Tampa: Sources reported that BP plc partially restarted its 413,000 barrel/d Whiting, Ind., refinery last week, returning one of the facility’s idled crude distillation units (CDU) to service. The restarted CDU has a 250,000 barrel/d capacity, and BP hopes to slowly ramp up to full production.
The refinery experienced an unscheduled shutdown on Aug. 8 after a number of small piping leaks were discovered. No timeline for a return to full capacity has been announced.
The Phillips 66 refinery at Wood River, Ill., was operating at limited capacity last week after a cooling tower collapsed, local reports indicated. One of the 306,000 barrel/d plant’s refining units was offline and another was running at a reduced rate on Aug. 26. Plant management hoped to begin ratcheting up production on or around Aug. 28.
One source questioned whether soaring cracking margins could be linked to the recent rise in unplanned refinery maintenance. “With refinery margins so strong, there is an interest among majors to put off maintenance,” the contact said. “(We) will have to see if that results in more incidents.”
Molten sulfur delivered to Tampa was $137/lt for the third-quarter.
Domestic refinery capacity fell last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA put utilization at 94.5 percent for the week ending Aug. 21, a 0.6 percent decline from the previous week’s 95.1 percent. The rate was higher than both the year-ago 93.4 percent and the five-year average of 92.1 percent, however.
Average daily crude inputs were also lower. EIA called inputs 16.658 million barrels/d, a 117,000 barrel/d decrease from the previous week’s 16.775 million barrels/d.
U.S. Gulf: Gulf prills were called $130-$135/mt FOB, unchanged from last report. The price was based on last-done into the Brazil market in the neighborhood of $150/mt CFR.
Vancouver: Market players were largely bearish on the Vancouver spot market last week, which appeared primed to sink lower based on continued weakness in the China spot market.
Last done remained unchanged in a range of $130-$135/mt FOB, sources said, though shrinking Chinese price ideas looked to pressure Vancouver in the next round of business.
Recent Chinese spot levels were quoted around $155/mt CFR, but some put the market closer to $150/mt CFR. Chinese buyers were reported to be holding fast to bids in the $140s/mt FOB for new business, however, leading some to predict a landing spot below $150/mt CFR.
Sources roundly blamed the Chinese market’s weakness on a new 13 percent VAT on fertilizer products imported to and exported from China, though sources were unable to verify whether the tax would apply directly to sulfur or only to finished products such as phosphate. The recent devaluation of the Chinese yuan also factored into sinking price ideas.
Alberta sulfur was steady at (-)$5-$85/mt.
West Coast: Sources called the West Coast formed sulfur market unchanged at $125-$130/mt FOB last week. Third-quarter molten contracts were $75-$125/lt FOB.
ADNOC: Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) sulfur was priced at $155/mt FOB for the month of August, with an updated September number expected soon. Some observers predicted a downward move following recent softening in Chinese spot.
ADNOC’s 800,000 barrel/d Ruwais refinery was operating at approximately 70 percent of capacity last week following an early August breakdown of the plant’s residual fluid catalytic cracking unit (RFCC). ADNOC was working to raise output to 75 percent by the end of August, according to reports. No official timeline for a return to full production was available, though sources speculated th