Tampa:
Genscape on Aug. 9 reported the restart of a 102,000 barrel/d coking unit at the BP refinery in Whiting, Ind. The unit had been offline since July 25 due to a power loss. The facility was also noted shutting an 85,000 barrel/d hydrotreater on Aug. 10.
Decreased activity was reported from a 65,000 barrel/d coker at the Phillips 66 plant in Wood River, Ill., on Aug. 10. An additional 16,000 barrel/d coker has remained offline at the plant since March 2020.
Molten sulfur delivered to Tampa was contracted at $195/lt CFR for the third quarter, up $3/mt from the $192/lt CFR level in the prior period.
High refinery run rates posted nationwide have contributed to “normalizing” supply in the domestic U.S. sulfur market, sources said.
U.S. refining capacity rose 0.5 percent for the week ending Aug. 6, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported, to 91.8 percent from the week-ago 91.3 percent. The rate topped the year-ago 81.0 percent while lagging the 92.4 percent five-year average.
Crude inputs also moved higher, notching an average 16.197 million barrels/d through the period, a 277,000 barrel/d increase from 15.920 million barrels/d in the prior report.
U.S. Gulf:
Motiva on Aug. 7 successfully restarted the 210,000 barrel/d VPS-4 and 85,000 barrel/d VPS-2 crude sections at the company’s refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, Genscape reported. Both units were knocked offline during a power failure on Aug. 5.
Shell successfully restarted a 110,000 barrel/d FCC at the company’s Norco, La., refinery, Genscape reported on Aug. 11. The unit was taken offline on Aug. 5 due to a leak.
Phillips 66 on Aug. 11 was reported halting operation on the 65,000 barrel/d No. 2 CTU crude distillation unit (CDU) and a 53,000 barrel/d VDU at the company’s Lake Charles, La., refinery.
Chevron was reported halting operation on a 41,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit (VDU) in Pasadena, Texas, on Aug. 6. The unit was previously restarted on Aug. 4 after going offline on Aug. 1. Increased heating was observed from the unit on Aug. 12, although activity remained below normal levels.
A 35,000 barrel/d hydrotreater and a 7,200 barrel/d alkylation unit have remained shut at Pasadena since Aug. 1, while a 56,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCC) taken offline on Aug. 1 is expected to be permanently idled.
Valero’s Meraux, La., plant saw a 32,000 barrel/d catalytic reforming unit shut on Aug. 8. A 30,000 barrel/d hydrocracker was taken offline on Aug. 11 at the Valero Three Rivers, Texas, refinery.
Bursting sulfur supply on the U.S. Gulf led to a number of offshore prill trades during the week, sources said, the market’s first reported spot activity in months. Cargoes loading from Beaumont and Galveston, Texas, were noted changing hands in the $173-$181/mt FOB range, just shy of week-ago price ideas reported in the $175-$185/mt FOB range.
“(The Gulf) is too full and had to export,” said one source. Logistics issues were previously noted contributing to swelling of sulfur inventories at a number of locations on the U.S. Gulf.
Brazil:
The recent Brazil spot import market continued in the $216-$221/mt CFR range, sources said. Contracts for the third quarter were noted at $221-$223/mt CFR, up from $213-$214/mt CFR reported for the second quarter.
Mexico:
An overnight fire at Mexico’s largest refinery, the 330,000 barrel/d Santa Cruz facility located in the southern state of Oaxaca, was extinguished early on Aug. 7, Reuters reported. Owned by state-run oil company Pemex, the refinery reportedly continued at full operation while the fire was happening. It was unclear what started the blaze.
Vancouver:
Price ideas on Vancouver prills continued in the $173-$176/mt FOB range, players said, unmoved from the prior report.
Alberta:
Sources reported just one out of three major Western Canadian oil upgraders running at full capacity for the week, driving supply snugness on sulfur tons sourced from the region. Both Suncor and Syncrude have been noted producing at reduced rates in recent weeks.
Alberta sulfur netbacks continued to be heard in the $68-$106/mt FOB range, steady from one week earlier.
West Coast:
Chevron on Aug. 8 shut the 65,000 barrel/d Cat Feed Hydrotreater at its Richmond, Calif., plant. The unit was reported successfully restarting on Aug. 11. A power interruption previously knocked the hydrotreater offline between July 25 and Aug. 1.
Marathon’s Wilmington, Calif., refinery suffered an unplanned 32,000 barrel/d hydrocracker shutdown, Genscape reported on Aug. 12. The unit was previously offline on Aug. 1-4.
PBF Energy initiated restart protocols on a 22,000 barrel/d alkylation unit in Torrance, Calif., on Aug. 8 after shutting down for maintenance on July 11. A full restart was reported on Aug. 11.
Price ideas for prills loading from the West Coast continued to be heard in the $173-$176/mt FOB range, sources indicated. Molten contracts were valued at $150-$155/lt FOB for loading in the third quarter, an increase from $140-$155/lt FOB in the prior three-month period.
China:
Port sulfur inventories at China are now estimated at 1.6 million mt, down from nearby highs reported up to 3 million mt. Sources continued to predict rising import prices in the near term. For now, however, the market was holding flat in the $213-$216/mt CFR range, steady from the prior report.
Domestic sales reported at a $220/mt CFR import-equivalent added to indications of an impending rise in import pricing.
ADNOC:
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. offers for August were reported at $175/mt FOB Ruwais, unchanged from July.
Qatar:
Sources reported August Muntajat prill offers at $164/mt FOB Ras Laffan, falling $15/mt from $179/mt FOB in the prior month.