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    Magazine: Sulphur

    Sulphur Industry News Roundup

    Chinese refinery output has been steadily falling this year as covid-related lockdowns impact upon the economy. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that refinery output fell to 13.8 million bbl/d in April – down 2% year on year – then took a sharp fall in May to 12.6 million bbl/d, more than 10% down on the same time in 2021, when output stood at 14.1 million bbl/d. May’s figure was 12.7 million bbl/d, a modest increase on April, but still 1.6 million bbl/d down compared to May 2021. Refining margins have also been hurt by high oil prices due to the Ukraine conflict, dropping close to zero or even negative according to industry estimates.

    Where is oil going?

    The past couple of years have been quite the wild ride, with major global events dominating markets outside of the usual concerns of broad market supply and demand. It seems like a long time ago now, but this time last year, the price of a barrel of Brent crude was about $75. Go back two years, in the wake of the onset of covid restrictions, and that barrel would have cost you $40 (and just $25 a couple of months before that). In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, you could easily have paid $130, and it has been hovering around $110/bbl for the past few months. The last time oil spent any time at that level was in 2014, just before the Chinese economy ran out of steam and prices slumped by 70%.

    Sulphuric Acid News Roundup

    At the end of June a three day strike among workers at Chilean state mining company Codelco paralysed copper output at the world’s largest copper producer. The strike was in protest at the threatened closure of the Ventanas smelter, which was the site of an alleged leak of sulphur dioxide on June 6th. Chile’s environmental regulator subsequently provisional measures for both Codelco and power company AES Chile after numerous people in the nearby towns of Quintero and Puchuncavi in central Chile, including hundreds of high school students and staff, showed signs of sulphur dioxide poisoning. The measures include the installation of a new temperature sensor to measure potential thermal inversions. Both companies have denied responsibility for the leak; Codelco says that its air quality stations recorded normal levels of SO2 during the time of the incident.