Tampa:
Tampa molten sulfur contracts were noted at $192/lt CFR for delivery in the second quarter, an increase of $96/lt from the prior $96/lt CFR deal.
Refinery utilization edged up for the week ending May 14, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. Operable capacity stood at 86.3 percent for the period, a 0.2-point lift from the prior week’s 86.1 percent and ahead of both the year-ago 69.4 percent and the 86.0 percent five-year average.
Crude inputs moved to an average 15.116 million barrels/d for the week, rising 96,000 barrels/d from the week-ago 15.020 million barrel/d average.
U.S. Gulf:
Price ideas on the Gulf sulfur export market remained in the $180-$185/mt FOB range, sources said, although firming freight costs were noted pressuring likely netbacks toward the bottom of the range.
Brazil:
Last-done Brazil spot continued at $209/mt CFR, unmoved from one week earlier. Contract values were reported in the $213-$214/mt CFR range for delivery in the second quarter.
Caribbean:
The 200,000 barrel/d Limetree Bay refinery, located on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, reported a halt to all refining operations on May 18 following a shutdown order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
EPA issued the ruling after investigating a number of infractions, the most recent of which saw oil droplets raining down on a number of nearby neighborhoods, Bloomberg reported. In a May 18 statement, Limetree said it had voluntarily shut down operations over the May 12-13 period immediately following its most recent incident.
The facility, formerly co-owned by Hess Corp. and Venezuela state oil producer PDVSA, was restarted in January after sitting idle since 2012.
Vancouver:
Last-done Vancouver values continued to fall in the $170-$180/mt FOB range, sources said. Firming sentiment reported out of China could lift Vancouver in the next round of business.
Alberta:
Sources noted Alberta market netbacks at $65-$110/mt FOB, steady from the prior report. Both molten tons contracted into the U.S. market and prilled material exported through Vancouver were included in the spread.
West Coast:
A May 20 fire at the 245,000 barrel/d Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, Calif., was extinguished with no injuries, Reuters reported. Genscape did not report any production outages resulting from the event.
West Coast spot price ideas continued to be noted even with Vancouver at $170-$180/mt FOB. Molten contracts were quoted at $140-$155/lt FOB for the second quarter, rising from $70-$77/lt FOB in Q1.
China:
Last-done China imports continued to be heard at $180-$200/mt CFR, steady from the prior report. Firming sentiment was noted pushing new indications higher, potentially above the $210/mt CFR mark.
ADNOC:
ADNOC prills were quoted at $183/mt FOB Ruwais for May lifting, a $2/mt decline from $185/mt FOB in April.
Qatar:
Muntajat set May solid sulfur pricing at $183/mt FOB Ras Laffan, down $2/mt from $185/mt FOB in the prior month.