Tampa: Coming on the heels of $400 million in improvements to its 339,000 barrel/d Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount, Minn., Flint Hills Resources (FHR) announced an additional $300 million investment in the facility.
The new projects will include a combined heat and power system expected to generate roughly half of the refinery’s electricity needs, as well as a new process for enhanced sulfur extraction designed to meet EPA’s Tier 3 gasoline sulfur content requirements, set to begin in 2017.
The announced sulfur removal improvements will also allow the refinery to produce and sell ammonium thiosulfate fertilizer. FHR expects to begin construction in 2015.
U.S. refinery capacity increased for a second consecutive week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA). Total utilization was put at 93.5 percent for the week ending Aug. 22, the nation’s highest August refinery output since 2005. The level was up just slightly from the previous week’s 93.4 percent, and also beat the 91.2 percent posted for the same period in 2013 and the five-year average of 90.4 percent.
Molten sulfur delivered to Tampa was $136/lt for the third quarter.
U.S. Gulf: Sulfur exported from the Gulf of Mexico was quoted in a range of $145-$150/mt FOB.
Vancouver: Sources believe the Chinese sulfur market has found a bottom in the upper $160s/mt CFR. Sentiment was divided on what effect that might have on the Vancouver spot price, though most agreed the picture was unlikely to clarify ahead of the upcoming TFI World Conference.
In the meantime, Vancouver spot continued to be quoted in a range of $140-$170/mt FOB.
Hampered for most of the year by issues thought to stem from faulty load-out equipment, Alberta’s Syncrude 21 refinery announced plans to suspend loading for 10 days in early September to institute permanent fixes or replacements to the equipment in question.
The price of Alberta sulfur was called (-)$20-$80/mt, unchanged from the previous period.
West Coast: The price of sulfur sold from the West Coast was called $140-$145/mt FOB.
Benelux: Benelux sulfur was $158-$172/mt for the third quarter.
ADNOC: The August price of ADNOC sulfur was $175/mt.