COURSE SUMMARY

This one-day workshop is designed to follow on from our popular Fundamentals of Petroleum Refining course, by focusing on the topics of refinery economics and blending. The course reviews the fundamentals of refining planning and optimisation, and delegates will learn what affects refinery profitability, how margins are calculated and the trends in refining and product demand.  We’ll also cover product specifications, blending and valuation.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Class delegates include those new to refining, as well as non-technical staff who wish to learn more about oil refining, including support staff, analysts and management in the areas of supply, operations, trading, marketing, risk management, finance, contracts and IT.

COURSE CONTENTS

Blending

• Blending value
• Blending issues – stability, minimizing giveaway, specification margins
• Linear and non-linear properties
• Blending calculation methods, including the use of blending indices and numbers
• Blending optimization

Product quality and specifications

• Fuel quality requirements
• Key quality test methods for petroleum products
• Product specification trends and their impact on refining
• For major liquid fuels (motor gasoline, jet fuel/kerosene, diesel/gasoil and residual fuel oil):
  • Qualities of blendstocks from different refinery units and how they blend together
  • Key specifications and trends
  • Blending considerations and issues, including the use of additives and biofuels
  • Types and use of additives

Planning and optimization:

• Refinery planning cycle
• Use of linear programming models: inputs, outputs, calculation methods and limitations

Maximizing value

• Crude oil selection: crude quality, characteristics, purchase options, pricing considerations and other costs
• Product output and determinants of product value

Refinery configuration and flexibility:

• Configuration and complexity and its impact on feedstocks, product yield configuration and margins
• Process flexibility

Managing risk:

• Sources of risk for refiners
• Managing risk
  • Supply and offtake arrangements
  • Hedging strategies using futures, swaps and options

Refining costs:

• Capex – factors to consider
• Fixed costs
• Variable costs

Refining outlook

• Development and trends in refining, including the impact of environmental regulations
• Changes in demand and trade of petroleum products

The presentation is supplemented by quizzes, as well as exercises to be completed in teams. The exercise cover product blending (calculating the quality of motor gasoline when blending various blendstocks), refinery economics (reviewing the economics of producing reformate and selling it or blending it into gasoline) and refinery margin hedging (reviewing the risks that a refiner faces and the different type of hedging strategies available.)

TESTIMONIALS

“The instructor was informative, knowledgeable, and an extremely engaged instructor. I found the course highly useful and had many practical day to day impacts. A very worthwhile and comprehensive course.” T.D., Cenovus