Oil Refinery Cost Management

Introduction

In today’s modern refining environment, the use of innovative cost management practices that can accurately allocate refined intermediate and product manufacturing costs, may assist refiners to optimize their production, improve their profitability and competitiveness.

Cost management is concerned with the process of planning and controlling the budget of a project or business. Cost management can also be applicable to refinery management systems and it can be a very important part of the refinery production processes. It must be appreciated however, that production costs are a synthetic index that can reflect the effectiveness of production planning and scheduling. How to successfully control and manage production costs is a complex set of issues for refineries but it can be used to monitor and control refinery unit performance.

This training course on Oil Refinery Cost Management will assist in creating cost structures for refinery process units and assist in allocating costs to individual refinery intermediates and finished on-specification products. Important aspect of process plant optimization is related to system energy management and energy consumption reduction. Furthermore, process monitoring that includes advanced controls and new technologies also present opportunities for refinery optimization. Additional opportunities can include Crude Unit Utilization with opportunity crudes of lower quality and price.

This training course will assist in examining individual process equipment such as atmospheric and vacuum distillation equipment, catalytic and thermal processes, heaters, furnaces and steam boilers, heat exchanger integration, rotating equipment efficiency including pumps and compressors. Oil refinery cost management will provide a comprehensive review of the various aspects of refining cost management, which is the cornerstone for a viable plant profitability and optimization.

This GLOMACS training course will highlight:

• Lectures, tutorials and group work in all areas of refinery cost management
• Actual Case Studies that illustrate technical solutions with observable results benefits
• Use of basic cost management software tools in excel will be made available to participants
• Transfer of instructor’s broad hands-on industrial experience
• Open reflection on real life situations in participants’ own refineries

Objectives

By the end of this training course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge to conduct the following activities in their refineries:

• Determine by various techniques the cost of individual streams in the refinery and individual processes
• Use these costs to calculate the enhancement potential for blending lower cost, on-specification products
• Optimize refinery utility systems such as cooling water, steam and power generation
• Apply energy saving techniques to develop energy saving projects
• Enhance the production planning activities of the refinery via cost management

Training Methodology

Oil Refinery Cost Management is a hands-on, stimulating learning experience. This training course on Oil Refinery Cost Management will be highly interactive, with opportunities to advance one’s opinions and ideas. Participation is encouraged in a supportive environment.

To ensure the concepts introduced during this training course are understood, they will be reinforced through a mix of learning methods, including lecture style presentations, open discussions, case studies, and short videos. Hands-on computer software and simulations will be provided to illustrate the application of costing and cost management. The case studies provided for group work will be re-enforced with practical exercises in excel and there will be ample opportunities for discussion and sharing of experiences.

Organisational Impact

In sending delegates to this training course, the organization will gain the following benefits:

• Improved creation of cost structures for refinery process unit production planning and scheduling
• Greater commitment to the process of planning and controlling costs and budgets
• More rapid reaction to changes in the business environment
• Closer alignment of strategic and operational goals
• More cohesive system energy management
• Improved planning and scheduling approach with sustainable plant profitability and optimization

Personal Impact

In attending this training course, individual delegates will gain the following benefits:

• Practical ideas for developing and allocating cost structures for refinery process unit
• Enhanced competency in making a more effective contribution to strategic and operational planning
• Up-to-date understanding of main trends in refinery margins
• Greater confidence in dealing with strategic and operational risk
• Familiarization with state-of-the-art spreadsheets for cost management
• Improved ability in appreciating that production costs are a synthetic index that directly affects the bottom line