Canada sulphur block to stay locked - consultant

TORONTO (ICIS news)--An 8m tonne sulphur block at Syncrude’s oil sands upgrading complex in Canada’s Alberta province is not likely to come to market even as global sulphur and sulphuric acid demand and prices continue to soar, a top consultant said on Wednesday.

The main reason were huge logistical issues, Barry Clarke of US sulphur consultants Pentasul, told an investor conference in Toronto.

“You can’t get trucks and truck drivers in Alberta,” Clarke said, pointing to labour and capital shortages amid Alberta’s oil, gas and oilsands boom as a key factor in keeping the sulphur stranded.

In addition, sulphur transport by road was restricted due to safety concerns, he said.

The Syncrude site needs road transport to move the product as it is not directly linked to railroad, he added.

The Syncrude block, and a similar-sized block in Kazakhstan, were the only signifcant sulphur blocks in the world that have not gone to the market.

The global sulphur and sulphuric acid supply squeeze would only ease after 2010 when new oil, gas, oilsands and other projects were due to come online, producing more sulphur by-product, Clarke said.

China - currently the world’s largest sulphur market, absorbing a third of world sulphur trade - would develop gas and oil processing that would generate domestic sulphur production.

Meanwhile, US were refiners will produce more sulphur as they process increasing volumes of Canadian heavy crude in coming years, he said. 

Global supplies were highly inelastic and could not be increased irrespective of price, said Clarke, who referred to sulphuric acid as “the new gold dust”.

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly