Tampa:
Based
both on tight domestic supply and large price increases from key international
markets, sources continued to predict an upward move in the second-quarter
price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa. Some players speculated that values
could jump by $80/st, an 83.3 percent increase over the first-quarter’s $96/lt
CFR contract.
Domestic
refinery utilization pushed higher for the week, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA) reported, extending a rebound from recent lows resulting
from the February polar vortex. Refiners operated at a total 81.6 percent
capacity for the period ending March 19, a 5.5-point increase from 76.1 percent
reported previously. The rate continued to trail both the year-ago 86.3 percent
and the 87.4 percent five-year average, however.
Crude
inputs also moved higher, topping the 14 million barrel/d mark for the first
time since Feb. 12. Inputs were logged at an average 14.389 million barrels/d
for the week, up 956,000 barrel/d from the 13.433 million barrels/d rate posted
previously.
U.S. Gulf:
Genscape reported ongoing unit
ramp-ups at the Royal Dutch Shell Plc refinery in Deer Park, Texas, one of the
last Texas refineries to attempt a restart following damage sustained during
the February cold snap.
A 39,000 barrel/d hydrotreater was noted restarting
on March 19, while other units, including a 70,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic
cracking unit (FCC) and a 67,000 barrel/d hydrocracker, were seen slowly moving
closer to a restart. The hydrocracker was reportedly nearing operational levels
on March 22.
The final Texas plant to restart, Chevron’s Pasadena
unit, was reported ramping up on March 24. Increased activity was observed at a
116,000 barrel/d crude distillation unit (CDU), a 56,000 barrel/d FCC, and a
35,000 barrel/d hydrotreater. Activity nevertheless remained below operational
levels on March 24, Genscape noted.
Marathon shut the 243,000 barrel/d Pipestill 3B
crude section on March 23 at the company’s Galveston Bay, Texas, plant.
Price ideas on sulfur loading from the U.S. Gulf
were heard in the $175-$180/mt FOB range, based on recent business reported out
of Brazil.
Brazil:
Brazil state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) on March 24 announced the signing of contracts in the sale of
its RLAM refinery to Mubadala Capital for $1.65 billion, Reuters
reported.
The sale to the Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala was
announced in February, and still awaits approval from Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE)
regulatory body. In an effort to reduce debt, Petrobras has announced an intent
to sell eight refineries from its portfolio.
Last-done sulfur imports at Brazil continued to be
heard at $216/mt CFR, steady from the prior report.
Vancouver:
Last-done
out of Vancouver continued to be heard in the $175-$183/mt FOB range. Falling values at China could translate to
$170-$180/mt CFR values at Vancouver in the next round of business, sources
warned, should China fail to rebound.
Alberta:
Prilled
and molten sulfur originating from Alberta netted back (-)$31-$113/mt FOB to
sellers, steady from one week earlier.
West Coast:
Prills
loading from the West Coast were expected to fall in the $175-$183/mt FOB
range, unmoved from the prior report. West Coast molten contracts were quoted
at $70-$77/lt FOB for delivery in the first quarter. Values are expected to
rise in Q2.
China:
Refinery output at China was up 15 percent
year-over-year in the January-February period, according to data released by
the China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and reported by Reuters.
Throughput was noted at an average 14.13 million
barrel/s for the period, roughly equal to December 2020, but rising from 12.07
million barrels/d in January-February 2020. The NBS typically releases combined
numbers for the first two months of the year due to China’s Lunar New Year
holiday, the largest national holiday of the year.
Outputs were projected to decline in the March-June
period, however, likely slipping below the 13.5 million barrel/d mark due to
planned turnarounds.
At least seven refineries were scheduled to go
offline starting in the first quarter, Platts reported, including
Sinopec’s Changling Petrochemical, Jinan Petrochemical, Jinling Petrochemical,
and Jiujiang Petrochemical. The Huizhou refinery, owned by CNOOC, reportedly
shut down on March 4, while Sinopec’s Cangzhou Petrochemical and two PetroChina
facilities were expected to power down in May.
Run rates for China state-owned refineries were noted
averaging 82.8 percent in February, rising from 80.3 percent in January and up
from the year-ago 66.4 percent. Additional data reported by Platts saw
run rates slip to 78.8 percent in March.
Spot prices for solid sulfur imported to China were
heard softening to the $190s/mt CFR, off from $200-$210/mt CFR noted
previously. Sources were divided on whether the market’s softening represented
a new ceiling in the China sulfur price, or merely a period of consolidation
prefacing a renewed bull run.
ADNOC:
March
prill prices were noted at $183/mt FOB Ruwais, $55/mt above February’s $128/mt
FOB level.
Qatar:
March
offers from Muntajat were quoted at $183/mt FOB Ras Laffan, rising $58/mt from
$125/mt FOB in February.
