Course Overview

Refinery operations today face rising pressure to maximize product yields, reduce operational costs, and meet increasingly strict environmental regulations. Yet, despite technological advancements, many plants continue to lose value through suboptimal crude selection, inefficient process integration, and underutilized catalytic systems. These gaps not only limit profitability but also expose facilities to greater risk in volatile energy markets.

The Advanced Refinery Process Yields Optimisation programme by Transformentors Academy equips participants with the technical knowledge and practical tools to optimise refinery operations across the value chain. The course explores crude assay evaluation, refinery process modelling, catalytic conversion technologies, yield forecasting, and process integration to improve operational and economic performance.

Through case studies, practical exercises, and technical analysis, participants will learn how to develop yield optimisation strategies tailored to refinery configurations, product demands, and business objectives. The programme also highlights the role of process integration, automation, and refinery-wide coordination in achieving sustainable performance improvements and maximising refinery profitability.

Agenda

Day — 1 Crude Oil Yields and Refinery Technology

• Understanding the fundamentals of refinery technology and the role of crude oil yields in refinery performance
• Exploring crude oil origins, characteristics, and the importance of crude oil assays and properties
• Examining major refinery products and their specifications, including:
  • Gasoline
  • Kerosene/Jet Fuel
  • Fuel Oil and Diesel
  • Petrochemical Feedstocks
• Understanding the impact of product specifications on processing efficiency and yield optimisation
• Applying best practices in process control, automation, and catalyst management to improve conversion efficiency
• Exercise: Analyse a crude oil assay report and develop a process flow diagram to evaluate its impact on refinery yields

Day — 2 Petroleum Refinery Processes

• Understanding the range of crude oil processing methods, beginning with desalting operations
• Exploring atmospheric and vacuum distillation processes used to separate hydrocarbon fractions
• Examining heavy oil processing technologies, including:
  • Delayed coking
  • Fluid coking
  • Flexicoking
  • Visbreaking
• Identifying the differences between thermal processing methods and their impact on refinery yields
• Understanding the practical applications of refinery processes in converting crude oil into high-value products
• Exercise: Develop a process flow diagram illustrating the key stages of petroleum refining, from crude processing to heavy oil conversion, highlighting the major thermal processes

Day — 3 Processes for Motor Fuel Production

• Understanding the catalytic processes used in motor fuel production
• Exploring Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) and its role in converting heavy hydrocarbons into gasoline
• Examining hydrocracking and catalytic cracking processes for upgrading residual feedstocks
• Understanding isomerisation, alkylation, and hydrotreating techniques to improve fuel quality and performance
• Reviewing catalytic reforming and its importance in increasing motor fuel octane ratings
• Exercise: Develop a comparative matrix highlighting the features, advantages, and limitations of key motor fuel production processes

Day — 4 Supporting Operations for Refinery Optimisation

• Understanding the key supporting operations that enhance refinery performance and efficiency
• Exploring blending techniques to achieve product quality and specification requirements
• Applying optimisation practices to improve refinery operations and maximise yields
• Examining critical supporting processes, including:
  • Hydrogen production
  • Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) technology
  • Refinery gas plants
  • Acid gas treatment
• Understanding the role of sulphur recovery plants in environmental compliance and operational safety
• Exercise: Assess the contribution of supporting refinery operations to overall plant efficiency and product quality

Day — 5 Refinery Economics and Performance Evaluation

• Understanding the fundamentals of refinery economics and strategies for residue reduction
• Exploring the economic value of refinery by-products, including asphalt and residual fuels
• Applying cost estimation techniques to support refinery economic evaluations
• Examining decision-making criteria and evaluation models used to assess refinery process performance and profitability
• Integrating operational and financial considerations to optimise refinery outcomes
• Exercise: Prepare an economic evaluation of a refinery process incorporating cost estimation, residue reduction strategies, and by-product analysis, and present the findings for discussion.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the Advanced Refinery Process Yields Optimisation course, participants will be able to:

• Understand crude oil properties and refinery technologies and their impact on process yields.
• Interpret crude oil assay data and apply it to refinery process modelling for improved product output.
• Describe key petroleum refining processes, including distillation and heavy oil conversion, and their role in yield optimisation.
• Evaluate catalytic processes such as FCC, hydrocracking, isomerisation, and reforming to improve operational efficiency.
• Apply process control, automation, and catalyst management techniques to enhance product quality and conversion rates.
• Understand the role of supporting refinery operations, including hydrogen production, sulphur recovery, and blending, in overall plant performance.
• Conduct economic evaluations of refinery operations, considering cost optimisation, residue reduction, and by-product utilisation.
• Develop refinery yield optimisation strategies that align technical improvements with operational and commercial objectives.

Who Should Attend

This programme is ideal for:

• Refinery process engineers and operations supervisors responsible for process efficiency and plant performance
• Production and planning engineers involved in refinery operations and yield optimisation
• Technical services and plant optimisation professionals seeking to improve refinery performance
• Process control and automation engineers responsible for enhancing operational reliability and efficiency
• Catalyst, crude evaluation, and blending specialists involved in refining process improvement
• Economists, strategists, and business analysts working in the downstream oil and gas sector
• Professionals seeking to strengthen their expertise in refinery process efficiency, product yield optimisation, and integrated refinery performance improvement