Refinery Operations interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your background + refinery operations experience.
2. Tell me about a unit or operational role you've held.
3. Why downstream refining vs upstream / midstream / chemicals?
4. Why this type of refinery - high-complexity conversion / fuels-focused / hydroskimmer / specialty?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our site footprint + recent operational events?
7. Tell me what you understand about our safety + reliability posture.
8. Walk me through an abnormal operation or upset you handled.

Technical concepts to master

• Refinery units + DCS board operating

  DCS (Distributed Control System) · APC (Advanced Process Control) · Operating window · Abnormal Operating Conditions (AOC) · Emergency depressuring + safe park

• PSM + RMP + MOC discipline

  PSM 14 elements · PHA (Process Hazard Analysis) - HAZOP + LOPA · MOC (Management of Change) · PSSR (Pre-Startup Safety Review) · EPA RMP elements

• Turnaround planning + execution

  T/A cycle + scope · Scope freeze + critical path · Discovery work · FFS (Fitness-for-Service) · PSSR + start-up sequencing

• Refinery LP economics + crack spreads

  Crack spread · Refinery LP (Linear Programming) model · Shadow price + marginal barrel · Yield + selectivity · Utilities + energy intensity

Practical drills

• Mid-shift, FCC regenerator temperature climbs 30 deg F in 20 minutes while feed rate is steady. Cat-to-oil ratio shows a step-change. Walk me through your response from the board.
• Day 14 of a 28-day T/A on a hydrotreater. Inspection finds unexpected wall thinning on a reactor effluent air cooler header - below T-min by 15%. Critical path is open-up + retray of the stripper. Walk me through your decision.
• Planning tells you the hydrogen shadow price is $1.20/scf this month vs $0.40/scf last month. Your hydrocracker is at 95% of design hydrogen consumption. Walk through the operating + economics implications + your move.

Smart-question anchors

• Site footprint + complexity - kbd capacity, Nelson Index, conversion unit mix
• Crude slate flexibility - light sweet vs heavy sour diet, recent feed-shift moves
• Safety record + PSM posture - OSHA NEP, CSB engagement, PHA cadence, audit findings
• Turnaround cadence + recent T/A - next major T/A unit + date, recent T/A schedule + budget
• Reliability + mechanical integrity - downtime rate, FFS culture, inspection backlog

Sourced from

OSHA PSM 29 CFR 1910.119 + Refinery National Emphasis Program · EPA RMP 40 CFR 68 + NSPS Subpart Ja + Refinery MACT I + II · API standards - 510, 570, 653, 579, 584, RP 750, RP 752, RP 753, RP 754 · CCPS guidelines + Chemical Safety Board accident reports · Solomon Associates fuel refining benchmark + Argus + OPIS + Hart Energy refining commentary