COURSE

Financing Downstream Oil & Gas Projects

Learn how project finance techniques have been specifically developed for financing crude oil refineries and petrochemical production facilities.

This course is designed to provide a detailed understanding of the techniques employed for financing downstream oil & gas projects. Participants will learn the importance of understanding the complexity of a crude oil refinery and of measuring the relative cost competitiveness of a petrochemical plant.

Starting with an overview of the oil & gas industry, participants will receive an introduction to refinery configuration, calculating refining margins and the role of the Nelson Complexity Index in providing a relative measurement of construction costs based on a refinery’s crude and upgrading capacity.

The course will introduce petrochemical processing techniques and the financing structures which have been developed to cope with an industry for which input and output prices are rarely aligned.

A qualitative and quantitative risk analysis framework will be used to illustrate the contractual structures which have been developed to support the financing of downstream projects and will culminate in participants building their own downstream project finance structure.

Participants’ knowledge is consolidated through example case studies and interactive practical exercises.

On completion of the course, participants will be equipped with a clear understanding of:

  • The oil & gas value chain;
  • The configuration of crude oil refineries and petrochemical facilities;
  • The Nelson Complexity Index;
  • Refining margins and ‘crack’ spreads;
  • Qualitative & quantitative risk analysis;
  • Key commercial contracts;
  • Financing structures which mitigate margin risk;
  • The importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations.

The course is led by Ian Cogswell, who shares the knowledge he has gained from over 20 years’ practical experience of oil & gas project financing.