Tampa:
Tampa molten contracts for the third quarter were valued at $195/lt CFR, up $3/lt from $192/lt CR in the prior quarter.
Refining capacity tumbled during the week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a reflection of refinery outages resulting from Hurricane Ida’s Aug. 29 landfall near New Orleans.
Refiners operated at 81.9 percent of capacity for the week ending Sept. 3, a 9.4 point drop from 91.3 percent posted one week earlier. The current rate topped the year-ago 71.8 percent, while trailing the industry’s 84.8 percent five-year average.
Crude inputs softened for the period, falling to an average 14.302 million barrels/d, a 1.636 million barrel/d decrease from 15.938 million barrels/d reported one week earlier.
U.S. Imports:
Sulfur imports softened 24.1 percent in July, to 349,196 st from the year-ago 460,098 st.
U.S. Exports:
Sulfur export totals for July were down 51 percent, to 52,713 st from 107,686 st in July 2020.
U.S. Gulf:
Refineries in the U.S. Gulf were engaged in recovery efforts following Hurricane Ida’s catastrophic Aug. 29 landfall south of New Orleans.
Five out of nine refineries that shut down due to Ida remained offline on Sept. 5, Reuters reported, while restart protocols had been initiated at four. Among those attempting to restart were the Placid facility at Port Allen, the 578,000 barrel/d refinery at Garyville, and ExxonMobil Corp.’s 520,000 barrel/d Baton Rouge facility.
PBF Energy was expected to begin restarting its Chalmette facility after power was restored to the 190,000 barrel/d plant. Reuters reported that power had been restored to seven of the nine offline refineries as of Sept. 7.
Citgo was forced to shut the Sulfur Recovery Unit B-Train at the company’s Corpus Christi, Texas, plant in early September due to a shortage of oxygen supplied from a third-party vendor, Bloomberg reported. Increased oxygen demand from the medical industry was identified as the culprit.
Reduced sulfur demand stemming from phosphate production slowdowns at Mosaic’s Faustina and Uncle Sam facilities in Louisiana remained temporarily balanced by the Gulf’s numerous refinery outages, sources said, although opinions varied regarding the potential market implications going forward.
Some argued that extended delays in restarting some refineries would continue throughout much of the phosphate plants’ expected 8-9 week repair timelines. Others said a quicker restart of Gulf sulfur production could lead to quickly swelling inventories, forcing sellers to shift tonnage offshore. “The bottom is about to fall out of the Gulf,” one source argued.
Sources described limited logistics capacity as one potential wrinkle in the market. “Overall, (supply and demand) are likely close to balanced. However, there is little ability to move the product to the markets in which it could go,” said another source. “It is about to get wonky in the Gulf.”
With no new business reported for the week, Gulf sulfur pricing continued in the $173-$181/mt FOB range, steady from the prior report. A cargo loading from the Gulf was heard trading in the $180s/mt FOB during the week.
Brazil:
Last-confirmed Brazil business remained at $210-$216/mt CFR for the week. Vessel sales rumored in the $240s/mt CFR went unconfirmed on Sept. 9. Players put third-quarter contracts at $221-$223/mt CFR, rising $8-$9/mt from $213-$214/mt CFR in Q2.
Vancouver:
Firmer values at China were described lifting Vancouver higher. Sources noted last-done spot in the $180-$192/mt FOB range, firming slightly from the $180-$190/mt FOB range reported previously.
Alberta:
Alberta sulfur netbacks were noted moving to $68-$122/mt FOB, up from $68-$120/mt FOB at last report.
West Coast:
West Coast price ideas stepped up to $180-$192/mt FOB for the period, sources indicated, compared with $180-$190/mt FOB reported previously. Third-quarter molten contracts were reported at $150-$155/lt FOB, lifting from $140-$155/lt FOB in the second quarter.
China:
With port inventories at China reportedly near the 1.6 million mt mark, demand was noted on an upward swing. Sources called recent import pricing in the $230-$240/mt CFR range, up from $230-$233/mt CFR reported previously.
ADNOC:
Sources noted Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) solid sulfur offers firming to $180/mt FOB Ruwais for tons loading in September. The market was reported at $175/mt FOB for the prior month, a $5/mt difference.
Qatar:
Muntajat sulfur offers were heard at $178/mt FOB Ras Laffan for September, a $14/mt increase from $164/mt in the prior month.