SULFUR
Tampa:
Repairs were reportedly completed at the BP Whiting, Ind., refinery during the week, marking a full return to production at the 435,000 barrel/d facility following an Aug. 24 shutdown due to fire.
Genscape reported the plant’s 70,000 barrel/d Pipestill 11A crude distillation unit (CDU) successfully restarting during the evening of Sept. 10, while a 24,000 barrel/d hydrotreater was restarted earlier that same day. The restarts marked the return of all monitored units to production.
An 85,000 barrel/d CDU was reported going offline on Sept. 11 at the Delek El Dorado, Ark., refinery. The unit restarted later the same day.
Early talks surrounding the fourth-quarter price of molten sulfur at Tampa were reported during the week, although nothing that was described as approaching a formal negotiation.
Potential pricing was noted in the $80-$100/lt CFR range, with the lower end of the spread reportedly entertained as a concession for the third quarter’s outsized contracts, signed just prior to a sharp decline in international values.
The second-quarter Tampa contract was concluded at $352/lt CFR, down $129/lt from the first-quarter $481/lt CFR agreement.
Refinery utilization lifted higher in the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest report. Capacity was tabbed at 91.5% for the week ending Sept. 9, a 0.6-point increase on the prior week’s 90.9%, and above both the year-ago 82.1% and the 88.4% five-year average.
Daily crude inputs moved to an average 16.022 million barrels/d for the period, a 93,000 barrel/d increase from 15.929 million barrels/d reported one week earlier.
US Imports:
Sulfur imports were down 24.3% in July, to 263,716 st from 348,448 st.
US Exports:
Sulfur exports moved 304.6% higher in July, to 213,269 st from the year-ago 52,712 st.
US Gulf:
Genscape on Sept. 12 reported a shutdown of the 66,000 barrel/d Ultraformer 4 catalytic reforming unit at Marathon’s Galveston Bay, Texas, facility. The outage was accompanied by elevated flaring.
Phillips 66 on Sept. 14 shut a 206,000 barrel/d CDU and a 71,000 barrel/d coking unit at the company’s Sweeny, Texas, refinery. The units began ramping up later the same day, but remained below normal operating levels. The plant’s 30,000 barrel/d FCCU3 fluidic catalytic cracking unit was noted going offline on Sept. 8.
Sources quoted recent US Gulf pricing at $75/mt FOB, an increase from $39-$56/mt FOB reported previously. Negotiations expected to conclude as early as Sept. 15-16 for Brazil business could see the market stretch as high as $110/mt FOB, sources said.
Brazil:
Players noted the recent Brazil market firming to $105-$110/mt CFR, increasing from earlier $90-$100/mt CFR indications. A $140/mt CFR cargo reportedly under discussion on Sept. 15 would signal a sharp increase, should an agreement be reached.
Vancouver:
Vancouver export pricing for the week was noted firming to the $95-$100/mt FOB range, up from $85-$90/mt FOB in the prior report.
Alberta:
Shell successfully restarted a hydrogen plant at its Scotford, Alta., upgrader on Sept. 10, according to Genscape. The unit was reported going offline on Aug. 31.
Based on rising values at Vancouver, Alberta sulfur netback indications moved to $25-$282/mt FOB, up from $15-$282/mt FOB reported one week earlier. The wide range included both molten tons contracted into the US market at the high, as well as solid sulfur traded international through the Vancouver export market at the low.
West Coast:
West Coast sulfur values trailed Vancouver to the $95-$100/mt FOB range, above the prior week’s $85-$90/mt FOB.
Contracts for the third-quarter price of molten sulfur loading from West Coast locations were reported at $370-$385/lt FOB, down $5/lt from $375-$390/lt FOB logged for the prior period.
China:
Sources reported China import sulfur pricing holding at the week-ago $125-$140/mt CFR level.
ADNOC:
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) sulfur postings were heard at $92/mt FOB Ruwais for September, a $7/mt increase from $85/mt FOB posted for August.
Qatar:
Solid sulfur loading from Qatar was posted at $89/mt FOB Ras Laffan for September lifting, sources said, rising $12/mt from $77/mt FOB in the prior period.