This program provides a comprehensive overview of today’s international petrochemicals business and how it can be integrated with refining and gas processing, and maximize overall operational performance and profitability. The program consists of a careful balance of lectures by recognized industry specialists and team participation in a challenging business simulation game mentored by experienced facilitators. This unique blended learning format has proven to be the best way for participants to internalize program contents in a challenging and enjoyable team-based environment. In the process, attendees learn the complexities and business challenges of the rapidly changing petrochemicals industry and the opportunities that exist to integrate these three sectors, i.e., petrochemicals, gas processing, and refining, to maximize competitiveness. Secondary benefits include extensive participant networking, team leadership development, decision-making skills, and understanding of key strategic issues driving the future of petrochemicals.
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Upon completing this program, you will understand:
Daily sessions will start at 8:00 AM and run until 5:00 PM. Participants will receive further information on location and schedule upon registration.
This program is ideal for individuals who seek an integrated understanding of the international petrochemicals and refining businesses, as it provides an excellent foundation to achieve a company’s strategic objectives and action plans in petrochemicals. This may include managers, planners, operations personnel, technologists, support staff, and other specialists who wish to learn about this important segment of the value chain. As a cross-discipline course, it is also beneficial to individuals from the upstream, downstream, and other support functions.
The instructional format consists of a careful balance of lectures by seasoned experts and a practical business simulation game. The lectures will address the complexities and challenges of the petrochemical, gas processing, and refining businesses and all of the key considerations in developing a robust investment and operating plans that maintain long-term competitiveness. During the business simulation sessions teams of participants manage the development and operation of an integrated refining and petrochemical complex, in the fictitious Republic of Bilitan, located within the rapidly growing markets of Southeast Asia. In the process, teams will plan and evaluate various options to design and optimize the facilities, managing their performance over 20 years of realistic set of project decisions. Real-life external events will be simulated to provide attendees a deeper understanding of the nature of these businesses and ways to deal with project circumstances and uncertainties.
Oil and gas measurements and units, petroleum value chain components, the chemistry of hydrocarbon molecules, common feedstocks for petrochemicals, conventional vs. unconventional hydrocarbon resources.
Global energy markets, oil and gas resources and production, major players, global energy outlook, sector analysis, long-term geographical areas of emphasis. Uses of petrochemical products, seven basic chemicals, characteristics of the industry, major players, competitiveness, global supply and demand balances, feedstock needs, netback pricing concepts.
Fundamentals of petrochemicals manufacturing by cracking, reforming, and other processes. Overview of technology and products. Yields of liquid, gas, and multi-feed crackers. Impact of co-products disposition and valuation, refinery interfaces.
Project economics, project cash flow analysis, discounted cash flow and internal rate of return, sensitivities to changes in
key variables. Application of netback pricing concepts. Price forecasting methodologies. Fundamentals of Refining and Petrochemicals Feedstocks Evolution of the industry, fuel products supply and demand balances, crude oil characteristics, refinery streams, process configuration options, product yields, refining investments and economics, long-term trends, synergies with petrochemicals.
Aromatics definitions, types, and manufacturing processes. Uses of aromatics products: Benzene, Toluene and Xylene. Supply, demand and market outlook.
Gas processing, natural gas liquids, potential feedstock for steam cracking, interfaces with refining and petrochemicals, methane conversion to methanol, ammonia, urea, and fertilizer production.
Olefines definition, types, and manufacturing process. Types of Olefins: ethylene, propylene, and butadiene. Uses of Olefins: supply, demand, and market outlook. Methanol to olefin technologies.
Types of manufacturing processes for polymers, commercial and technological importance of polymers, types of plastics and ranges of applications. Design for manufacturing (DFM) and other optimization options to enhance value. Wide ranges of applications: tires, automobile industry, packaging, paints, detergents, and many other consumer goods. Other polymer applications across sectors with major market growth. Overview of specialty chemicals industry.
Global supply and demand balances and fundamental drivers, global capacity additions, major players in petrochemicals, business cyclicality perspectives. Key elements of the supply chain, sales, customer, service and support, relationship building, logistics and transportation, products marketing.
Capital and operating costs synergies with integration, feedstock and co-product optimization, enhanced value creation and flexibility in designing and operating an integrated complex.
Estimating development costs for petrochemical projects. Breakdown of labor, engineering and project management, equipment, and other infrastructure costs. Evaluating long-term supply trends with the objective of preparing product portfolios likely to withstand market fluctuations and satisfy longer-term commitments. How to establish competitive positioning and profitability based on market conditions and installed capacities.
Advantaged feedstock definition, factors impacting advantaged feedstock selection, transfer pricing basics, marketplace driven commercial basis for transfer price evaluation.
Emerging shale gas and shale oil plays in the U.S., its impact on NGL feedstock availability for crackers and competitiveness, ethylene projects in the U.S. and potential implications on global trade flows, impact on propylene manufacturing, interplay with aromatics.
Strategic directions, market trajectories, projected growth, areas of focus, preferred product portfolios, emerging business model of top competitors, key steps to achieve leadership position. Impact of low carbon fuels and products. External factors impacting long-term performance, examples of disruptive technologies, impact on process design and operations. Importance of R&D, technology development and innovation for long-term competitiveness, importance of understanding evolving customer needs and adapting to changes.
The workshop setting is the Republic of Bilitan, a republic in the AsiaPacific region located off the coast of Indonesia. As a result of a major oil field discovery, your company, in a joint venture with the Bilitan National Oil Company (“BNOC”), is designing a new 400,000 bbl/day refinery to process the crude into finished products. Given the relatively low domestic demand for fuels products, it is anticipated that substantial naphtha will be available from the refining complex for potential sales. Your parent company wants your team to evaluate the possibility of adding a petrochemicals complex using naphtha and associated gas as a feed to take advantage of the rapid growth in petrochemicals markets in the Asia Pacific region and to provide employment opportunities for local nationals. Your parent company anticipates that the highest value for the crude and associated gas will be achieved with an integrated refining / petrochemical complex.
Participants, divided into teams, compete to win the “team prize” as they build a petrochemical complex that optimizes the product slate and feedstock selection from the refinery and gas processing plant. In order to provide rapid feedback on each team’s ongoing performance, IHRDC has developed the International Petrochemicals Business Simulator, which allows teams to make ongoing decisions and project future performance in a short time. This classic IHRDC business game and workshop consistently earns very high praise from participants for its realism, stimulation of learning process, incorporation of real world situations and the benefits of working in teams with delegates from many countries.
The sessions include:
