Category: Industrial

The Sulphur Institute (TSI) held its World Sulphur Symposium in Florence from April 8th-10th.

Cornerstone Chemical Company has sold its sulphuric acid operations to Ecovyst, a global provider of advanced materials, specialty catalysts, sulphuric acid and regeneration services based in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Ecovyst's business structure includes two core business units: Advanced Materials and Catalysts (AM&C) and Ecoservices. Ecovyst more than 900 employees throughout its 12 facilities across multiple locations worldwide and its Ecoservices division is a North American provider of sulphuric acid and sulphuric acid regeneration services.

Sulphur markets have been on a tear over the past few months, driven by strong demand in Asia, with buyers primarily sourcing from the Middle East and Canada through late 2024 and into the early months of 2025. Steady buying from Indonesia and China, the two largest importers of sulphur, appears to have supported the market, in China’s case mainly for phosphate production as well as a variety of industrial processes, and in Indonesia’s case to feed the high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plants that are producing nickel for the battery and stainless steel industries. Prices saw a notable rally following the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. Nevertheless, this momentum finally began to shift as April began ago as the pace of price increases in Asia started to slow. As the spring fertilizer application season in China draws to a close, domestic prices began to drop, reaching the equivalent of a delivered price of around $272/t c.fr. As well as the narrowing window for spring application of phosphates, the decline was also driven by weakening demand amid uncertainty over tariffs and export restrictions. In southern China, phosphate producers continue to purchase import cargoes. A major phosphate producer in southwest China has been reported as having bought mainstream material at a price of $303/t c.fr, according to local market sources. Total sulphur port inventories in China had declined by 22,000 tonnes to 1.86 million tonnes by 16 April 2025. The volume at Yangtze River ports increased to 825,000 tonnes, while the port inventory at Dafeng decreased to 400,000 tonnes.

IPCO AB has acquired web converting equipment manufacturer New Era Converting Machinery Inc. New Era is a web converting equipment design and manufacturing business, with two facilities in New Jersey, USA, and around 100 employees. Its technology platform of web handling, coating, laminating, and embossing equipment expands IPCO’s presence in key industries, especially in sustainability-driven segments. It also complements IPCO’s double-belt press and film casting solutions.

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has released a second update on its ongoing investigation into the fatal hydrogen sulphide release that occurred on October 10, 2024, at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. Two contract workers died during the incident, and over 13 tonnes of hydrogen sulphide gas were released. Local authorities issued shelter-in-place orders lasting several hours for the neighbouring cities of Deer Park and Pasadena.

The Philippine government is looking to follow Indonesia’s success in attracting downstream investment by banning the export of nickel ore. The Philippine Congress could ratify a bill banning raw mineral exports as early as June. The ban would come into force five years after approval to give miners time to build downstream processing plants. This development could potentially lead to higher nickel prices in the medium term if there is a delay to building domestic capacity and the Indonesian government becomes serious about restraining ore availability.

The Middle East remains the world’s largest regional exporter of sulphur, with additional capacity continuing to come from both refineries and particularly sour gas processing.

Kazakh state gas company QazaqGaz says that work is progressing well and on schedule on the 1 billion m3 expansion project at the Kashagan Gas Processing Plant. A recent site report says that seven absorption columns have been installed at the sulphur treatment unit (each weighing between 50-170 tonnes); three sections of the smokestack have been installed at the sulphur recovery block, along with storage tanks and pumps for the heat carrier, instrumentation air, and nitrogen supply units; and a total of 2,177 t of process equipment has been installed. Welding works for tank assembly are ongoing, and over 12,000 meters of underground piping have been laid, and more than 38,000 cubic meters of concrete have been poured.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda has overseen the signing of signed an implementation agreement for the Uganda Refinery between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) and joint venture partner Alpha MBM Investments. Alpha MBM is a UAE-based company led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of the Dubai Royal Family. The agreement paves way for the design, construction and operation of the 60,000 bbl/d refinery to be undertaken at Kabaale. Construction is expected to take three years, with UNOC and Alpha MBM Investments as the project partners. The refinery, which will be East Africa’s first major crude processing plant, aims to reduce Uganda’s dependency on imported petroleum products and is expected to meet the local and regional demand for petroleum products.

• Global sulphur prices are expected to stay relatively stable as purchases in Asia slow down due to the closing of the purchasing window for the Chinese spring fertilizer application season.