Oil & Gas Separation & Processing Fundamentals
Raw wellstream fluid arriving at a facility isn’t sellable oil or pipeline-quality gas — it’s a mixture that has to be separated, dried, sweetened, compressed, and stabilized before it’s worth anything to a buyer. Every one of those steps is a chance to get it right or create a problem downstream. Burraq Consulting’s course builds a working understanding of that entire processing chain.
What Is Oil & Gas Separation & Processing?
Separation and processing is the sequence of unit operations that convert raw wellstream fluids into pipeline-quality oil, gas, and water streams ready for sale or disposal. It typically starts with two- or three-phase separation, followed by gas dehydration, gas sweetening where sour gas is present, compression for transport, and crude oil stabilization to control vapor pressure for safe storage and shipping.
Who Should Attend
- Process operators running separation and gas processing equipment
- Process engineers involved in designing or optimizing processing systems
- Facility technicians supporting separation and processing operations
Prerequisites
Basic process engineering knowledge is recommended.
What the Course Covers
- Two-phase and three-phase separation principles, including equipment design basics and common operating issues
- Gas dehydration methods — glycol dehydration and desiccant systems — and why controlling water content matters for downstream transport
- Gas sweetening fundamentals for removing H2S and CO2 from sour gas streams
- Compression systems and their role in gas processing, transport, and injection
- Crude oil stabilization and vapor pressure control for safe storage and transport
- Process control philosophy for maintaining stable separation and processing operations
- Common process upsets and practical troubleshooting approaches
Course at a Glance
Why Train with Burraq Consulting
Burraq Consulting’s instructors bring direct gas processing and separation operations experience from facilities across the region, and this course reflects the process upsets and equipment quirks participants will actually encounter — not just idealized process flow diagrams.
Certification and Next Steps
This course builds practical separation and processing competency. It pairs naturally with Burraq Consulting’s Surface Production Facilities Operations course for a complete picture of how raw wellstream fluids become sellable products.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two-phase separation splits gas from liquid; three-phase separation further splits the liquid into oil and water. Which one a facility needs depends on the wellstream’s water content and downstream processing requirements.
The course covers sweetening fundamentals and process principles at a working level rather than deep chemical engineering theory, giving operators and engineers enough understanding to run and troubleshoot sweetening systems effectively.
Yes, though the emphasis can be adjusted — separation and stabilization principles apply to any facility handling multiphase wellstream fluids, even where gas processing is minimal.
This course goes deeper into the process principles behind separation and processing equipment, while Burraq Consulting’s surface production facilities course covers the broader operational context — the two work well together for a complete view.
Turn raw wellstream fluid into product you can actually sell.
or contact us to arrange an in-house program for your process team.