     
  • Netback and refiners margin
     
  
  Tanker Markets
  
  
  
  • Freight and Worldscale
     
  • Tanker characteristics
     
  
  Refining
  Process Categories
  
  
  
  • Straight run
    
    
    
    • Atmospheric and vacuum distillation
       
    
     
  • Quality improvement
    
    
    
    • Distillate hydrotreating and hydrofining
       
    • Residue desulphurisation
       
    • Catalytic reforming
       
    • Isomerisation
       
    • Alkylation
       
    
     
  • Yield shifting
    
    
    
    • Visbreaking
       
    • Catalytic cracking
       
    • Hydrocracking
       
    • Coking
       
    
     
  • Others process
    
    
    
    • Gas to liquids
       
    • Hydrogen plants
       
    • Sulphur, steam and power generation
       
    
     
  
  Process Costs
  Process Optimisation
  Refinery Planning and scheduling using the LP model
  Products
  
  
  
  • Gasoline
     
  • Diesel gasoil, heating oil,
     
  • Jet kerosene, DPK
     
  • Residual fuel oil
     
  • Lubes, bitumen and LPG
     
  • Bio fuels
     
  
  Process stream selection
  Blending and additives
  International specifications and their significance