Executive Summary

This course delivers a comprehensive and practical understanding of surface production operations across oil and gas facilities. It explains how production fluids are safely received, separated, treated, measured, and exported under varying operating conditions. Participants learn how surface equipment performance influences production efficiency, reliability, and product quality. The program covers key systems such as separators, heaters, dehydration, compression, water handling, and chemical injection. It emphasizes operational discipline, troubleshooting logic, and routine monitoring to prevent upsets and unplanned shutdowns. Process safety and environmental compliance are embedded as core considerations in daily operations. The course strengthens the ability to interpret operating data and respond to abnormal situations effectively. Participants gain a clear view of interfaces between wells, flowlines, facilities, and export systems. The training builds professional confidence to operate, optimize, and maintain surface production systems in a safe and cost-effective manner.

Introduction

The purpose of this course is to develop applied competence in surface production operations by focusing on the function, control, and optimization of production facilities. It addresses the operational realities of handling multiphase fluids, managing contaminants, and maintaining stable process conditions. The scope includes facility flow paths from wellhead to export, including separation, treating, compression, and produced water management. Participants learn the operating principles of major equipment and how operating changes affect throughput and product specifications. The course explains how process control and instrumentation support stable operations and safe shutdown philosophy. It also covers common flow assurance challenges such as hydrates, wax, emulsions, and corrosion at a practical level. Maintenance coordination and reliability thinking are included to reduce downtime and safeguard integrity. Emphasis is placed on structured troubleshooting, root-cause reasoning, and effective communication during upsets. The course prepares participants to improve production performance while maintaining safety, environmental responsibilities, and consistent product quality.

Course Objectives

Participants will achieve the following objectives by the Surface production operations course:

• Explain the full surface production process from wellhead to export and relate each stage to measurable operating objectives.

• Describe how separators, heaters, treaters, dehydration, compression, and metering systems function and how they interact as an integrated facility.

• Monitor key operating parameters and interpret trends to detect early warning signs of instability or equipment performance decline.

• Apply structured troubleshooting steps to diagnose common facility problems such as poor separation, foaming, emulsion carryover, and measurement anomalies.

• Manage flow assurance risks by selecting practical operational responses to hydrates, wax, scaling, corrosion, and sand production effects.

• Apply safe start-up, shutdown, and change-management practices to reduce incident risk and protect asset integrity.

• Evaluate chemical injection purpose and performance and adjust operational controls to maintain product specifications.

• Implement routine surveillance and reliability actions that improve uptime, energy efficiency, and operating cost control.

• Communicate operational findings and risks clearly to multidisciplinary teams using concise shift-ready reporting.

Target Audience

This Surface production operations program targets a professional audience seeking to improve knowledge and skills:

• Production operators working in oil and gas facilities.

• Production engineers supporting daily plant performance.

• Process engineers responsible for facility optimization.

• Field supervisors managing operating teams and shift handovers.

• Maintenance and reliability staff coordinating equipment availability.

• Flow assurance specialists supporting operating risk reduction.

• HSE professionals involved in process safety and compliance.

• Early-career engineers transitioning into facility operations roles.

Course Outline

Day 1: Surface Facilities Overview, Flow Path, and Operational Readiness

• Define the purpose of surface production operations and link facility performance to production targets and product specifications.

• Review the complete production flow path from wellhead and choke to flowlines, manifolds, and inlet separation.

• Explain multiphase fluid behavior and why stable pressure and temperature control improve separation efficiency.

• Identify key equipment at the inlet such as slug catchers, inlet devices, and sand handling arrangements.

• Establish operational readiness checks including line-up verification, isolation status, and basic integrity considerations.

• Introduce process control fundamentals and explain how setpoints and control loops support stable throughput.

• Review facility alarms, trips, and shutdown layers and connect them to hazard prevention philosophy.

• Apply a structured approach to documenting operating conditions during start-up and normal running.

Day 2: Separation, Treating, and Produced Water Handling Operations

• Explain the operating principles of two-phase and three-phase separation and relate performance to retention time and fluid properties.

• Identify causes of separation problems such as foaming, emulsions, high gas rates, and sand interference.

• Operate and monitor level, pressure, and temperature controls and interpret deviations as early indicators of upset.

• Understand crude treating and stabilization goals and connect them to vapor pressure and export specifications.

• Explain produced water quality requirements and the function of hydrocyclones, flotation, and filtration systems.

• Diagnose oil-in-water issues and select practical corrective actions based on observed operating behavior.

• Manage slop handling and interface control to reduce recycle and protect downstream equipment.

• Apply routine sampling and field checks to verify separation and water treatment performance.

Day 3: Gas Compression, Dehydration, and Utility Systems in Production Operations

• Explain why gas compression is required and relate suction conditions to compressor performance and reliability.

• Identify common compressor operating issues such as surge, high discharge temperature, vibration, and liquid carryover.

• Understand gas dehydration objectives and how water removal protects pipelines and downstream equipment.

• Operate and monitor dehydration systems and interpret parameter changes that indicate declining performance.

• Apply practical responses to hydrate risk and explain how temperature, pressure, and water content interact.

• Review utility systems such as fuel gas, instrument air, power supply, and heating medium and their role in stable operations.

• Diagnose utility upsets and prioritize safe actions that prevent cascading facility failures.

• Apply structured isolation and restart logic after utility disturbances to restore stable operation safely.

Day 4: Flow Assurance, Corrosion Control, and Integrity in Surface Operations

• Identify key flow assurance threats in surface systems including wax, hydrates, scale, and solids deposition.

• Apply operating strategies that reduce deposition risk through temperature management and stable flow regimes.

• Explain corrosion mechanisms and how monitoring and inhibition support pipeline and equipment integrity.

• Evaluate chemical injection performance and identify signs of under-treatment or over-treatment.

• Diagnose emulsion stability causes and select practical demulsification and heating responses.

• Understand sand production impacts on erosion and separation and apply operational controls to protect equipment.

• Apply inspection and monitoring thinking to identify early integrity threats such as leaks, abnormal vibration, and unusual noise.

• Integrate integrity considerations into daily operating routines and shift reporting for proactive risk management.

Day 5: Start-Up, Shutdown, Optimization, and Safe Operations Management

• Apply safe start-up procedures and ensure correct sequencing to prevent overpressure, carryover, and unstable operation.

• Apply shutdown principles and understand how emergency shutdown systems protect personnel and equipment.

• Optimize separator pressures, heating duty, and chemical dosing to improve oil quality and reduce energy losses.

• Interpret production data, test separator results, and metering trends to identify improvement opportunities.

• Apply troubleshooting frameworks for recurring problems and use root-cause logic to prevent repeat failures.

• Coordinate operations with maintenance planning to minimize downtime and manage equipment changeovers safely.

• Strengthen shift handover quality through structured communication, critical parameter tracking, and action lists.

• Produce a final operational summary that captures risk status, performance indicators, and next-step priorities.

Course Duration

This [Surface production operations] course is available in different durations: 1 week (intensive training), 2 weeks (moderate pace with additional practice sessions), or 3 weeks (a comprehensive learning experience). The course can be attended in person or online, depending on the trainee's preference.

Instructor Information

This [Surface production operations] course is delivered by expert trainers worldwide, bringing global experience and best practices. The instructors have extensive experience in production facilities, process operations, and field troubleshooting across diverse asset types. Their delivery emphasizes safe operations, disciplined monitoring, and practical decision-making during both steady-state and upset conditions. Training focuses on operational excellence, integrity protection, and measurable performance improvement. Participants benefit from facility-tested workflows that translate directly into day-to-day operational capability.

Frequently Asked Questions

1- Who should attend this [Surface production operations] course?

Production operators, production and process engineers, supervisors, and facility professionals responsible for running or supporting surface production systems.

2- What are the key benefits of this [Surface production operations] training?

Participants gain practical understanding of facility equipment, troubleshooting skills, safer operations discipline, and improved production reliability and efficiency.

3—Do participants receive a certificate? Yes, upon successful completion, all participants will receive a professional certification.

4- What language is the course delivered in? English and Arabic.

5- Can I attend online? Yes, you can attend in person, online, or in-house at your company.

Conclusion

This course builds applied capability in surface production operations from inlet to export. It strengthens the ability to operate key equipment safely while maintaining product quality and facility stability. Participants develop practical troubleshooting and monitoring skills that reduce downtime and prevent upsets. The training supports stronger process safety and integrity management in daily operations. The outcomes lead to more efficient production, better reliability, and improved operational decision-making.