Tampa:
Arctic weather sweeping across much of the U.S. impacted refinery operations in the Midwest, Genscape reported. Unit outages or total shutdowns were noted at the CVR refinery in Wynnewood, Okla., and the HollyFrontier plants in Tulsa, Okla., and El Dorado, Kan.
Operations were also affected at the CHS plant in McPherson, Kan., the Marathon refinery in Robinson, Ill., and the CVR facility in Coffeyville, Kan. Units were also reported shutting down at Valero’s refinery in Memphis, Tenn.
Tampa molten sulfur contracts were valued at $96/lt CFR for first-quarter delivery, up $27/lt from the prior period.
Refinery utilization inched higher in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Feb. 18 report. Nationwide capacity was reported at 83.1 percent for the week ending Feb. 12, a 0.1 point increase from the week-ago 83.0 percent. The current rate continued to trail last year’s 89.4 percent and the 86.7 percent five-year average.
Daily crude inputs lifted to an average 14.819 million barrels/d for the period, a 26,000 barrel/d increase from the last reported 14.793 million barrels/d rate.
U.S. Gulf:
Extreme winter temperatures heavily impacted refinery operations in the Gulf during the week, reducing outputs or forcing total shutdowns.
Genscape reported numerous unit outages starting on Feb. 15 at the country’s largest refinery, the 636,500 barrel/d Motiva plant in Port Arthur, Texas. All of the facility’s monitored units were offline on Feb. 16.
Valero shut a 115,000 barrel/d crude distillation unit (CDU) and a 14,000 barrel/d hydro treater early on Feb. 15 at the company’s Houston refinery, and added a 38,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit (VDU) to the shutdown list later that evening. Multiple unit shutdowns were also reported at Valero’s Corpus Christi, Texas, facilities, with both the East and West units affected.
Shutdowns at the Valero plant in Port Arthur included the 256,000 barrel/d CDU, the 172,000 barrel/d VDU, an 80,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCC), and a 57,000 barrel/d hydrocracker. In addition, reduced activity was observed from a 100,000 barrel/d coking unit at the facility.
Total halted all output at its 200,000 barrel/d Port Arthur plant, Genscape noted, stopping production on a 165,000 barrel/d CDU, an 80,000 barrel/d CDU, a 55,000 barrel/d VDU, a 52,000 barrel/d VDU, an 80,000 barrel/d FCC, and numerous additional units.
Two sulfur recovery units and a 45,000 barrel/d hydrotreater were taken offline at the Citgo plant in Corpus Christi on Feb. 15. Prior to those shutdowns, Genscape reported numerous unit shutdowns at the refinery, including a 174,000 barrel/d CDU, an 85,300 barrel/d VDU, and the plant’s 69,000 barrel/d No. 2 FCC unit.
Genscape also reported Feb. 15 shutdowns at the Chevron Corp. facility in Pasadena, Texas, including a 115,700 barrel/d CD, a 56,000 barrel/d FCC, and a 35,000 barrel/d hydrotreater.
Operational interruptions reported at the 584,000 barrel/d ExxonMobil Corp. plant in Baytown, Texas, included the plant’s 280,300 barrel/d Pipestill 8 crude section, a 100,000 barrel/d PS-3 CDU, and a 65,000 barrel/d catalytic reformer, among others. Exxon took a 120,000 barrel/d FCC and a 65,000 barrel/d hydrocracker offline at its plant in Beaumont, Texas, on Feb. 15, followed by a 119,400 barrel/d CDU and a 46,800 barrel/d VDU on Feb. 16.
Additional shutdowns were reported at the Valero refinery in McKee, Texas, the Phillips 66 facility in Lake Charles, La., Valero’s Corpus Christ West plant, and the Citgo refinery in Lake Charles. LyondellBasell Ind. shut units at the company’s Houston facility, while all monitored units were taken offline during the week at the Valero plant in Meraux, La., Genscape reported.
Shell powered down a 70,000 barrel/d FCC and a 67,000 barrel/d hydrocracker on Feb. 15 in Deer Park, Texas. The moves were preceded by a 70,000 barrel/d CDU and reduced activity at the plant’s 270,000 barrel/d DU-2 CDU.
Reuters reported the Feb. 14 shutdown of numerous units at Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s 585,000 barrel/d Galveston Bay refinery, located in Texas City, Texas. Genscape listed numerous refinery components offline for the week, including a sulfur recovery unit, a 50,000 barrel/d CDU, and a 58,500 barrel/d FCC.
Despite the plethora of production outages, truck and rail logistical operations for the current period were described as mostly unchanged from recent weeks. “The railroads are not operating well, but most are chalking that up to COVID,” one source said.
Recent transactions at Brazil and Morocco suggested Gulf price ideas in the $135-$150/mt FOB range, sources said, should spot material become available. Reduced refinery runs stemming from the ongoing pandemic have restricted the market’s spot capacity since early 2020.
Brazil:
The recent Brazil import market continued to be reported in the $170-$180/mt CFR range, with the high noted coming on a $180/mt CFR purchase by Copebras.
Vancouver:
Last-done at Vancouver was quoted flat at $140-$149/mt FOB. Rising values at China were projected to push Vancouver higher in the next round of business.
Alberta:
Sulfur produced in Alberta netted back in a wide (-)$31-(-)$79/mt FOB range, sources indicated, unchanged from one week earlier.
West Coast:
West Coast prilled sulfur pricing continued to be noted at $140-$149/mt FOB, unmoved from the previous report. Molten tons loading from West Coast locations fell in the $70-$77/lt FOB range for first-quarter contracts, firming from $45-$60/lt in fourth-quarter 2020.
China:
Recent China spot import levels continued to be heard at $173-$178/mt CFR, coming on firm bids reported ahead of the country’s two-week Lunar New Year holiday. Domestic market pricing was quoted firming to a $190-$200/mt CFR equivalent for the week, indicating lifting import values when the market reopens.
ADNOC:
Sources noted February ADNOC offers at $128/mt FOB Ruwais, a $26/mt jump from the prior $102/mt FOB price.
Qatar:
Qatar prills were reported at $125/mt FOB Ras Laffan for February loading, up $24/mt from $101/mt FOB in January.