An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Process Simulation of Surface Facilities
Practical guide to process simulation of surface facilities.
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Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 4,000
Starting From
13 Sep 2027
Process Simulation of Surface Facilities
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Process Simulation of Surface Facilities - SF-PSSF-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF-PSSF-PEA27 | 13 - 17 Sep 2027 | 10 AM CST | 5 Days - 4 Hours / Day |
Online |
USD |
4000 |
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Process Simulation of Surface Facilities
This training covers steady state and dynamic process simulation of oil and gas surface facilities. It works through property package selection, fluid characterisation, unit operation models for separators, columns, exchangers, compressors and pumps, flowsheet construction and convergence, model validation against operating data, and the application of simulation to design, debottlenecking, troubleshooting and operating decisions.
Description
A process simulation is a calculation, and like any calculation it is only as good as its inputs and its assumptions. Facility models are used to size equipment, set operating conditions, evaluate modifications, predict product specification and support capital decisions, and errors in them propagate directly into steel and into operating cost. This training covers how to build models that are defensible, how to validate them against plant behaviour, and how to recognise when a model is producing plausible output that is wrong.
The training begins with thermodynamics, because property package selection is the decision that most often determines whether a model is right. Equation of state and activity coefficient methods are covered with their applicable ranges, together with the specific difficulties of hydrocarbon-water systems, glycol and amine systems, and near-critical fluids. Fluid characterisation follows, covering compositional input, plus fraction handling and the use of assay or PVT data. Unit operation models are then developed individually: separators, columns, heat exchangers, compressors, pumps, valves, pipes and heaters, each with the assumptions its model makes and the parameters that matter. Flowsheet construction, recycle handling, convergence behaviour and specification setting follow. The training then covers validation against plant data, sensitivity and case study work, dynamic simulation for control and relief studies, and the discipline required to document and hand over a model.
A process simulation is a calculation, and like any calculation it is only as good as its inputs and its assumptions. Facility models are used to size equipment, set operating conditions, evaluate modifications, predict product specification and support capital decisions, and errors in them propagate directly into steel and into operating cost. This training covers how to build models that are defensible, how to validate them against plant behaviour, and how to recognise when a model is producing plausible output that is wrong.
The training begins with thermodynamics, because property package selection is the decision that most often determines whether a model is right. Equation of state and activity coefficient methods are covered with their applicable ranges, together with the specific difficulties of hydrocarbon-water systems, glycol and amine systems, and near-critical fluids. Fluid characterisation follows, covering compositional input, plus fraction handling and the use of assay or PVT data. Unit operation models are then developed individually: separators, columns, heat exchangers, compressors, pumps, valves, pipes and heaters, each with the assumptions its model makes and the parameters that matter. Flowsheet construction, recycle handling, convergence behaviour and specification setting follow. The training then covers validation against plant data, sensitivity and case study work, dynamic simulation for control and relief studies, and the discipline required to document and hand over a model.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Select appropriate thermodynamic property packages for hydrocarbon, aqueous, glycol, amine and near-critical systems
- Characterise reservoir and process fluids for simulation including compositional input and plus fraction handling
- Build unit operation models for separators, columns, exchangers, compressors, pumps and piping with correct assumptions
- Construct facility flowsheets including recycles, and diagnose and resolve convergence problems
- Set specifications and degrees of freedom correctly and recognise over-specified and under-specified models
- Validate a simulation against plant operating data and reconcile discrepancies between model and measurement
- Apply simulation to equipment sizing, debottlenecking studies, modification evaluation and operating optimisation
- Determine when dynamic simulation is required and specify studies for relief, settle-out, control and startup analysis
- Document, quality check and hand over a simulation model so that others can rely on it
The training develops the thermodynamic and unit operation basis of simulation before model building, so that participants understand what the software is calculating rather than only which inputs to supply. Property package behaviour is examined against measured data for representative systems, including cases where common selections give wrong answers. Flowsheet construction, specification setting and convergence diagnosis are worked through on facility examples. Model validation is taught using operating data sets from producing facilities, including data with measurement error, and participants work through the reconciliation. Case studies covering debottlenecking, modification evaluation and troubleshooting close the training.
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Improve the reliability of simulation work used for equipment sizing and capital decisions
- Reduce design errors arising from inappropriate property package selection and fluid characterisation
- Build models that reflect the operating plant rather than the original design basis
- Strengthen technical review of contractor and vendor simulation deliverables
- Support debottlenecking and modification evaluation with credible in-house analysis
- Reduce dependence on external consultants for routine simulation work
Participants will:
- Build facility simulation models with correct thermodynamic and unit operation assumptions
- Diagnose convergence problems rather than adjusting inputs until the model runs
- Validate models against plant data and defend the resulting predictions
- Recognise when a converged model is producing a wrong answer
- Specify and interpret dynamic simulation studies
- Build a quantitative capability applicable across design, operations and optimisation work
- Process and facilities engineers
- Design engineers carrying out equipment sizing and flowsheet development
- Production and operations engineers evaluating plant performance
- Debottlenecking and optimisation engineers
- Commissioning and start-up engineers
- Technical staff reviewing contractor simulation deliverables
- Graduate chemical and process engineers entering facilities roles
Module 1 - Simulation Fundamentals and Model Purpose
- Role of simulation in design, operations, optimisation and troubleshooting
- Steady state and dynamic simulation and their appropriate applications
- Sequential modular and equation oriented solution approaches
- Model scope definition and battery limit selection
- Degrees of freedom, specifications and solvability
- Level of detail appropriate to the decision being supported
- Model quality, verification and validation concepts
- Common sources of simulation error
Module 2 - Thermodynamics and Property Package Selection
- Equations of state: Peng-Robinson, Soave-Redlich-Kwong and their variants
- Activity coefficient models and their applications
- Binary interaction parameters and their significance
- Property package selection for hydrocarbon separation and compression
- Hydrocarbon-water systems and second liquid phase handling
- Property packages for glycol dehydration systems
- Property packages for amine and acid gas systems
- Near-critical and gas condensate systems
- Electrolyte systems and produced water modelling
- Enthalpy, entropy and transport property methods
- Validating property predictions against measured data
Module 3 - Fluid Characterisation
- Compositional input and component selection
- Plus fraction splitting and pseudo-component generation
- Assay characterisation for crude streams
- Using PVT laboratory data in a simulation fluid model
- Equation of state tuning within a simulation environment
- Component lumping and its effect on results
- Water, salts and non-hydrocarbon components
- Trace components: mercury, oxygen, hydrogen sulphide and their handling
- Consistency between simulation fluid and reservoir fluid models
Module 4 - Separation and Column Models
- Flash calculations and separator models
- Two-phase and three-phase separator modelling
- Stage separation and pressure level optimisation
- Rigorous distillation column models and their convergence
- Stage efficiency, tray and packing hydraulic modelling
- Absorber and stripper modelling
- Stabiliser and fractionation column setup
- Column specification selection and its effect on convergence
- Reboiler and condenser configuration
- Interpreting column profiles and diagnosing modelling problems
Module 5 - Heat Transfer and Rotating Equipment Models
- Simple and rigorous heat exchanger models
- Heat exchanger rating within a flowsheet
- Air cooler modelling and ambient sensitivity
- Fired heater modelling and combustion representation
- Heat integration and heat exchanger network representation
- Pump models, curves and efficiency specification
- Compressor models: polytropic and adiabatic representation
- Compressor curves, performance maps and speed variation
- Expander and turboexpander models
- Driver representation and power calculation
Module 6 - Piping, Valves and Network Models
- Pipe segment models and pressure drop calculation
- Multiphase flow correlations within simulation environments
- Valve and control valve models
- Choke and restriction modelling
- Pipeline and gathering network representation
- Elevation profile and holdup effects
- Integrating well models with facility models
- Network solving and hydraulic convergence
- Coupling reservoir, well, network and facility models
Module 7 - Flowsheet Construction and Convergence
- Building a facility flowsheet in logical sequence
- Recycle streams, tear streams and convergence methods
- Convergence acceleration and solver settings
- Diagnosing convergence failure systematically
- Over-specification, under-specification and inconsistent specifications
- Initialisation strategies and good starting values
- Modular construction and sub-flowsheets
- Unit conversion, basis conventions and common input errors
- Mass and energy balance checking on a converged model
Module 8 - Model Validation and Plant Data Reconciliation
- Collecting a representative plant data set for validation
- Data quality assessment and instrument error identification
- Steady state identification in operating data
- Mass and energy balance closure on plant data
- Data reconciliation principles and gross error detection
- Adjusting model parameters to match plant behaviour legitimately
- Fouling factors, efficiencies and pressure drops as fitted parameters
- Knowing when the model is wrong and when the measurement is wrong
- Maintaining a model as the plant changes
- Documenting the validation basis
Module 9 - Applying Simulation to Engineering Decisions
- Equipment sizing and specification from simulation output
- Case study and sensitivity analysis methodology
- Debottlenecking studies and constraint identification
- Evaluating process modifications and revamp options
- Operating optimisation: pressure levels, temperatures, recycle rates
- Energy efficiency and heat integration studies
- Product specification and quality prediction
- Turndown and off-design operation assessment
- Feed composition change and future case evaluation
- Presenting simulation results with appropriate uncertainty
Module 10 - Dynamic Simulation
- When dynamic simulation is required and when it is not
- Building a dynamic model from a steady state basis
- Equipment holdup, geometry and inventory specification
- Valve, controller and instrumentation representation
- Control loop tuning and stability studies
- Compressor surge and anti-surge system studies
- Relief load determination for blocked outlet and fire scenarios
- Depressurisation and blowdown studies
- Settle-out pressure and compressor trip analysis
- Startup, shutdown and operating procedure development
- Operator training simulator applications
Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.
Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.
This course is led by a process simulation specialist with more than 20 years in the oil and gas industry, built on building facility models that predict what the plant will actually do.
He currently holds process engineering leadership responsibility with a major operator managing surface production facilities, covering thermodynamic property package selection, flowsheet development and model validation against plant data — the disciplines that turn simulation models into reliable engineering tools. Earlier in his career he served as a process engineer on major facility developments, leading steady state and dynamic simulation work on some of the industry's most complex surface processing systems. Across two decades he has built and validated numerous process models used for design, debottlenecking and troubleshooting decisions.
That operating background shapes how he teaches. Delegates learn not only how process simulation software is meant to be used, but how models behave against real plant performance — where property package selection actually drives result accuracy, why fluid characterisation gets oversimplified, what makes unit operation models and flowsheet convergence reliable, how model validation against plant data exposes hidden errors, and how engineering teams apply dynamic simulation for design, debottlenecking and troubleshooting together. Every module is anchored in real simulation data, modelling decisions and lessons from validated facility models.
His subject coverage spans the full process simulation chain: thermodynamic property package selection, fluid characterisation, unit operation modelling, flowsheet construction and convergence, model validation against plant data, dynamic simulation, and the use of models for design, debottlenecking and troubleshooting.
He has delivered process simulation training for many years across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, working with mixed groups of process engineers, simulation specialists and technical management at every level of experience. He is an active contributor to industry forums on process simulation and modelling.
His approach is practical, discussion-led and grounded in real process simulation experience — not the textbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
All course bookings made through PEA are strictly non-refundable. By registering for a course, you acknowledge and accept that all fees are payable in full and are not subject to refund under any circumstances, including changes in personal or professional commitments or partial attendance.
PEA reserves the right to make reasonable adjustments to course content, trainers, or schedules where necessary, without entitling delegates to a refund. Comprehensive details of each course — including objectives, target audience, and content — are clearly outlined before enrolment, and it is the responsibility of the delegate to ensure the course's suitability prior to booking.
For any inquiries related to cancellations or bookings, please contact our support team, who will be happy to assist you.
