Tampa:
Third-quarter Tampa molten contracts were valued at $195/lt CFR, a $3/lt CFR increase from the prior agreement.
Refinery utilization inched higher in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) most recent report. Operable capacity was noted at 82.1 percent for the week ending Sept. 10, a 0.2-point increase from the week-ago 81.9 percent rate. The rate topped the year-ago 75.8 percent while falling short of the industry’s 84.9 percent five-year average.
Daily crude inputs were also higher, lifting to an average 14.387 million barrels/d for the period, an 85,000 barrel/d jump from 14.302 million barrels/d noted one week earlier.
U.S. Gulf:
Hurricane Nicholas made landfall on the Texas coast as a Category 1 storm on Sept. 14, as the U.S. refining industry continued to recover from Hurricane Ida’s Aug. 29 impact at Louisiana.
Nicholas had much less of an impact than Ida, with minimal production loss reported on Sept. 16. The Colonial Pipeline shut down in the wake of the storm due to a power outage, with the structure’s primary Line 1 gasoline line quickly restarted on Sept. 14.
Motiva’s 607,000 barrel/d plant at Port Arthur maintained operation during the week, according to Reuters. The ExxonMobil Corp. facilities at Baytown and Beaumont also remained in continuous operation. The 302,000 barrel/d Royal Dutch Shell Plc unit at Deer Park was reported operating normally on Sept. 14 despite widespread power outages in the Houston area.
The 225,000 barrel/d Total refinery at Port Arthur was expected to remain partially shut through late September following an unrelated facility-wide outage on Sept. 9.
Over 700,000 barrels/d of Gulf refinery output remained offline for the week, primarily due to Hurricane Ida. Reuters reported that three of nine refineries shut by Ida were still completely offline on Sept. 10, while six had restarted or were in the process of restarting.
The Phillips 66 Alliance plant, located near Belle Chasse, La., suffered extensive damage from Ida. The facility was largely flooded during the storm, with damage so extensive that Phillips is considering permanently mothballing the 250,000 barrel/d plant, Bloomberg reported.
With logistics issues and damage to Louisiana phosphate production facilities contributing to rising sulfur stocks in the U.S. Gulf, sources continued to predict a spike in offshore prill trading in the weeks ahead. Last-done on the market continued in the $173-$181/mt FOB range, with the most recent prices landing toward the upper end of the spread.
Brazil:
Last-done Brazil spot imports continued to be quoted at $210-$216/mt CFR, unmoved from the prior report.
Rising September values from the Middle Eastern markets suggested Brazil pricing in the $230s/mt CFR on monthly deals, sources said. Others argued that rising sulfur stocks in the U.S. Gulf were likely to hold Brazil values in check for the short term.
Third-quarter contracts were reported in the $221-$223/mt CFR range, increasing from $213-$214/mt CFR in the second quarter.
Vancouver:
Vancouver market values remained at $180-$192/mt FOB, sources said, unchanged from the prior report.
Alberta:
Sulfur produced in Alberta netted back at a wide $68-$122/mt FOB to sellers, sources reported. The range included both molten tons contracted into the U.S. market and prilled material selling offshore by way of Vancouver.
West Coast:
Prilled sulfur loading from the West Coast carried price ideas in the $180-$192/mt FOB range. Contracts for the third quarter were reported at $150-$155/lt FOB, above the $140-$155/lt FOB range reported for Q2.
China:
Last-done China spot continued in the $230-$240/mt CFR range for the week, steady from the prior report.
ADNOC:
ADNOC pricing was described at $180/mt FOB Ruwais for loading in September, up $5/mt from August’s $175/mt FOB level.
Qatar:
Qatar solid sulfur was posted at $178/mt FOB Ras Laffan for September loading, sources said, an increase of $14/mt from $164/mt FOB in August.