Level 3 Diploma in Petrochemical TechnologyProcess Operations, Instrumentation, Maintenance and Safety for the Oil, Gas and Process Industries

A 70-module course in one format

Level 3 Diploma in Petrochemical Technology

Process Operations, Instrumentation, Maintenance and Safety for the Oil, Gas and Process Industries

The Level 3 Diploma in Petrochemical Technology trains process technicians for oil and gas production, gas processing, refining, petrochemical and chemical plants, terminals and utilities. Over two years and 72 weeks, eight formal modules of 150 scheduled hours each take the learner from the value chain and the plant's drawings, through the science, the equipment, the instruments, safety and maintenance, to quality control and an integrated plant simulation. Every one of the 70 teaching units is taught in three strands: a classroom chapter, a guided digital strand on the course platform and a supervised practical on rigs, trainers, laboratory benches or the simulator. From the first week each learner builds a Plant Portfolio of observed tasks and the documents a technician produces, which ends in three assessed simulator shifts, a capstone report and a 45-minute professional discussion. The programme is a proposal subject to validation by the approving body, which awards the diploma on its own rules.

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The course path: 70 modules in eight parts, leading to the Plant Portfolio 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364656667686970PART IPART IIPART IIIPART IVPART VPART VIPART VIIPART VIII Your Plant Portfolio
Level
Level 3 technician (proposed, subject to validation)
Length
Two years, 72 weeks; 1,200 scheduled hours plus 576 hours of independent study
Format
One format: the two-year diploma in eight formal modules and 70 units
Assessment
50% practical competency, 20% applied project, 15% knowledge, 15% portfolio and professional discussion; two non-compensable safety gates
Materials
A textbook and an Essentials edition per module, Practical Workbooks, decks, a podcast, online tests, flashcards, a case library and the technician toolkit
Status
First edition, 2026; draft for validation

Who it is for

Who the course is for

The diploma is for people training to become process technicians (outside operators, board operators, plant operators and operations technicians) in oil and gas production, gas processing, refining, petrochemical and chemical plants, terminals and utilities. It suits school leavers and adults starting out; people already working in those plants as helpers, trainees or in other trades who need the formal foundation; and technicians from power, water, food and other process industries who are moving into hydrocarbons. It was written first for countries where the plants, the regulators and the training are all being built at once, but nothing in it assumes one country: the chapters say "the regulator", "the national TVET council" and "the site's permit system", and a separate country supplement names them.

Curriculum

70 modules in eight parts

Every module adds one step to a capstone Plant Portfolio.

Part I

Introduction to Oil & Gas Operations

  1. 1The Oil and Gas Value Chain: Upstream, Midstream and Downstream
  2. 2Where Hydrocarbons Come From: Reservoirs, Wells, Platforms and FPSOs
  3. 3What a Plant Is Made Of: Facilities, Process Units and Utilities
  4. 4The Process Technician: Roles, Shifts, Teams and Professionalism
  5. 5Reading the Plant: PFDs, P&IDs, Symbols and Tags
  6. 6Process Variables: Pressure, Temperature, Flow, Level and Composition
  7. 7The Log, the Handover and the Radio: Operating Communication
  8. 8Hazards, PPE and Safe Conduct on Site
  9. 9Normal or Not: Recognising and Escalating a Deviation

Part II

Chemical Process Principles

  1. 10Matter, Mixtures and Process Fluids
  2. 11Hydrocarbon Chemistry: What Crude Oil and Natural Gas Are Made Of
  3. 12States of Matter, Phase Change, Vapour Pressure and the Gas Laws
  4. 13Density, Viscosity, Pressure and Head
  5. 14Flow: Energy in Moving Fluids and Friction
  6. 15Heat, Temperature, Heat Transfer and Energy Balances
  7. 16Concentration, pH, Solutions, Reactions and Corrosion Chemistry
  8. 17Mass Balance and Yield: Accounting for Every Kilogram
  9. 18Measurement, Uncertainty, Laboratory Practice and Presenting Data

Part III

Refinery & Process Plant Fundamentals

  1. 19Pumps
  2. 20Compressors, Turbines and Drivers
  3. 21Valves, Piping, Vessels and Tanks
  4. 22Heat Exchangers, Fired Heaters, Boilers and Steam
  5. 23Utilities: Cooling Water, Compressed Air, Nitrogen, Fuel Gas, Flare and Drains
  6. 24Separation and Distillation
  7. 25Evaporation, Crystallisation, Mixing, Filtration, Absorption and Stripping
  8. 26From Wellhead and Crude to Products: The Gas Plant and the Refinery Flow
  9. 27Start-up, Normal Operation, Shutdown and Troubleshooting on the Process Trainer

Part IV

Instrumentation & Control Systems

  1. 28Measurement Fundamentals and Pressure Measurement
  2. 29Temperature Measurement
  3. 30Flow Measurement
  4. 31Level and Analytical Measurement
  5. 32Signals, Transmitters, 4–20 mA, Digital Communication and Loop Diagrams
  6. 33Control Loops: Feedback, PID and Controllers
  7. 34Final Control Elements: Control Valves, Actuators and Positioners
  8. 35PLC, DCS, SCADA and HMI: Alarms, Interlocks and Safety Systems Awareness
  9. 36Calibration, Proof Testing and Fault Diagnosis

Part V

Industrial Health, Safety & Environment

  1. 37Why Process Safety: Major Accidents and the Barrier Model
  2. 38Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
  3. 39The Hierarchy of Controls, Safety Barriers, Management Systems and Management of Change
  4. 40Permit to Work
  5. 41Isolation, Lock-out/Tag-out and Stored Energy: The Competency Gate
  6. 42Fire, Explosion, Flammable Atmospheres, Hazardous Areas and Gas Testing
  7. 43Confined Spaces, Working at Height, Lifting, Chemicals and Occupational Health
  8. 44Environment: Emissions, Flaring, Spills, Waste, Water and Permits
  9. 45Emergency Response and Incident Investigation

Part VI

Plant Equipment & Maintenance

  1. 46Maintenance Strategies, Criticality and Planning
  2. 47How Equipment Fails: Wear, Fatigue, Corrosion, Erosion and Fouling
  3. 48Bearings, Lubrication and Seals
  4. 49Pumps: Inspection, Maintenance and Alignment
  5. 50Compressors, Turbines and Gearboxes: Maintenance and Vibration Awareness
  6. 51Valves and Actuators: Maintenance
  7. 52Static Equipment: Piping, Vessels and Exchangers, Inspection and Corrosion Monitoring
  8. 53Condition Monitoring, Job Cards and the Maintenance Management System
  9. 54Isolation, Permits, Housekeeping and Return to Service

Part VII

Process Monitoring & Quality Control

  1. 55Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Operational Monitoring: Specifications and Tolerances
  2. 56Sampling: Methods, Labelling, Chain of Custody and Contamination Control
  3. 57Laboratory Tests on Process Streams and Products
  4. 58Trends, Normal Variation, Alarm Limits and Control Charts
  5. 59Data Integrity, Instrument Confidence and Cross-checking
  6. 60Recognising an Abnormal Condition and Troubleshooting by Evidence
  7. 61Off-specification Product, Root Cause and Corrective Action: The Quality Tools
  8. 62Process Improvement and Reporting

Part VIII

Applied Plant Simulation / Workshop

  1. 63The Integrated Plant: Preparing for an Operating Task
  2. 64Pre-start Checks, Permits, Isolations and Team Roles
  3. 65Start-up
  4. 66Steady State: Operation, Monitoring, Logs and Control-room Communication
  5. 67Upsets, Alarms, Instrument Faults and Equipment Faults
  6. 68Emergency Response and Safe Shutdown
  7. 69Quality, Throughput, Energy Efficiency and Maintenance Coordination
  8. 70Shift Handover, Reporting, the Plant Portfolio and the Professional Discussion

Formats

One way to take the course

Two-year diploma

Eight formal modules of 150 scheduled hours over 72 weeks: classroom sessions, a guided digital strand on this platform and supervised practicals on rigs, trainers and the simulator, with a Plant Portfolio of evidence that ends in an integrated plant simulation.

Inside the course site

Everything in one place

The textbook, online

The full edition and the shorter Essentials edition, with search, chapter navigation and every exercise.

Online tests

Module tests and a final exam, with answers, explanations and the section to revisit after you submit.

Revision tools

Flashcards for every chapter, a searchable case library, the glossary, reading lists and cheat sheets.

A toolkit to take away

Editable templates that put the course into practice.

For lecturers

Lecturer notes, slides with speaker notes, the test bank and a results dashboard for the cohort.

Private by design

No tracking and no third-party services. The site stores only what it needs to run the course.

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