REF 210
Integrated Refinery Troubleshooting and Operations
COURSE SCHEDULE
| Code | Date | Location | price (€)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| REF 210 | 8-12 June 2026 | Online | 3300 |
| REF 210 | 8-12 June 2026 | Muscat | 4400 |
* Prices are subject to VAT and local terms. Ph.D. students, groups (≥ 3 persons) and early bird registrants (8 weeks in advance) are entitled to a DISCOUNT!
COURSE OVERVIEW
A refinery is one of the most interconnected industrial systems in the world. Process units, equipment, utilities, safety systems, and people operate as a single integrated operation. A problem that appears in one area is often caused by conditions that originated somewhere else in the refinery.
This program is designed to help experienced operations and engineering professionals understand how refinery wide problems develop, how they spread across interconnected systems, and how they affect production, product quality, reliability, safety, and business performance.
Over five days, participants progressively develop a refinery wide perspective. They first learn how the refinery functions as an integrated system, then how equipment and process failures develop, how protection systems prevent escalation, and finally how experienced professionals diagnose and respond to operational problems under uncertainty.
Technical topics such as refinery processes, equipment reliability, process safety, utilities, asset integrity, and human factors are taught as practical operational tools rather than isolated technical subjects. The emphasis is on understanding refinery behavior and making better operational decisions.
The program culminates in the Troubleshooting Capability Laboratory™, where participants apply everything learned during the week to diagnose and respond to a realistic refinery wide scenario involving incomplete information, conflicting signals, competing priorities, and time pressure.
By the end of the program, participants will be able to recognize developing refinery problems earlier, separate symptoms from causes more effectively, evaluate operational risk more confidently, and make better decisions when refinery performance is under stress.
COURSE OUTLINE
5 days
Day 1: Understand The Refinery
o How crude oil moves through the refinery from receipt to finished products
o How the major refinery units depend on one another
o How changes in feed quality affect refinery performance
o How hydrogen, energy, and material flow across the refinery
o How a problem in one unit can create consequences elsewhere.
Day 01 Key Question: "If one unit changes, what changes next?".
Day 2: Understand The Failure
- Operational problems development
- Equipment failures which affect refinery performance
- Distinguish symptoms from causes
- Process and equipment problems interactions
- Identify the most likely source of a disturbance
Day 02 Key Question: "Is this a process problem, an equipment problem, or both?".
Day 3: Understand The Protection
o Utility system disturbances
o Operating limit exceedances
o Process safety barrier degradation
o Multiple failure scenarios
Day 03 Key Question: " What prevented the problem from becoming an incident?".
Day 4: Troubleshoot The system
o Addressing complex problem solving
o Identifying the most important information
o Interpreting incomplete or contradictory data
o Evaluating options in situations of uncertainty
o Making decisions when a perfect solution does not exist
Day 04 Key Question: " What is the refinery trying to tell me?".
Day 4: Troubleshooting Capability Laboratory™ (TCL)
Participants demonstrate their ability to diagnose, prioritize, decide, and lead under the same uncertainty and pressure found in real refinery operations.
Workshop Activities:
o Feed quality deterioration
o Equipment reliability concerns
o Degraded protection systems
o Operational pressure and competing priorities
Day 05 Key Question: "Continue, Reduce, or Shut Down?".
INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Profile
The Instructor is a Petroleum Engineer, holds M.Sc in Mechanical Engineering, and is Specialist Natural Gas Engineering. He has over 20 years of hands-on O&G industry experience spanning gas processing, crude treatment, production operations, and technical training across onshore and offshore environments in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
His operational background includes five years as OJT Instructor at production facilities in the Middle East, AGRU Package Leader roles, and extensive experience as Process Engineer across upstream and downstream O&G facilities.
Since 2015 he has been a Senior Lecturer on IFP Training’s international instructor roster, delivering advanced gas processing, thermodynamics, field processing, and operations training to engineers and operators across three continents
FAQ
DESIGNED FOR
Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
o Explain how major refinery process units interact and influence each other across the entire refinery system
o Recognize how changes in feed quality, operating conditions, equipment performance, or utilities can affect refinery performance and stability
o Distinguish between process related problems, equipment related problems, and human or organizational factors contributing to operational disturbances
o Identify early warning signs of developing operational problems before they escalate into production losses, quality deviations, or safety risks
o Interpret refinery operating data and determine the most probable source of a developing problem
o Explain the role of process safety barriers, utilities, and support systems in maintaining safe and reliable refinery operations
o Apply structured troubleshooting logic to separate symptoms from causes and determine the most likely origin of a refinery wide disturbance
o Assess operational risk and prioritize actions when multiple constraints, competing objectives, and uncertain information exist
o Apply the REAL© Troubleshooting Methodology to integrated refinery scenarios
o Recommend and defend operational decisions under time pressure using available evidence, stated assumptions, and risk based reasoning
o Demonstrate refinery wide troubleshooting capability in an operational scenario requiring technical judgment, decision making, and operational leadership
COURSE LEVEL
o Intermediate to Advance
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
o Explain the function and operating principles of all major refinery utility systems and describe how each supports the process units it serves
o Describe the steam generation and distribution system and explain the cascade effects of a steam pressure loss on refinery operations
o Identify the critical operating parameters of cooling water systems and explain the consequences of cooling water quality degradation and supply failure
o Explain the role and design logic of the flare and relief system as the last line of pressure relief defense in a refinery
o Describe the function of the instrument air and nitrogen systems and explain why their failure is a safety-critical event
o Explain the purpose and main processes of refinery effluent treatment and describe the operational and environmental consequences of treatment system failure
o Analyze the cascade effects of a utility system failure across multiple process units and develop a prioritized operational response
REGISTER
Registration is now OPEN!
* Prices are subject to VAT and local terms. Ph.D. students, groups (≥ 3 persons) and early bird registrants (8 weeks in advance) are entitled to a DISCOUNT!
For more details and registration please send email to: register@petro-teach.com
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