Interpret true boiling point distillation and bulk property data to characterise a candidate crude against the refinery's design diet.
Oil, Gas & Energy
Crude Oil Assay Evaluation and Crude Slate Selection for Refiners
Develops the technical skills to interpret crude assay data, model refinery yields and value, and select a crude slate that balances margin against blending and corrosion risk.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
A refinery's margin is set as much by which crudes it runs as by how efficiently it runs them, and that choice depends on reading an assay correctly and translating it into a yield and value forecast before the cargo is ever nominated. This course starts with the laboratory side of crude characterisation: distillation testing, bulk properties and the property-yield correlations that turn an assay sheet into cut volumes. It then moves into the linear programming models refiners use to test a candidate crude against unit constraints and calculate its netback value relative to alternatives. A dedicated module addresses the operational side that assay sheets do not show directly: blend compatibility, asphaltene stability, desalting adjustments and the corrosion risk that comes with high acid crudes. The course finishes by placing crude selection in its commercial context, covering opportunity crudes, benchmark differentials and the governance that keeps trading, planning and operations working from the same assay and slate assumptions. Exercises use realistic assay data sets rather than any single supplier's proprietary figures.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Build cut-point yield estimates and load them into a linear programming model to test a crude's fit against unit constraints.
Calculate netback value for competing crude options and rank them for the next purchasing cycle.
Screen candidate crude blends for asphaltene incompatibility before they reach the desalter or crude unit.
Adjust desalting and corrosion monitoring priorities for high total acid number or high salt crude runs.
Evaluate opportunity crudes and benchmark differentials against the operational risk they introduce.
Establish a slate optimisation governance process that keeps trading, planning and operating assumptions aligned.
Who Should Attend
Refinery planning engineers building and running linear programming crude slate models.
Crude oil traders and schedulers evaluating cargoes against refinery configuration and margin targets.
Process engineers managing desalting, corrosion monitoring and unit operating limits.
Laboratory and technical services staff producing and interpreting crude assay data.
Supply and optimisation teams coordinating crude selection across trading, planning and operations.
Refinery economics and margin analysts assessing opportunity crude and slate change proposals.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Crude Oil Characterisation and Assay Methodology
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Distillation Testing and Bulk Property Analysis
- Interpret a true boiling point distillation curve produced under ASTM D2892 and D5236 to derive light, middle and heavy cut yields for a candidate crude.
- Evaluate API gravity, sulphur content, total acid number and pour point data to classify a crude against the refinery's design diet.
- Use rapid near-infrared assay screening to pre-qualify an unfamiliar cargo before committing to a full laboratory assay.
- Cross-check reported assay data against historical cargoes of the same grade to flag possible quality drift or blending at the loading terminal.
Session 2Property-Yield Correlation and Assay Interpretation
- Build cut-point yield estimates for naphtha, kerosene, diesel and vacuum gas oil fractions from the true boiling point curve for use in refinery planning models.
- Assess metals content, including nickel and vanadium, and Conradson carbon residue to judge a crude's suitability for catalytic cracking or hydrocracking feed.
- Interpret sulphur and nitrogen distribution across distillation cuts to anticipate hydrotreating severity and hydrogen consumption.
- Flag high total acid number crudes for naphthenic acid corrosion risk in atmospheric and vacuum distillation units before they are scheduled.
02Refinery Yield and Value Modelling
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Linear Programming Models for Crude Slate Planning
- Populate a refinery linear programming model such as Aspen PIMS or GRTMPS with assay-derived yield vectors for a new or opportunity crude.
- Run slate optimisation scenarios that respect crude distillation unit throughput, desulphurisation capacity and product specification constraints.
- Interpret shadow prices and marginal values from the linear programming solution to identify which unit constraints limit the value of a candidate crude.
- Test crude slate sensitivity to feedstock price and product crack spread changes to understand which crudes remain economic across a pricing range.
Session 2Netback Valuation and Crude Selection
- Calculate a netback value for a candidate crude by combining modelled product yields, product prices and processing costs against the delivered cost of the cargo.
- Compare netback values across a shortlist of crudes to rank sourcing options for the next trading cycle.
- Adjust netback calculations for freight, quality bank adjustments and demurrage exposure specific to the loading and discharge terminals involved.
- Reconcile linear programming model valuations against actual refinery run results to recalibrate yield assumptions used in future evaluations.
03Crude Compatibility, Blending and Operational Risk
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Blend Compatibility and Fouling Risk
- Apply asphaltene stability indicators such as the colloidal instability index to screen candidate crude blends for incompatibility before they reach the desalter.
- Investigate historical fouling and sediment data to identify blend combinations that have previously caused exchanger or tank fouling.
- Sequence incompatible crudes in tankage and pipeline batching schedules to avoid on-specification blending problems during transfer.
- Define shipboard and shore-tank blending limits that keep sediment, water and compatibility parameters within contractual and processing limits.
Session 2Desalting, Corrosion Control and Unit Operating Limits
- Adjust desalter operating parameters, including wash water rate and electrostatic grid settings, for crudes with high salt or tight emulsion tendencies.
- Set corrosion monitoring and alloy selection priorities for high total acid number crude runs based on established naphthenic acid corrosion guidance.
- Coordinate crude slate changes with process safety and metallurgy reviews so unit operating envelopes are not exceeded by a new crude.
- Track corrosion coupon and inspection data against crude slate history to link metal loss trends back to specific crude runs.
04Crude Sourcing Strategy and Slate Governance
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Opportunity Crudes, Differentials and Market Structure
- Evaluate opportunity crudes priced at a discount to marker grades such as Brent, WTI or Dubai against the operational risk they introduce.
- Track quality and location differentials across benchmark markers to time crude purchases against the refinery's optimal slate.
- Assess pipeline quality bank mechanisms and terminal commingling effects on the actual assay received relative to the nominated grade.
- Build a shortlist of alternative crudes that can substitute for a primary grade during supply disruption without breaching processing constraints.
Session 2Slate Optimisation Governance and Continuous Improvement
- Establish a governance process linking crude trading, refinery planning and operations so slate decisions reflect current unit availability.
- Maintain an assay database and model update cycle that keeps linear programming yield vectors aligned with the latest laboratory results.
- Review realised versus planned yields after each crude change to identify systematic model bias and correct it in the next planning cycle.
- Incorporate emerging feedstocks, including renewable and co-processing streams, into the crude evaluation framework where refinery configuration allows it.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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