Tampa:
Molten sulfur contracts on material delivered to Tampa were valued at $192/lt CFR for the second quarter, a $96/lt increase from $96/lt CFR in the first quarter.
U.S. refinery utilization inched higher in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) most recent report. Refiners ran at 85.4 percent of capacity for the week ending April 23, a 0.4-point rise from 85.0 percent noted previously. The rate compared favorably to the year-ago 69.6 percent, but lagged the 85.7 percent five-year average.
Daily crude inputs moved up to an average 15.018 million barrels/d, a 253,000 barrel/d rise from the previous week’s 14.765 million barrels/d rate.
U.S. Gulf:
ExxonMobil Corp. on April 23 issued notice of a potential lockout to members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 12-243 union starting May 1 if no agreement is reached on an updated employment contract, Reuters reported. The lockout would be the plant’s first since 1998.
Members of Local 12-243, numbering approximately 650 employees, have been working on an expired contract since Feb. 1. A 30-day labor peace period set to expire on April 30 has prevented either side from calling a strike or lockout.
The union’s previous contract was a six-year deal struck in 2015, prior the start of an ongoing expansion project aiming to boost production to 619,000 barrels/d from the current 369,000 barrel/d capacity. Completion of the project is slated for 2023.
Genscape on April 28 reported the successful restart of a 145,000 barrel/d FCC at Marathon’s Galveston Bay, Texas, refinery. The current restart was initiated on April 20 and followed a failed April 5-14 attempt to reach normal operational levels. The unit was taken offline during the mid-February polar vortex.
Total restarted an 80,000 barrel/d CDU and a 52,000 barrel/d VDU at its plant in Port Arthur, Texas, on April 24. Decreasing activity had been reported from the CDU since March 27.
Genscape on April 28 reported activity decreases from the 225,000 barrel/d Pipestill 10 crude section at Exxon’s Baton Rouge, La., refinery. The plant’s 97,000 barrel/d Pipestill 8 crude section also exhibited decreased activity levels for the week.
Price ideas on the Gulf continued to be noted in the $180-$185/mt FOB range, unmoved form the prior report.
Brazil:
Sources described last-done Brazil spot import pricing steady at $209/mt CFR. Second-quarter contract values were quoted at $213-$214/mt CFR, firming from $116-$119/mt CFR in the prior period.
Vancouver:
Last-done Vancouver spot was heard at $170-$180/mt FOB, unmoved from the previous report.
Alberta:
Shell on April 23 successfully restarted a sulfur recovery unit (SRU) at its Scotford Upgrader, which reported shut down on April 22. The unit was previously offline on March 7-9, and March 25 through April 19. Suncor powered down an SRU at its Edmonton refinery on April 24, Genscape reported.
Alberta sulfur netbacks fell in the $65-$110/mt FOB range for the week. The market’s wide range included both molten tons contracted into the U.S. and solid material selling offshore through the Vancouver export market.
West Coast:
West Coast solid sulfur was even with Vancouver at $170-$180/mt FOB, unchanged from one week earlier. Market players quoted second-quarter molten contracts at $140-$155/lt FOB, lifting from $70-$77/lt FOB in the previous period.
China:
Last-done spot sulfur imports at China continued to be called $180-$200/mt CFR. Recent imports rumored to be of Venezuelan origin were described by players as “off-spec” and “contaminated.”
ADNOC:
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. pricing for May reported slipped $2/mt, to $183/mt FOB Ruwais due to softening freight rates. Offers were published at $185/mt FOB in April.
Qatar:
Muntajat set May prill offers at $183/mt FOB Ras Laffan, a $2/mt decline from $185/mt FOB in the prior month.