Tampa:

Swollen sulfur inventories in the U.S. Gulf, combined with hurricane-reduced demand from fertilizer producers, dragged Tampa sulfur contracts lower in the fourth quarter.

Tampa’s largest buyer on Sept. 23 announced it had begun settling with major suppliers at $183/lt CFR, a $12/lt decline from $195/lt CFR in Q3, while the market’s other leading buyer followed suit on Sept. 24. With the market’s major players in agreement, fourth-quarter Tampa contracts moved to $183/lt CFR. Tons delivered to NOLA moved to $172/lt CFR from $184/lt CFR in the prior quarter, while Houston-delivered material softened to $168/lt CFR from $180/lt CFR.

Most market predictions centered on a $10-$15/lt decline to start the week, softening from previous speculation of a possible rollover from the prior quarter. The market’s likely $12/lt price reduction was highlighted by Hurricane Ida, which knocked two Louisiana phosphate production facilities offline for an estimated 8-9 weeks, and the burgeoning “sloppy” supply conditions in the U.S. Gulf.

Sources noted a possible decoupling of the U.S. and international markets in the weeks ahead, with some predicting firming international prices contrasted with falling values in the domestic U.S. market.

U.S. refinery utilization was seen lifting for the week, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data released on Sept. 22. Nationwide capacity usage was noted at a combined 87.5 percent for the week ending Sept. 17, rising 5.4 percentage points from 82.1 percent noted previously. The rate pulled ahead of both the year-ago 74.8 percent and the 85.1 percent five-year average.

Daily crude inputs were also higher, firming to an average 15.347 million barrels/d, a 960,000 barrel/d increase from 14.387 million barrels/d reported previously.

U.S. Gulf:

Genscape reported a Sept. 18 shutdown of the 85,000 barrel/d VPS-2 crude section at Motiva’s refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. A hydrotreater taken offline one day earlier, on Sept. 17, preceded the Sept. 19 shutdown of an associated 88,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCC) at the facility. The crude section was noted returning to service on Sept. 19, followed by the FCC on Sept. 20.

A 67,000 barrel/d hydrocracker taken offline on Sept. 16 at the Royal Dutch Shell Plc plant in Deer Park, Texas, was successfully restarted on Sept. 23.

Logistics limitations and sharp demand reductions stemming from Hurricane Ida combined to produce a “sloppy” Gulf spot export market, sources said. Last-done continued to fall in the $173-$181/mt FOB range, with the market’s most recent business heard landing in the low-$180s/mt FOB.

Players warned of a potential looming “decoupling” of the Gulf from other international-facing markets, predicting a general logistical inability on the part of some Gulf producers to capitalize on expected price increases at Brazil.

“Been a long time since the U.S. market has disconnected from the international market,” one source commented. “Should be interesting to see what the ramifications of this are down the road.”

Brazil:

Last-done spot levels continued to be reported in the $210-$216/mt CFR range, while monthly pricing on tons loaded from the Middle East were expected to land in the $230s/mt CFR. A pending Copebras tender could award in the $240s/mt CFR or higher, market watchers speculated.

Contract tons for the third quarter were noted at $221-$223/mt CFR, higher than the $213-$214/mt CFR range reported for the prior quarter.

Vancouver:

Recent Vancouver pricing continued in the $180-$192/mt FOB range, unchanged from one week earlier.

Alberta:

Alberta sulfur was heard netting back at $68-$122/mt FOB, with molten tons contracted into the U.S. market setting the floor. Solid tons selling on the Vancouver export market were noted at the top of the range.

West Coast:

The Marathon Petroleum Corp. was reported suffering a power loss at the company’s 363,000 barrel/d Los Angeles, Calif., refinery on Sept. 17 after a 4.4-magnitude earthquake was reported in the area.

Genscape reported numerous units at the complex going offline at 10:01 p.m. before ramping up on the morning of Sept. 19, with full restarts achieved on several components on Sept. 20.

Price indications on material loading from the West Coast were noted steady in the $180-$192/mt FOB range. Third-quarter contract values were quoted at $150-$155/lt FOB, higher than $140-$155/lt FOB on record for the second quarter.

China:

Refinery utilization at China state-run refineries firmed to a 19-month high of 84 percent in August, Platts reported, a response to falling outputs from the country’s independent teapot refiners occurring in the third quarter. Teapots have faced increasing governmental pressure to cut runs, experiencing both reduced access to crude feedstocks and tightening environmental restrictions.

Refineries operated by Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC, and Sinochem combined to produce an average 7.76 million barrels/d through the month, about 83.98 percent of the facilities’ combined 9.24 million barrel/d capacity. State refiners operated at 82 percent in July.

Last-done sulfur imports at China continued to be heard in the $230-$240/mt CFR range, steady from the prior report.

ADNOC:

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. solid sulfur cargoes were reported at $180/mt FOB Ruwais for September, rising $5/mt from August’s $175/mt FOB posting.

Qatar:

The Qatargas Common Sulfur Plant (CSP), run by RLTO & Refining, was noted producing sulfur at a rate of 10,000 mt/d for the first time in August, Gulf Times reported. CSP, located at Qatar’s primary sulfur export center of Ras Laffan, is one of the world’s largest single sulfur processing facilities.

Muntajat set Qatar-produced sulfur pricing at $178/mt FOB Ras Laffan for loading in September. The market was posted at $164/mt in August, a $14/mt difference.