Washington — The U.S. EPA on July 24 published a Request for Information (RFI) to seek comment on potential revisions to its Risk Management Program (RMP). The revisions are being sought in an effort to modernize the RMP as required under President Obama’s August 2013 Executive Order (EO) 13650: Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security. “Chemical safety and security are a shared commitment among government, industry, public interest groups, and communities,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “We are reaching out to all these partners to ask for their suggestions and comments to help us improve the Risk Management Program, and in turn improve safety and security of chemical facilities.” During the 90-day comment period, EPA is asking for information and data on specific regulatory elements and process safety management approaches to enhance public health and safety, and aid local fire, police, and emergency response personnel in preparing for and responding to chemical emergencies. EPA said the information received will be used when reviewing chemical hazards covered by the RMP, and to determine how the program should be expanded to improve chemical facility safety. Among the potential changes to the RMP are updates to the list of regulated substances and changes in threshold quantities and toxic endpoints. The RFI also seeks comment on strengthening or clarifying several existing process safety elements under the RMP, and on adding additional risk management program elements such as consideration of using inherently safer technologies. EPA said the RFI does not commit the agency to rulemaking, however. More information on the RFI is available at http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/eo_improving_chem_fac.htm.
U.S. Gulf: Nothing new was reported on barges, with the market remaining at $360-$365/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash pricing was steady at $390-$397/st FOB regional warehouses, with the low for red granular and the high for white granular tons.
Western Cornbelt: The potash market in the Western Cornbelt remained at a firm $390/st FOB for red granular and $397/st FOB for white granular tons.
Southern Plains: Potash pricing out of regional warehouses in the Southern Plains was quoted at a firm $390/st FOB in late July. Intrepid Potash’s postings FOB Carlsbad, N.M., included $385/st for 60 percent standard, $390/st for 60 percent granular and 62 percent standard, and $397/st for 62 percent granular and 62 percent Super Sol.
Intrepid’s Trio (sulfate of potash magnesia) postings FOB Carlsbad included $365/st for standard, $375/st for granular, and $380/st for premium.
South Central: The potash market was quoted at a firm $390/st FOB warehouses in the South Central region.
Southeast: The potash market remained at $390-$395/st rail-DEL in the Southeast, with the warehouse market pegged at the $390/st FOB level.
China and India: PotashCorp executives were upbeat about the granular potash market in talks with analysts July 24, but not so much about the standard market.
Rather than inking brand new contracts for the second half in China and India for standard product, executives say buyers are instead simply taking optional tons on the their first-half contracts. And with those options, it appears prices of $305/mt CFR to China and $322/mt CFR to India will remain in place for the second half.
Central Florida: The Central Florida market saw little activity for the week, as many industry players spent several days out of pocket at the Southwestern Fertilizer Conference.
Resellers reported little-to-no nearby interest, commenting that farmers simply had no current crops that required the application of phosphates. Demand would come later, sources said, though some questioned whether the current state of the corn market, mired in the low $3.60s/bushel in anticipation of a record harvest, would be a drain on end-user interest in the fall.
“At $3.50, (growers) don’t want to put anything on fields that they can’t make a good deal on,” a source said. Resellers voiced additional concerns that purchasing for September and October could prove less than stellar because of speculation that Mosaic is unlikely to offer any kind of summer fill program to the Central Florida market, since such a discount plan would only compete with Mosaic’s own more lucrative export business.
In the absence of confirmed transactions, the price of DAP in the Central Florida market was unchanged at $435-$440/st FOB, with truck-loaded product said to comprise the top end of the market. MAP was expected to command a $20/st FOB premium over DAP.
U.S. Gulf: Sources described a “sleepy” barge market for the week, weighed down by the Southwestern Fertilizer Conference, which saw many industry players out of the office through Wednesday.
Prices were thought to remain firm despite the lack of movement, though few, if any, nearby transactions were confirmed to have taken place. Much of the phosphate-related talk at the conference reportedly focused on logistics and diminished inventories.
Lower corn prices resulting from an anticipated record harvest were thought to put many end-users off from making big purchases in the current season, and dealers were of course unlikely to fill their bins until relatively positive that end-users would be willing to pony up.
Market insiders put nearby domestic material in a range of $440-$445/st FOB based on the most recent activity, though sources said the next round of business was unlikely to take place anywhere below the $445/st FOB mark.
Light-colored Chinese DAP due for late August discharge was quoted around $435/st FOB, and dark DAP of open origin was called closer to $440/st FOB. Imported material of both Chinese and Mexican origin was expected to be offered at NOLA, but traders had yet to hear of any Russian-sourced material being offered.
One domestic producer offered September DAP barges at $455/st FOB, but no transactions were confirmed at that level. Sources were divided on pricing for September and October, with some predicting a slide toward the $430/st FOB level for domestic DAP, and others making a case for tons priced north of $450/st FOB.
Proponents of the latter cited strength in the export market that was expected to continue through October, along with the expectation that domestic buyers would have to keep pace with Latin American bidders through that market’s peak season in order to keep domestic product onshore.
Physical tons of dark Chinese DAP sold in a range of $440-$445/st FOB for September, while paper trades for the same month were recorded around $445/st FOB.
Chinese phosphates continued to represent one of the biggest unknowns in the current market. Speculation flew regarding the actual tonnage that would see eventual NOLA discharge rather than be diverted to increasingly pricey Latin American markets.
Further complicating matters was a pair of typhoons battering China in recent weeks. The first storm was the strongest typhoon to hit China in four decades when it made landfall two weeks ago, and sources fretted over the storm’s potential effect on p
Eastern Cornbelt: Honeywell announced a summer fill program for ammonium sulfate on July 16, with the shipping period from July 21 through Nov. 20. Sources said Honeywell offered only limited tons, however, and reportedly pulled the program soon after announcing it.
Honeywell’s granular price for the program was $270/st FOB Illinois terminals at Danville and Granite City, and Wisconsin terminals at Amherst Junction and Prairie du Chien, with mid-grade ammonium sulfate at $245/st FOB Byron and Danville. Rail-delivered tons were $280/st for granular and $255/st for mid-grade in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Ammonium thiosulfate was quoted at $350-$360/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Western Cornbelt: Honeywell’s July 16 summer fill program for ammonium sulfate included granular at $270/st FOB Dubuque, Iowa, and Roseport, Minn., and mid-grade at $245/st FOB Roseport. Rail-delivered pricing moved to $280/st for granular and $255/st for mid-grade in Iowa and Minnesota, with the shipping period running from July 21 through Nov. 30. Honeywell offered only limited tons at those prices, and sources said the fill program was no longer being offered last week.
Ammonium thiosulfate was quoted at $315-$345/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.
Southern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $260-$295/st FOB Texas shipping points, with the low FOB Freeport and the upper end FOB Littlefield and Plainview. Coarse grade was $10/st lower and standard $20/st lower than granular.
The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged at $310-$320/st FOB in the Southern Plains.
South Central: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $275-$280/st FOB in the South Central region.
The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged as well at $310-$315/st FOB.
Southeast: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $270-$280/st FOB for prompt pull in the Southeast, depending on location, with delivered pricing holding at $290/st in the Carolinas, $300/st in Georgia and Alabama, and $305/st in Florida. Standard grade ammonium sulfate remained at reference levels of $210/st FOB Augusta, Ga., and $230/st DEL in Florida.
U.S. Gulf: The market remained quiet, with sources saying there was little supply or demand available. The last done business continued to be called $340/st FOB, with buyers seeking $330-$335/st FOB and sellers at $350/st FOB. Yazoo City, Miss., was pegged at $355/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: The ammonium nitrate market was pegged at $380/st FOB in Missouri on a spot basis, with the upper end of the regional range reported in Iowa at the $400/st FOB mark for the last done business.
Southern Plains: The Tulsa ammonium nitrate market remained at $370-$380/st FOB for the last sales.
South Central: Ammonium nitrate was pegged in a broad range at $355-$390/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low for truck tons FOB Yazoo City, Miss., and the upper end FOB Memphis.
Southeast: The Tampa ammonium nitrate market was quoted at $395/st FOB, with steady movement reported for truck tons.
U.S. Gulf: The UAN market appeared quiet again last week, even though some had predicted that business might occur at the Southwestern Fertilizer Conference.
Most continued to put the last done business within the $235-$245/st ($7.34-$7.66/unit) FOB range, with sellers eyeing $245-$255/st ($7.66-$7.97/unit) FOB for the next round of business.
East Coast vessel business continued to be called $250/mt CFR, with sellers seeking $260/mt CFR.
Eastern Cornbelt: The UAN-28 market was pegged at $250-$259/st ($8.93-$9.25/unit) FOB most terminals in Indiana and Ohio, with UAN-32 quoted in the $285-$295/st ($8.91-$9.21/unit) FOB range in Illinois last week.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market was quoted at $285-$310/st ($8.91-$9.69/unit) FOB regional terminals in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.
Southern Plains: The UAN-32 market in the Southern Plains was quoted in a broad range at $280-$300/st ($8.75-$9.38/unit) FOB regional terminals for prompt tons, depending on location and supplier. The upper end was reported FOB Verdigris, Okla., but spot tons were reportedly no longer available there as the week progressed. Out of Gulf Coast terminals in Texas, sources pegged the UAN-32 market at $290/st ($9.06/unit) FOB last week.
South Central: UAN-32 remained at $285-$295/st ($8.91-$9.22/unit) FOB most terminals in the South Central region, depending on location and time of delivery.
Southeast: Sources quoted the UAN-32 market at $255-$260/st ($7.97-$8.13/unit) port terminals in the Southeast, with most touting the upper end of that range as the common dealer price last week.
U.S. Gulf: Loaded, prompt granular barges continued to be strong last week, though down from the last report.
The market was reported to have topped out at $370/st FOB, with barges that were two weeks out as low as $330/st FOB. Second-half or all August was called $315-$322/st FOB. Chinese product was generally called $285-$290/st FOB for August-October trades.
Prills were reported to be a little softer at $335/st FOB. Yara was reported to be back in action and again producing product in Libya, at least for now, and was reported to be loading a vessel.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea continued to be quoted at $425-$440/st FOB regional terminals in the Eastern Cornbelt, although tons were very tight.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market in the Western Cornbelt remained at $425-$440/st FOB regional terminals and in very tight supply, with many locations out of product. Iowa sources quoted the common dealer market at $430-$435/st FOB last week, with the St. Louis, Mo., market pegged at $425-$430/st FOB.
Southern Plains: Sources continued to talk of very tight granular urea supplies in the Southern Plains. Although some pegged the Catoosa, Okla., urea market at $425-$430/st FOB for any available tons last week, others said there were no tons to be had at the port.
“You can’t buy anything,” said one regional contact. “We’d be at $460/st FOB if we had any to sell.”
South Central: Urea movement on rice continued in the South Central region last week, though weather remained a factor. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect on July 23 for nearly half of Arkansas. Over the previous weekend, precipitation was reported throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley, with particularly heavy rainfall in parts of Louisiana and Texas.
Terminals remained depleted in the region. “Inventories are as low as I can remember on almost all products,” added another contact. “There is not one bin in my terminal what you can’t see the back wall.”
Sources pegged the prompt granular urea market at $415-$425/st FOB terminals in the South Central region, with the low end of the range FOB Memphis, Tenn. Sources said movement on rice should continue into August, though the application pace has slowed considerably.
Southeast: Granular urea was in tight supply at $420-$430/st FOB terminals in the Southeast, with the low quoted out of the Savannah, Ga., market.
India: The IPL tender closed early last week, with more tonnage offered than expected. Almost 4 million mt of prilled urea was offered by 34 companies at prices that were very attractive to the Indians.
Sources report that within just a few days of the tender closing and IPL sending out counter bids, the buying house got enough positive responses to book about 1.2 million mt. An additional 300,000-400,000 mt may still be booked before the validity date of Aug. 26.
The lowest price came from Liven at $274.77/mt CFR. An additional 1.3 million mt was offered between $274.87/mt and $275.99/mt CFR. The estimated netback to China on these offers put the price in the low $260s/mt FOB.
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The Tampa prices for August rolled over from July’s $520/mt CFR. Sources said supply and demand appear to be in balance on the global market, which is called quiet overall.
August NYMEX settled July 24 at $3.847/mmBtu, down from July 17’s $3.954/mmBtu. Gas watchers attributed the dive in prices to unseasonably cool temperatures across much of the nation this summer. Some speculated that nitrogen producers might use this soft stretch to lock in forward prices.
Eastern Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market was quoted at $560-$590/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low for fill tons out of Illinois terminals and the upper end out of Indiana shipping points. Sources also talked of fall prepay offers at the $580/st FOB level in Illinois on a spot basis.
Sources continued to report favorable weather and excellent crop conditions in the Eastern Cornbelt. As of July 20, 75-81 percent of the corn and 69-77 percent of the soybeans were rated as good or excellent in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Sources reported excellent crop conditions and nearly ideal growing weather across the Western Cornbelt last week, with mild, dry weather expected to continue in Iowa.
USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to fully 86 percent of the Missouri corn crop last week, along with 75-76 percent of the acreage in Iowa and Nebraska. The regional soybean crop was 73-78 percent good or excellent, with 65 percent of Missouri’s rice crop and 57 percent of the cotton acres in the state falling in those two categories as well.
Anhydrous ammonia was steady at $540-$570/st FOB for summer fill or fall prepay in the region, depending on location, with delivered prompt tons pegged at the $570/st level in Missouri from southern production points.
Southern Plains: The anhydrous ammonia market was quoted at $500-$530/st FOB for prompt tons in the Southern Plains, with the low out of regional production points and the upper end out of pipeline terminals in Kansas.
After unseasonably cool weather across the Southern Plains at mid-month, summer heat was scheduled to return to most areas in late July.
The Southern Plains region remained locked in varying degrees of drought last week, with extreme to exceptional drought conditions reported in parts of southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, western Oklahoma, northern Texas, and along New Mexico’s western and northeastern edges.
South Central: The anhydrous ammonia market was pegged at $575-$580/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low reported FOB Memphis, Tenn.
USDA gave good or excellent ratings to 70-79 percent of the regional cotton crop last week, along with 75-78 percent of the corn in Kentucky and Tennessee. Cotton rated as good or excellent totaled fully 91 percent of the Louisiana crop, compared with 71 percent in Mississippi and 67 percent in Arkansas.
Rice conditions varied in the South Central region, with good or excellent ratings assigned to just 53 percent of the Texas crop, 64 percent in Arkansas, 80 percent in Louisiana, and 88 percent in Mississippi.
Black Sea: The quietness of the market is reflected in the lack of any serious bids or offers being made in the area. Sources say there have been some quiet inquiries from Turkey, but only for late August deliveries.
Some industry watchers were expecting Turkish interest to boost the price over the $450/mt FOB mark. Instead, the netback on these bids appear to be holding the price in the $440s/mt FOB.
Middle East: Despite an extension on a global permission to purchase and ship Iranian ammonia, sources say banks remain nervous about backing any deals.
Tampa: Mosaic and PotashCorp on July 23 announced the conclusion of negotiations for the third-quarter price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa, settling on an increase of $3/lt over the second-quarter price of $133/lt DEL. The updated price of $136/lt DEL will be retroactive to July 1.
Ample sulfur supply led industry watchers to expect a rollover or price decrease in the early stages of the negotiating process. Sources said rising international levels eventually tipped the conversation toward a modest increase, however.
Many have argued that the Tampa price should be much higher, based on international levels reaching into the $170s/mt FOB. But exceptionally high domestic supply levels resulting from a variety of factors – the BP Whiting expansion, PotashCorp’s Suwannee phosphate facility closure, and extraordinary refinery utilization numbers for the year, to name a few – have conspired to offset whatever upward price pressure the international market may have otherwise exerted domestically.
The price disparity has instead enticed some suppliers to seek additional channels to sell their product, such as increased production specifically targeted to offshore markets, or updating marketing strategies to sell offshore within the existing infrastructure.
Mosaic’s plan to import and remelt solid sulfur has provided extra impetus to set such plans in motion, sources said, as the means to direct product to the international market may be the best leverage suppliers are likely to have in future negotiations.
Operating rates for U.S. refineries maintained their eight-year highs for a second consecutive week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA), with outputs put at 93.8 percent for the week ending July 18. The rate, unchanged from the previous week, was the highest refinery utilization percentage since June 23, 2006.
The current week’s numbers were higher than the 92.3 percent posted for the same week in 2013, as well as the five-year average of 92.2 percent.
U.S. Gulf: The Gulf export market was unchanged at $140-$145/mt FOB.
Vancouver: Preliminary third-quarter contract levels at Vancouver landed in a range of $140-$160/mt FOB, sources said, though further numbers were expected in the weeks ahead.
Firming international price levels, thanks in part to typhoon damage sustained to Chinese sulfur inventories, were said to lift spot prices to a range of $140-$170/mt FOB.
Syncrude continued to be sidelined by hydrogen sulfide gas-related issues, and had not yet returned to production as of July 24. Work on the issue was said to be ongoing, and no firm date to return to operation was released.
Sulfur produced in Alberta carried a price range of (-)$20-$80/mt.
West Coast: The price of sulfur sold from California was reported in a range of $135-$145/mt FOB, an increase from the previous price of $130-$140/mt FOB.
Benelux: Sources said the price of Benelux sulfur rolled over for the third quarter, remaining in a range of $158-$172/mt.
ADNOC: The July price of ADNOC sulfur was $170/mt.
Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
