Eastern Cornbelt:
10-34-0 pricing was steady at $665-$675/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Western Cornbelt:
10-34-0 remained at the $665/st FOB level in the Western Cornbelt for fill tons.
Southern Plains:
The 10-34-0 market was steady at $665-$670/st FOB in the Southern Plains. The last confirmed 11-37-0 pricing in Texas remained at the $730/st level FOB Houston.
Tampa:
Genscape on Aug. 31 reported increased activity from a 70,000 barrel/d catalytic reformer at BP’s Whiting, Ind., refinery, although the unit remained below operational levels. Multiple units were knocked offline by an electrical fire on Aug. 24 at the 435,000 barrel/d facility.
Decreased activity continued at a 102,000 barrel/d coking unit, while a slow ramp-up from a 24,000 barrel/d hydrotreater was observed starting on Aug. 26. The plant’s 255,000 barrel/d Pipestill 12 crude section and a 70,000 barrel/d Pipestill 11A crude distillation unit (CDU) remained fully offline on Aug. 31.
Citgo was noted restarting units at its Lemont, Ill., facility on Aug. 28, including a 189,000 barrel/d CDU, a 71,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit (VDU), and a 28,000 barrel/d catalytic reformer. The units had been shut since July 12 for planned maintenance.
Tampa molten sulfur contracts were valued at $352/lt CFR for the third quarter, falling $129/lt from $481/lt CFR in Q2.
US refinery utilization moved lower for the week ending Aug. 26, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported, falling to 92.7% from the week-ago 93.8%. The rate was above both the year-ago 91.3% and the 90.4% five-year average, however.
Daily crude inputs moved to an average 16.238 million barrels/d for the period, down 17,000 barrels/d from the 16.255 million barrels/d rate posted previously.
U.S. Gulf:
The Calcasieu Lake Charles, La., refinery briefly shut a 73,000 barrel/d CDU on the morning of Aug. 26, according to Genscape. The unit was restarted approximately one hour after going offline.
The 626,000 barrel/d Motiva Port Arthur, Texas, refinery on Aug. 30 shut an 88,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCC) and a 12,000 barrel/d hydrotreater due to a pipe leak, Bloomberg reported. Both units were projected to begin restarting on Aug. 31, according to a TCEQ filing. Increased activity was observed from the FCC on Aug. 31, although the unit remained below normal activity levels.
Increased activity levels were noted from a 96,000 barrel/d VDU at the LyondellBasell Ind. refinery at Houston, Texas, on Aug. 31. The VDU and an associated 149,000 barrel/d CDU were reported shutting on Aug. 11 for a planned three-week maintenance turnaround.
Last-done on the Gulf sulfur market continued to be heard in the $39-$56/mt FOB range, unmoved from the prior report.
Brazil:
No new business was reported for the Brazil import sulfur market. Eyes were turned to a pending Galvani Fertilizantes tender, reportedly for October fulfillment. “(The) Galvani tender should shed some light on price discovery,” said one source.
With no new trading reported, the Brazil market remained at $90-$100/mt CFR.
Vancouver:
Recent Vancouver sulfur pricing continued to be heard in the $70-$75/mt FOB range, unchanged from the prior report.
Alberta:
Alberta netbacks were steady at $0-$282/mt FOB, based on both molten tons contracted into the US market and prills sold internationally through the Vancouver export market.
West Coast:
Genscape on Aug. 31 reported the shutdown of a 60,000 barrel/d catalytic reformer at the Chevron Corp. refinery in El Segundo, Calif. A sulfur recovery unit (SRU) has remained offline at the facility since January 2021.
Price ideas on solid sulfur loading from the West Coast were flat at $70-$75/mt FOB. Molten contracts were reported in the $370-$385/lt FOB range for loading in the third quarter, a decrease from $375-$390/lt in 2Q.
China:
China state-operated oil company Sinopec is forecasting a 6% year-over-year drop in annual refinery outputs from the company in 2022, Reuters reported. The decline was expected due to reduced demand stemming from a number of COVID-related shutdowns during the year.
Sulfur imported to China was heard lifting to $125-$130/mt CFR in recent trading. The market was previously noted in the $110-$125/mt CFR range.
Qatar:
Muntajat solid sulfur offers for September were up $12/mt, to $89/mt FOB Ras Laffan. Muntajat, the marketing arm of Qatar Petroleum, was reported offering at $77/mt FOB in August.
U.S. Gulf:
Price ideas on the U.S. Gulf spot import market were flat at $190-$200/mt CFR for the week. Some predicted falling values in the near-term.
Gulf Coast:
Gulf Coast annual contracts were noted at $195-$280/st DEL for 2022.
Midwest:
Contracts for delivery to the Midwest were reported even with the Gulf Coast at $195-$280/st DEL for the full year.
West Coast:
Sources noted West Coast contract values in the $185-$270/st DEL range for 2022.
Brazil:
Nothing new was reported on the Brazil import sulacid market, leaving price ideas at $200-$210/mt CFR.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate pricing remained at $390-$435/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed for the last fill offers at Cincinnati.
Western Cornbelt:
The ammonium thiosulfate market in the Western Cornbelt was steady at $400-$435/st FOB for fill ton offers in late August.
Southern Plains:
Ammonium thiosulfate prices in Texas were unchanged at $350/st FOB Houston and $400/st FOB Lubbock.
South Central:
New ammonium thiosulfate pricing was pegged at $460-$465/st FOB Memphis, down $10/st from last report.
Germany/Benelux:
Yara increased prices for limited volumes of CAN in Germany and the Benelux countries to €850/mt CIF for September and October deliveries.
Cornbelt:
The NPSZ market was pegged in a broad range at $850-$895/st FOB in the Cornbelt, depending on location.
Southeast:
The SOP market was unchanged at $960/st FOB for the last reported business in Florida.
Southern Plains:
The last reference prices for Trio FOB Carlsbad included $480/st for standard, $515/st for granular, $540/st for premium, $555/st for OMRI standard and fine standard, and $590/st for OMRI granular.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Potassium thiosulfate pricing was unchanged at $780/st FOB Terre Haute for the last confirmed offers.
A federal proposal in Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer by 30% from 2020 to 2030 has faced criticism from farm groups, who said the measure would reduce crop yields and imperil food security.
The emission reduction targets, announced in August, are part of the Canadian government’s plan for an overall 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a net-zero emissions goal by 2050.
According to government statistics, agriculture was responsible for approximately 10% of total emissions in Canada in 2019, with synthetic fertilizers producing 12.75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or roughly a fifth of emissions from agriculture. The government also reported that fertilizer use in Canada increased by 71% from 2005 to 2019.
“We are really committed to the fight against climate change,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Fertilizer use “is one activity we have identified that can have a significant impact on reducing emissions.”
Although described as voluntary, multiple news outlets reported that the government plans to incentivize growers by providing some C$1.5 billion in financial aid and grants to those who embrace the emissions reduction targets, which would help subsidize the purchase of greener farm equipment, facilitate the transition to greener cultivation methods, and encourage the development of best practices and new technologies. Farmers who don’t comply with the reduction targets will reportedly not have full access to those funds.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada accepted public input on the fertilizer emissions target through Aug. 31. In a statement to Green Markets, Fertilizer Canada said it supports “the federal government’s strong push to reduce Canada’s GHG emissions, but we cannot sacrifice food productivity.”
Fertilizer Canada said it has been working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on the emission reduction target to ensure fertilizer is used in an environmentally responsible way, without jeopardizing crop yields. “We were pleased to see formal recognition of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program as an innovative Canadian solution to support GHG emission reductions and enhanced food production in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s discussion paper,” the trade group said.
Grain Growers of Canada (GGC), a trade group that represents more than 65,000 grain, pulse, and oilseed farmers across Canada, also submitted comments during the public input period. In an Aug. 30 statement, GGC said it is concerned that the government “will inevitably seek to limit” fertilizer usage to achieve the emissions reduction target if progress is not moving fast enough. “We cannot stress our opposition to such a policy enough,” GGC said
Writing for the National Post, conservative commentator Jamie Sarkonak described the fertilizer emissions reduction plan as an “apparently-toothless target” that is “really just a funding package for research and technology subsidies aimed at making agriculture more efficient on fertilizer.” Sarkonak criticized the plan as “a branding tool to sound tough on climate while justifying any expense to meet an unreachable target. It might also be a Trojan horse to bring in tighter regulations without inciting any Dutch-style farmer protests.”
The Financial Post reported that the plan could cost Canada’s agricultural industry C$10.4 billion through 2030 as a result of reduced production. A survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 72% of farmers said the plan would reduce crop yields, and 42% of those surveyed said the target would be difficult because they have already reduced their fertilizer use.
