Tampa:
Tampa molten contracts stood at $481/lt CFR for delivery in the second quarter, a $199/lt increase from the prior $282/lt CFR deal.
Refinery utilization shifted higher for the week ending May 13, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Nationwide capacity stood at 91.8% for the period, a 1.8 point increase from 90.0% at last report. The current-week rate kept ahead of both the year-ago 86.3% and the 85.8% five-year average.
Crude inputs lifted to an average 15.935 million barrels/d, a 239,000 barrels/d increase from the week-ago 15.696 million barrels/d average.
U.S. Gulf:
A power loss shut a 40,000 barrel/d crude distillation unit (CDU) and a 32,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit (VDU) at the Valero Corpus Christi (West), Texas, refinery on May 17, according to Genscape. Both units were successfully restarted on May 18.
Recent Gulf sulfur pricing was reportedly holding in the $470-$480/mt FOB range, unmoved from one week earlier.
Brazil:
Last-done Brazil import values were reported at $520-$525/st CFR during the week. The market was previously noted in a wider $510-$530/mt CFR range.
The market’s sideways movement led some to speculate that international sulfur pricing may have found a local top. “Pricing may have peaked for the moment,” one source argued. “Lots of sulfur everywhere. Very odd given the (Russian war in Ukraine), but I guess the Russians are getting their tons to market.”
Second-quarter Brazil contracts were counted at $480-$485/mt CFR.
Vancouver:
Recent Vancouver export solid sulfur pricing was reported at $465-$470/mt FOB. Some expected values to push closer to $480/mt FOB in the next round of business.
Alberta:
Shell was observed restarting a shuttered sulfur recovery unit (SRU) on May 13 at its upgrader in Scotford, Alta., Genscape noted, after the unit was reported going offline earlier the same day. A 48,000 barrel/d hydrocracker and a 65,000 barrel/d hydrotreater were noted offline since March 15 as part of a planned turnaround.
Alberta market indications continued at $395-$411/mt FOB, steady from the previous report.
West Coast:
A May 14 power outage reported at the Marathon Wilmington, Calif., refinery resulted in the shutdown of a 32,000 barrel/d hydrocracker, Genscape reported. Increased activity observed from the unit on May 15 was followed by a reported restart on May 17.
Phillips restarted the 23,000 barrel/d Unit 246 hydrocracker at the company’s Rodeo, Calif., plant on May 16. The unit was reported going offline on May 9.
A 50,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCC) that reportedly shut down on May 10 at the Phillips 66 plant in Wilmington was restarted on May 15. A 28,000 barrel/d hydrocracker has been reported offline at the site since March 31.
West Coast spot indications remained in the $465-$470/mt FOB range, unchanged from the prior report. Molten contracts for second-quarter fulfillment were quoted at $375-$390/lt FOB, an increase from $230-$245/lt FOB in Q1.
China:
Crude throughput at refiners in China dropped 11% year-over-year in April due to tightening COVID lockdowns, according to data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics and reported by Reuters, leaving refinery runs at their lowest levels since March 2020.
April throughput was pegged at 12.61 million barrels/d, off from 14.09 million barrels/d noted in April 2021. January-April volumes were down 3.8% from the year-ago 13.58 million barrels/d.
Both state-run and independent refiners were observed dialing back run rates to compensate for the market’s lockdown-driven loss of demand.
Last-done sulfur imports continued to be heard in the $510-$515/mt CFR range, steady from the prior report.
ADNOC:
ADNOC prills were heard at $470/mt FOB Ruwais for May, a $50/mt increase from the $420/mt FOB level posted in April.
Qatar:
QatarEnergy awarded a lump-sum EPC contract for the company’s North Field East LNG expansion project, valued at over $600 million, to a joint venture between Tecnicas Reunidas and Wison Engineering, Bloomberg reported.
In addition to the North Field East project, the contract includes an option to expand sulfur production at QatarEnergy’s North Field South project. The North Field East expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Qatar prilled sulfur was posted at $460/mt FOB Ras Laffan for May loading, sources said, a $30/mt increase from the $430/mt FOB posted in April.