Walk me through your background + refinery operations experience.

What it tests: Story arc - training, units run, safety + PSM exposure, turnaround / commissioning work.

Tell me about a unit or operational role you've held.

What it tests: Operational rigor - DCS fluency, unit economics awareness, cross-shift discipline.

What it tests: Authentic alignment - complex-unit operations, tight margins, safety + economics + turnaround rhythm.

What it tests: Specificity. Generic 'I like refining' answers fail. Conversion vs hydroskimming vs specialty is a real distinction.

What it tests: Real homework - site, units, safety record, T/A cadence, culture - not name-drop.

What it tests: Industry literacy - site capacity, complexity, crude diet, recent ops events, regulatory engagement.

What it tests: PSM + reliability fluency on this firm's actual record - not surface-level commentary.

What it tests: Operational + emergency response fluency - decision-making under pressure, board judgement, regulatory reporting.

Process operators, panel / board operators, unit engineers, operations supervisors, turnaround leads, production planners.

Can the candidate operate a unit safely + within PSM / RMP discipline (1910.119, 40 CFR 68)?
Do they have hands-on unit fluency - CDU / FCC / HCU / HDT - and can they read DCS trends?
Are they fluent in abnormal-ops response, emergency depressuring, and shutdown sequencing?
Can they navigate turnaround planning + execution - scope freeze, critical path, PSSR?
Do they understand refinery LP economics - crack spread, marginal barrel, yield + utilities trade-offs?
Are they grounded in mechanical integrity + reliability - API 510 / 570 / 653, FFS, T/A discovery work?
Long-game fit - operator / panel / shift supervisor / unit superintendent / operations manager trajectory?

Walk me through your background + refinery operations experience.
What it tests: Story arc - training, units run, safety + PSM exposure, turnaround / commissioning work.
Tell me about a unit or operational role you've held.
What it tests: Operational rigor - DCS fluency, unit economics awareness, cross-shift discipline.
Why downstream refining vs upstream / midstream / chemicals?
What it tests: Authentic alignment - complex-unit operations, tight margins, safety + economics + turnaround rhythm.
Why this type of refinery - high-complexity conversion / fuels-focused / hydroskimmer / specialty?
What it tests: Specificity. Generic 'I like refining' answers fail. Conversion vs hydroskimming vs specialty is a real distinction.
Why this firm?
What it tests: Real homework - site, units, safety record, T/A cadence, culture - not name-drop.
What's your read on our site footprint + recent operational events?
What it tests: Industry literacy - site capacity, complexity, crude diet, recent ops events, regulatory engagement.
Tell me what you understand about our safety + reliability posture.
What it tests: PSM + reliability fluency on this firm's actual record - not surface-level commentary.
Walk me through an abnormal operation or upset you handled.
What it tests: Operational + emergency response fluency - decision-making under pressure, board judgement, regulatory reporting.

Refinery units + DCS board operating

DCS (Distributed Control System): Plant-wide control + monitoring system that operates units via PID loops, advanced regulatory control, and alarms.
APC (Advanced Process Control): Multivariable model-predictive control layer above the DCS - pushes unit closer to constraints (yield, severity, throughput).
Operating window: Safe + reliable operating envelope per variable - alarm + trip limits + integrity operating windows (IOW per API 584).
Abnormal Operating Conditions (AOC): Operations outside normal envelope - excursions, alarm floods, partial trips, off-spec product.

PSM + RMP + MOC discipline

PSM 14 elements: OSHA 1910.119 elements - PSI, PHA, OP, training, contractors, PSSR, MI, hot work, MOC, incident investigation, emergency planning, compliance audits, trade secrets, employee participation.
PHA (Process Hazard Analysis) - HAZOP + LOPA: Systematic hazard identification - HAZOP guide-word review + LOPA semi-quantitative protection-layer analysis.
MOC (Management of Change): Formal review process for any change to process, equipment, chemicals, technology, procedures, or staffing - excluding replacement in kind.
PSSR (Pre-Startup Safety Review): Formal verification before start-up after MOC or T/A - equipment built per design, procedures in place, training complete, PHA recommendations resolved.

Turnaround planning + execution

T/A cycle + scope: Major T/A typically every 4-6 years per unit; scope set ~24-36 months ahead via inspection history + IOW status + reliability data.
Scope freeze + critical path: Scope is locked ~6-12 months pre-T/A; critical path drives schedule + manning; late adds threaten both.
Discovery work: Findings during T/A inspection - corrosion, fouling, cracking, fitness-for-service calls - that drive scope additions or deferrals.
FFS (Fitness-for-Service): Engineering assessment - per API 579 - of whether equipment with a flaw can continue safely until next inspection or T/A.

Refinery LP economics + crack spreads

Crack spread: Simple refining margin proxy - e.g. 3-2-1 crack = (2 gasoline + 1 distillate - 3 crude) / 3 in $/bbl.
Refinery LP (Linear Programming) model: Optimisation model used by planning + economics to set crude diet, unit operation, blend recipe - typically Aspen PIMS or similar.
Shadow price + marginal barrel: LP-derived marginal value of an additional barrel of feed, a tighter spec, or a relaxed constraint.
Yield + selectivity: Yield = product / feed ratio per unit; selectivity = preferred product / less-valued product ratio.

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.

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

Drop your CV and a job description on the home page. A couple of minutes later you get a report with everything you need to land the job.