Tampa:
Contracts for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa stood at $130/lt CFR for the first quarter, up $40/lt from $90/lt in the prior period.
Refinery utilization moved lower in the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) most recent report. Refiners ran at a combined 86.5% of capacity for the week ending Feb. 10, a 1.4 percentage point decrease from the prior-week 87.9%. The rate tracked ahead of both the year-ago 85.3% and five-year average of 86.0%.
Daily crude inputs were also lower, the EIA noted, softening to an average 15.027 million barrels/d, down 383,000 barrel/d from 15.410 million barrels/d reported one week earlier.
The EIA is forecasting US refinery utilization to remain at or above 90% in 2023 and 2024, according to the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report, issued in February. The EIA predicted average 2023 utilization at 90.8%, followed by a slight dip to 90.3% in 2024. Utilization averaged above 91% in 2022, the EIA said.
If confirmed, the healthy refining rates would mark a continued rebound from 2020, when reduced demand early in the COVID-19 pandemic sent average refinery utilization plummeting to an average 78.8%, the lowest yearly level since the EIA began collecting data in 1997. Utilization rarely climbs above 95% due to periods of planned maintenance and reduced seasonal demand.
US Gulf:
A 150,000 barrel/d crude distillation unit (CDU) and 48,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit were taken offline early in the week at the Valero Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, Genscape reported. The CDU had been expected to enter a planned maintenance turnaround early in the year.
US Gulf sulfur pricing was reported softening to a general $115-$120/mt FOB range, down from $120/mt FOB at last check. New business included the sale of two cargoes priced at a reported $118/mt FOB. The first cargo, totaling 15,000 mt, was scheduled to load in February, while the second, a 30,000 mt vessel, was slated for March loading.
Brazil:
Sources reported a purchase tender from CMOC awarded in the high-$130s/mt CFR during the week. The new business moved the Brazil market down from the last-reported $145/mt CFR level.
Import contracts for the first quarter were understood at $172-$186/mt CFR, with minimal tons reported under contract for the period.
Vancouver:
Recent price increases out of China lifted Vancouver into a $115-$120/mt FOB range, from $110-$115/mt FOB reported previously.
Alberta:
Sulfur shipped from Alberta was indicated netting back $15-$60/mt FOB to sellers, unchanged from one week earlier. The range included both molten tons contracted into the US market and prilled material selling internationally through the Vancouver export market.
West Coast:
West Coast prilled sulfur indications firmed to a $115-$120/mt FOB range, up $5/mt from week-ago levels.
Sources put molten contracts at $125-$135/lt FOB for the first quarter, rising from $75-$79/lt FOB in 4Q.
China:
Players reported the China import sulfur market firming to a $150-$154/mt CFR range during the week, above $130-$140/mt CFR reported previously.
ADNOC:
Sources described February ADNOC posted prices at $127/mt FOB Ruwais, off $33/mt from $160/mt FOB in January.
Qatar:
Muntajat solid sulfur offers were heard at $124/mt FOB Ras Laffan for February, falling $31/mt from $155/mt FOB noted in the prior period.