Tampa:
Tampa molten sulfur contracts were pegged at $130/lt CFR for the first quarter, up $40/lt from $90/lt CFR in the prior period.
US refinery capacity moved lower for the week ending Feb. 17, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported, falling to 85.9%, a 0.6 percentage point decrease from 86.5% at last check. The rate trailed the year-ago 87.4% while beating the industry’s five-year average of 83.4%
Daily crude inputs were marginally lower, slipping to an average 15.010 million barrels/d, off 17,000 barrels/d from 15.027 million barrels/d posted previously.
US Gulf:
Sources called US Gulf sulfur pricing in a $120-$125/mt FOB range for the week, increasing from $115-$120/mt FOB in the prior report.
Brazil:
Brazil sulfur imports were understood to fall in a wider $135-$150/mt CFR range. The low side stemmed from the recent CMOC tender, reportedly awarded in the upper-$130s/mt CFR, while smaller cargoes were heard transacting as high as $150/mt CFR in recent trading. The market was previously called $135-$140/mt CFR.
First-quarter imports were pegged in a $172-$186/mt CFR range, with players reporting very little volume contracted for the period.
Vancouver:
Last-done at Vancouver continued to be heard at $115-$120/mt FOB, unchanged from the prior week.
Alberta:
Alberta sulfur netbacks were clocked at $15-$60/mt FOB. Both the low and high of the range were indicated to net back from molten tons contracted into the US market. Netbacks from material sold through the Vancouver export market tracked near the range’s upper end.
West Coast:
West Coast prills were indicated in line with Vancouver at $115-$120/mt FOB, unmoved from one week earlier.
Molten sulfur contracts were reported in a $125-$135/lt FOB range for first-quarter loading, above $75-$79/lt FOB in the fourth quarter.
China:
With port sulfur inventories reportedly falling to an estimated 1.5 million mt, Chinese buyers have reentered the market, sources said, supporting price levels of at least $150-$154/mt CFR. China has reportedly sought to maintain sulfur inventories of 1.5-3.0 million mt at ports in recent years.
ADNOC:
February posted prices from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. were called $127/mt FOB Ruwais, down $33/mt from $160/mt FOB in January.
Qatar:
Muntajat posted prices were called $124/mt FOB Ras Laffan for February lifting, down $31/mt from $155/mt FOB in the prior month. A recent selling tender issued by Muntajat was said to have been awarded at $145/mt FOB. Sources expressed surprise at the $145/mt FOB bid, citing recent price levels at Brazil and China.
Kuwait:
Kuwait will become the second-largest refiner of oil products in the Middle East by 2024, according to Dubai-based news outlet Zawya, citing a report from Fitch Solutions. The production boost, expected to top 35% in 2023, is expected to come entirely from the Al-Zour refinery project, slated to begin coming online before the end of 2023.
Al-Zour, comprised of three mini-refineries with a total 615,000 barrel/d nameplate capacity, is currently expected to reach full production levels in 2024, lifting Kuwait’s total refining capacity to about 1.5 million barrels/d, according to Bloomberg. The country produced around 800,000 barrels/d in 2022.