Tampa: BP Plc’s Whiting, Ind., refinery faced an unscheduled shutdown last week following a malfunction in the facility’s largest crude distillation unit, according to reports.
Damaged piping within the 240,000 barrel/d unit will take at least a month to repair, sources said, though that timeline was considered preliminary and likely to be extended. Total refinery capacity is 413,500 barrels/d. The unit came online in 2013 as part of a $4 billion upgrade designed to make better use of high-sulfur Alberta Tar Sands sour crude.
The price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa is $137/lt for Q3.
Domestic refinery capacity held steady for the week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Utilization for the week ending Aug. 7 was put at 96.1 percent, unchanged from the week before. The number represented the highest first-week August capacity level since 96.9 percent was achieved on Aug. 6, 1999, and handily beat both the year-ago number of 92.4 percent and the 92.4 percent five-year average.
Daily crude inputs dipped slightly to an average 17.029 million barrels/d, down 46,000 barrel/d from the previous week’s 17.075 million barrels/d reported total.
U.S. Gulf: Gulf prills were unchanged at $135-$145/mt FOB for the week.
Vancouver: Sources called the Vancouver spot market flat in a range of $145-$150/mt FOB, with most or all current market activity essentially operating as spot. The prices were largely based on recent transactions into China valued in the mid-$160s/mt CFR.
A measure of uncertainty was introduced to the market by the surprise devaluation of the Chinese yuan relative to the U.S. dollar, however, along with the reintroduction of a 13 percent VAT on fertilizer imports and exports set to begin on Sept. 1.
Supply was described as tight from Saskatchewan due to reduced output from the Husky Energy and Co-op refineries, attributed by some sources to constrained pipeline allocations limiting sour feedstock access.
Netbacks to Alberta producers ranged from (-)$5-$85/mt.
West Coast: Formed sulfur sold from the West Coast fell in a range of $130-$140/mt FOB.
Third-quarter molten contracts were called $75-$125/lt FOB.
ADNOC: The August price of ADNOC sulfur is $155/mt FOB Ruwais, $5/mt above the $150/mt FOB July price.
Aramco: Saudi Aramco lowered its September sulfur price to $150/mt FOB Jubail, $2/mt below the $152/mt FOB price offered for August shipping.
Tasweeq: Prilled sulfur produced in Qatar was $151/mt FOB Ras Laffen for the month of August, $2/mt higher than July’s $149/mt FOB.