Tampa: PotashCorp last week announced a fourth-quarter settlement of $129/lt CFR with its sulfur suppliers, down $7/lt CFR from the third-quarter contract. The settlement matches levels announced by Mosaic the previous week (GM Oct. 20, p. 8), confirming the fourth-quarter price of molten sulfur at Tampa as $129/lt CFR.
Moving in lockstep with the updated Tampa price, molten sulfur delivered to Houston and the U.S. Gulf also changed by $7/lt, falling to $114/lt and $118/lt, respectively.
An incident last week at the Phillips 66 Bayway refinery in Linden, N.J., saw the release of an estimated 1,400 pounds of ethyl aluminum dichloride, a noxious and flammable gas used in the refining process. About 15 employees took shelter onsite, according to reports, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the release was not immediately known.
U.S. refinery utilization fell for a fourth straight week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Refinery operations registered at 86.7 percent of capacity for the week ending Oct. 17, down 1.4 percent from the prior week’s 88.1 percent, but up from last year’s 85.9 percent and the five-year average of 85.4 percent.
Daily crude inputs dipped as well. The week’s average of 15.208 barrels/day was down 113,000 barrels from the previous week’s 15.321 million barrels/d.
U.S. Gulf: Sulfur sold from the Gulf of Mexico was called $140-$145/mt FOB, unchanged from the week before.
U.S. Imports: August imports were off 43 percent, to 128,011 st from the year-ago 226,332 st. July-August imports were down 28 percent, to 344,345 st from 481,167 st.
Vancouver: Sources called the Vancouver spot market at $140-$155/mt FOB, unchanged from the previous week.
Sources reported that Canadian refiners Syncrude and Suncor remained offline last week. Suncor was suffering from an unspecified mechanical issue, while Syncrude was believed to be facing ongoing challenges related to unsafe hydrogen sulfide gas levels at load out.
The price of sulfur shipped from Alberta was (-)$20-$80/mt.
West Coast: California prills were quoted at $135-$140/mt FOB, unchanged from the previous week. Sources quoted fourth-quarter molten sulfur contracts at $90-$130/lt FOB.
Benelux: The third-quarter price of Benelux sulfur was $158-$172/mt, though negotiations for the fourth quarter were underway. Some sources expected a significant price drop following recent softening internationally.
ADNOC: The price of ADNOC sulfur was $150/mt for the month of October.