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Crude Oil Distillation & Desalting Operations

Optimising Crude Preparation, Atmospheric Distillation, Process Control and Refinery Performance

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Why Choose Us

The Crude Oil Distillation & Desalting Operations training course builds practical understanding of essential crude preparation and separation processes. It covers crude oil characteristics, desalting principles and atmospheric distillation operations at the front end of almost every petroleum refinery. The reliability and operating efficiency of these processes directly affect downstream performance, product yields, energy use, corrosion rates and overall refinery profitability. Effective operation therefore depends on preparing crude correctly and separating it safely within process and equipment constraints.

Effective desalting removes salts, water, sediments and other contaminants that may cause corrosion, fouling, catalyst poisoning and equipment damage. The atmospheric distillation unit then separates the prepared crude into valuable fractions while maintaining product quality and maximising recovery. Course content examines process equipment, operating variables, heat integration, fractionation control, troubleshooting and performance optimisation. Participants learn to identify operational problems, interpret process data and implement improvements that enhance reliability, energy efficiency and product recovery.

This Crude Oil Distillation & Desalting Operations training course will highlight:
  • Understanding crude oil characteristics and their operational significance
  • Applying desalting principles to remove water, salts, sediments and contaminants
  • Operating atmospheric distillation within process and equipment constraints
  • Managing operating variables, heat integration and energy consumption
  • Controlling fractionation to maintain product quality and maximise recovery
  • Diagnosing problems and optimising reliability, efficiency and performance
Why Choose Crude Oil Distillation & Desalting Operations
Course Goals

What are the Goals?

Upon completing this training course, participants will be able to:

  • Explain the composition and principal characteristics of various crude oils
  • Describe the full sequence of crude oil processing and distillation
  • Assess how crude contaminants affect refinery operations
  • Optimise desalter pressure, temperature, wash water and electrical conditions
  • Enhance the removal of salt, water and solids from crude oil
  • Explain the separation principles of atmospheric distillation towers
  • Manage product quality, cut points and fractionation performance
  • Recognise and troubleshoot typical desalting and distillation issues
  • Minimise corrosion, fouling, energy losses and operational instability
  • Enhance the reliability, safety and profitability of the crude unit

Who is this Training Course for?

Who Should Attend?

This Crude Oil Distillation & Desalting Operations training course is designed for:

  • Crude Oil Distillation Unit Operators
  • Desalter Operators
  • Refinery Process Engineers
  • Petroleum Engineers
  • Refinery Operations Engineers
  • Process Control Engineers
  • Refinery Shift Supervisors
  • Production Supervisors
  • Refinery Maintenance Engineers
  • Technical Support Engineers
Learning Approach

How will this Training Course be Presented?

This course integrates technical presentations, process diagrams, operational examples, equipment illustrations, calculation exercises, troubleshooting workshops and practical case studies. Participants will examine real operating scenarios and formulate corrective actions for common problems involving crude oil desalting and distillation.

The Course Content

Crude Oil Characteristics and Refinery Processing Fundamentals

  • Composition, classification and origins of crude oil
  • Crude oil assays and key physical and chemical properties
  • API gravity, viscosity, sulphur, acidity and pour point
  • Light, medium, heavy, sweet and sour crude oils
  • Crude contaminants: salts, water, sediments and metals
  • Impact of crude quality on refinery selection and profitability
  • Crude blending, compatibility and stability considerations
  • Overview of refinery crude processing and product streams 

Crude Oil Desalting Principles and Operations

  • Purpose and importance of crude oil desalting
  • Sources and types of salts in crude oil
  • Formation, stability and breaking of crude oil emulsions
  • Single-stage and two-stage electrostatic desalting systems
  • Desalter equipment, internals and electrical systems
  • Wash-water quality, quantity and injection practices
  • Effects of temperature, pressure, mixing and residence time
  • Measuring desalter efficiency and salt-removal performance 

Desalter Optimisation and Troubleshooting

  • Optimising mixing-valve differential pressure
  • Controlling the crude-water interface and emulsion layer
  • Selection and application of demulsifier chemicals
  • Causes of high salt and basic sediment and water content
  • Troubleshooting unstable interfaces and poor water separation
  • Resolving desalter carryover, oil undercarry and rag-layer formation
  • Preventing corrosion, fouling and wastewater-system upsets
  • Practical desalter performance improvement workshop 

Atmospheric Crude Distillation Operations

  • Fundamentals of vapour-liquid equilibrium and fractionation
  • Crude preheat train, heat exchangers and heat integration
  • Fired-heater design, operation and combustion control
  • Atmospheric distillation column equipment and internals
  • Flash zone, stripping sections, side draws and pump-around circuits
  • Overhead system, reflux control and heat removal
  • Production of naphtha, kerosene, diesel and atmospheric gas oil
  • Controlling product cut points, yields and specifications 

Distillation Control, Troubleshooting and Optimisation

  • Key operating variables affecting tower performance
  • Temperature, pressure, reflux and steam control
  • Recognising flooding, weeping, entrainment and foaming
  • Troubleshooting off-specification distillate products
  • Crude preheat-train fouling and exchanger performance
  • Heater efficiency, tube coking and high-stack-temperature problems
  • Overhead corrosion, salt deposition and water-dew-point control
  • Optimising energy consumption, product recovery and unit throughput
Recognition

Certificate

  • • Wallstreet Development Academy Certificate of Completion for delegates who attend and complete the training course.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Crude Oil Distillation & Desalting Operations training course covers crude preparation, desalting operations, atmospheric distillation, process control and refinery performance. Its stated focus is on optimising these connected areas of refinery operation. More detailed topics or individual technical modules cannot be verified from the course information provided.
You will study atmospheric distillation within the wider context of crude preparation, process control and refinery performance. The course presents distillation as part of an interconnected operating process rather than as an isolated subject. Specific column operations, equipment topics or control techniques are not listed in the supplied course material.
The training is applicable to work involving crude preparation, desalting, atmospheric distillation and refinery process control. Its optimisation focus is relevant to reviewing how these operational areas contribute to refinery performance. The supplied page content does not identify particular job roles, workplace exercises or operating scenarios.
This training is relevant because it focuses directly on optimising crude preparation, atmospheric distillation, process control and refinery performance. These themes place operational effectiveness at the centre of the course. The available material does not specify particular technologies, industry trends or regulatory developments addressed by the training.
The course addresses crude preparation and desalting as core parts of refinery operations. It focuses on optimising the preparation of crude before atmospheric distillation. The available course information does not specify the individual desalting methods, operating parameters or troubleshooting procedures taught.
The course connects process control with crude preparation, atmospheric distillation and overall refinery performance. This focus supports an integrated understanding of how operational control relates to refinery optimisation. The precise instruments, control strategies or process variables covered cannot be confirmed from the available information.
The main benefit is a focused view of how crude preparation, distillation and process control contribute to refinery performance. The training brings these related operational areas together under an optimisation theme. Further benefits, assessed outcomes or specific competencies cannot be verified because detailed course objectives were not provided.
If you would like further information about this training course, our team is available to provide professional guidance and support: Email: [email protected] In-house training: https://www.wallstreetda.com/in-house-training

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