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Quest Training

Oil Spill Prevention, Response & Recovery Training Course

Builds the skills to prevent oil spills, plan tiered preparedness, choose response strategies, run spill incident command and lead shoreline recovery.

EM · Environmental Management & ProtectionAll Levels#2961ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
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Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Sectors:Health, Safety, Environment & SustainabilityCategories:Environmental Management & Protection

Course Overview

The Oil Spill Prevention, Response & Recovery Training Course equips HSE, environmental, operations, and marine professionals to prevent oil spills, build credible response capability, and manage a spill from first notification through clean-up and recovery. Spills can originate at terminals, pipelines, offshore installations, tank farms, and vessels, and a single release can affect coastlines, fisheries, desalination intakes, and communities. Effective spill management depends on prevention controls, realistic contingency planning, the right resources at the right tier, and sound response decisions. The course follows the full spill lifecycle, informed by the OPRC 1990 convention and international industry good practice. Participants examine spill sources and causes, spill risk assessment, oil spill contingency plans, the tiered preparedness and response concept, equipment and resource planning, and exercises. They then study how oil spreads, evaporates, disperses, emulsifies, and weathers, and how trajectory modeling supports response decisions. The program compares response strategies and their trade-offs: monitor and evaluate, containment and recovery with booms and skimmers, dispersants and in-situ burning at concept level, and shoreline protection and clean-up, using net environmental benefit analysis and environmental and socio-economic sensitivity maps. It also covers spill incident command, responder health and safety, oily waste, stakeholder and media communication, post-spill assessment, restoration, and lessons learned. The course is delivered through spill case studies, contingency plan reviews, weathering and trajectory exercises, and a final tabletop spill exercise. Participants leave with a spill risk assessment worksheet, a contingency plan review checklist, a response strategy selection matrix, and an incident action plan template. General emergency and crisis management and offshore survival are covered in separate programs.

Learning Objectives

  • Analyze the sources and causes of oil spills from terminals, pipelines, offshore installations, shipping, and storage on Day 1.
  • Conduct a spill risk assessment linking credible release scenarios to their consequences.
  • Apply prevention and integrity controls during transfer, storage, and production.
  • Evaluate oil spill contingency plans against the tiered preparedness and response concept.
  • Plan equipment, personnel, and mutual aid resources for each response tier.
  • Explain how spreading, evaporation, emulsification, and weathering change spilled oil.
  • Interpret trajectory modeling outputs to anticipate where oil will travel.
  • Compare monitor and evaluate, containment and recovery, dispersants, and in-situ burning.
  • Select shoreline protection and clean-up techniques suited to shoreline type and sensitivity.
  • Use environmental and socio-economic sensitivity maps to set protection priorities.
  • Organize spill incident command, incident action planning, and responder health and safety.
  • Manage oily response waste and plan stakeholder and media communication.
  • Lead post-spill assessment, restoration planning, and lessons learned reviews by the end of Day 5.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for HSE and environmental managers, oil spill response coordinators, terminal, pipeline, and marine operations supervisors, offshore installation and production personnel, emergency response team leaders, and contingency planners responsible for spill preparedness. It is also relevant for port and harbor officers, environmental regulators and inspectors, coastal and marine protection officials, waste management and logistics coordinators, and communication and community relations staff who support spill response. It is particularly valuable for professionals in oil and gas operators, refineries, tank terminals, pipeline companies, shipping companies and port authorities, offshore service contractors, ministries and environment agencies, and coastal municipalities who need to build realistic spill prevention, response, and recovery capability.

Learning Outcomes

  • Explain how and why oil spills occur across different types of operations.
  • Assess spill risk using credible release scenarios and their consequences.
  • Recommend practical controls that prevent spills.
  • Review an oil spill contingency plan for completeness and realism.
  • Apply the tiered concept to response resource planning.
  • Plan and evaluate spill response exercises.
  • Predict how oil will spread and weather after a release.
  • Use trajectory information to support response decisions.
  • Select response strategies by weighing their trade-offs.
  • Set protection priorities using sensitivity maps.
  • Choose suitable shoreline protection and clean-up techniques.
  • Work effectively within a spill incident command structure.
  • Support safe response, sound waste handling, clear communication, and post-spill recovery.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

Spill Sources, Causes, and Risk

  • Oil types and properties that shape spill risk
  • Sources: terminals, pipelines, offshore installations, shipping, and storage
  • Causes: equipment failure, corrosion, human error, and third-party damage
  • Lessons from major oil spills
  • Spill risk assessment: scenarios, volumes, and consequences
  • Prevention controls, secondary containment, and leak detection
  • The international framework, including OPRC 1990
  • Practical application: participants assess and rank spill scenarios for a model terminal
Day 2

Preparedness and Contingency Planning

  • Structure of an oil spill contingency plan
  • The tiered concept: Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3
  • Equipment and resource planning for each tier
  • Mutual aid and external response arrangements
  • Notification and initial response procedures
  • Exercise types: notification, tabletop, and equipment deployment
  • Testing, reviewing, and updating the plan
  • Practical application: participants review a contingency plan and identify gaps in tiers and resources
Day 3

Oil Behavior, Fate, and Response Strategies

  • Spreading, evaporation, and natural dispersion
  • Emulsification and weathering
  • Trajectory modeling concepts and limits
  • Aerial surveillance of spilled oil
  • Monitor and evaluate; containment and recovery with booms and skimmers
  • Dispersants and in-situ burning at concept level
  • Net environmental benefit analysis and response trade-offs
  • Practical application: participants estimate oil weathering for a scenario and compare response options
Day 4

Sensitivity Mapping, Shorelines, and Waste

  • Environmental and socio-economic sensitivity mapping
  • Protection priorities for coastlines, water intakes, and fisheries
  • Deflection and exclusion booming
  • Shoreline assessment and clean-up techniques
  • Manual recovery, flushing, and natural recovery
  • Response waste segregation, temporary storage, and minimization
  • Responder health and safety: exposure, site safety plans, and PPE
  • Practical application: participants prepare a protection and waste plan for a sensitive coastline
Day 5

Spill Command, Communication, and Recovery

  • Incident command structure for oil spills
  • Incident action planning and operational periods
  • Coordination with authorities and response organizations
  • Stakeholder and media communication
  • Post-spill environmental and socio-economic assessment
  • Restoration, response termination, and handover
  • Lessons learned and plan improvement
  • Final workshop: participants manage a tabletop spill exercise from notification to recovery planning

Upcoming Dates

Selected date

Cairo · 13 – 17 Jun 2027 · Classroom

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MadridScheduled
9 – 13 Nov 2026€5,400—
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MakkahScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€4,200—
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ManamaScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€4,700—
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MarbellaScheduled
23 – 27 Nov 2026€5,400—
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MuscatScheduled
30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026€5,300€4,770until 9 Nov
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OnlineScheduled
6 – 10 Dec 2026€1,700€1,530until 16 Nov
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ParisScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€5,700€5,130until 16 Nov
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AbujaScheduled
14 – 18 Dec 2026€5,100€4,590until 23 Nov
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AmmanScheduled
20 – 24 Dec 2026€3,100€2,790until 30 Nov
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AccraScheduled
21 – 25 Dec 2026€5,100€4,590until 30 Nov
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AmsterdamScheduled
28 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027€5,400€4,860until 7 Dec
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BakuScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€4,800€4,320until 14 Dec
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BangkokScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€6,100€5,490until 14 Dec
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BarcelonaScheduled
11 – 15 Jan 2027€5,400€4,860until 21 Dec
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BeirutScheduled
17 – 21 Jan 2027€4,000€3,600until 28 Dec
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CairoScheduled
24 – 28 Jan 2027€3,300€2,970until 4 Jan
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Cape TownScheduled
25 – 29 Jan 2027€5,100€4,590until 4 Jan
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CasablancaScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€4,300€3,870until 11 Jan
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DammamScheduled
7 – 11 Feb 2027€4,200€3,780until 18 Jan
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DohaScheduled
7 – 11 Feb 2027€4,400€3,960until 18 Jan
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DubaiScheduled
14 – 18 Feb 2027€4,400€3,960until 25 Jan
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ErbilScheduled
21 – 25 Feb 2027€3,100€2,790until 1 Feb
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FrankfurtScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,800€5,220until 1 Feb
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IstanbulScheduled
1 – 5 Mar 2027€4,700€4,230until 8 Feb
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JeddahScheduled
7 – 11 Mar 2027€4,200€3,780until 15 Feb
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KigaliScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€5,100€4,590until 15 Feb
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Kuala LumpurScheduled
15 – 19 Mar 2027€4,400€3,960until 22 Feb
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LisbonScheduled
22 – 26 Mar 2027€5,400€4,860until 1 Mar
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LondonScheduled
22 – 26 Mar 2027€5,600€5,040until 1 Mar
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MadinahScheduled
29 Mar – 2 Apr 2027€4,200€3,780until 8 Mar
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CairoScheduled
13 – 17 Jun 2027€3,300€2,970until 24 May
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Available in: Istanbul · Dubai · London · Doha · Amsterdam

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