Category Archives: Green coke
Those of you who watch China’s petcoke supply equation will know there is a small but important niche in China’s anode grade petcoke market - the small independent or “teapot” oil refineries. Most of the almost 50 refineries are located in Shandong province.
For years this group of refineries has been lobbying Beijing to allow them to import of crude oil directly, rather than through the major importers. And for years, Beijing has refused the request, each year allowing only 1.8 million tonnes of crude oil to be imported outside of the major import licence holders (companies like Sinopec and CNOOC import about 280 million tonnes, and growing.)
It’s an important part of the picture for those wanting to vary the blends of cokes going into anodes. Teapot refineries often offer parcels of low sulphur anode grade coke to the domestic China market, and often at discounted prices, but the problem is, they can’t offer continuous supply. Most of their feedstock comes from fuel oil and other sources (although we have heard of some refiners importing crude oil by giving it another name).
But that stand-off seems to have finally made some progress, although only a limited small step. Beijing has granted a licence to import crude oil to a company called Guanghui Energy. The licence allows this company to import up to 200,000 tonnes of crude oil per year.
It’s a small step because this company is based in Xinjiang, and will import the crude across the border from Kazakhstan. The majors have resisted any attempts by the teapot refiners to import oil, so this licence may be a small step towards opening this market. It may also be the exception, allowed for by the remote location and source of oil. Let’s hope that this is not the case, and that we will see more imports allowed for the teapot refineries, which should in turn allow anode grade petcoke supply to improve.
The search for anode grade petcoke from oil refineries in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East seems to be finally bringing some results. After countless calcining projects ran dry on the lack of anode grade coke, it seems that a new development is on the horizon.
The Abu Dhabi Ruwais refinery expansion will use local Murban crude oil, a light sweet sour crude. Reliable sources within the industry are telling us that the refinery will produce as much as 900,000t of anode grade petcoke per year.
It then only needs for someone to build a calciner at or near the refinery, and we understand that there are plans to do so. That will increase pressure on Chinese calcined coke producers, but will also put pressure on calciners in India and Brazil. The latter have been working to ship CPC into the Middle East for some time.
The Ruwais refinery is owned by the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company, better known as Takreer.
Previous projects such as the Gasan calciner were thwarted because the oil refineries in the region finally moved to producing fuel cokes, leaving such projects with unworkable economics.
Editor’s note: Correcting the description of Murban from sweet to sour. It is 0.79% Sulphur, and the break point for describing a crude as sweet is 0.5%. Thanks to “Hard Rock 48″ for pointing out the error.
For registered attendants of AZ China’s 4th International Aluminium and Carbon Conference, on the night of Tuesday, May 6, 2014 there is an option: to Gala, or not to Gala? That is the question.
But what is the measure of our decision?
If our minds long to be entertained, dulled by the weary excuses for conference entertainment we so often see – we say yes! Our pre-dinner traditional Chinese entertainers are as charismatic as they are alluring.
If our hearts yearn for delectable cuisine so scrumptious our watering mouths flood the lands – we say yes! Guests will dine at 7:30pm in picturesque Houhai, a reclusive lake smack dab in the middle of Beijing surrounded by enticing nightlife.
Diners will be served a scrumptious assortment of seasonal dishes, basted and broiled to perfection.
If our bodies long for an adventure we haven’t had since our misspent youth – we say, why certainly, yes! A convenient adventure that is; guests will be promptly and safely delivered to and from each stage of the Gala journey and still get back to the hotel early enough for a good night’s sleep before the final day of the conference. If you’re a night owl, you’ll also have the option to stay and kick back at the surrounding neon-lit guitar bars for a lakeside beer or wander around the lake at your own pace.
But don’t be fooled by the guise of just a great meal and environment! The evening has cunningly disguised networking opportunities for the benefit of guests’ business development as well as their enjoyment and relaxation.
How to get on board the Gala Dinner train?
On the registration page of the conference, there is an added option to attend the Gala dinner. For those who have already registered and did not check the option but would like to attend, you may pay for the Gala dinner at a later point, although we can’t guarantee available seats. There are already a very limited number of remaining spaces available. Register soon for a great night in the heart of Beijing!
Unlike this divisive Gala occasion, AZ China’s Gala Dinner won’t be half as awkward!
There’s a revolution going on in the North America crude oil market, and it is set to send shock waves all the way to the anode.
But how to keep up with the latest developments? How to sort all the good information from the bad? How to identify how it will affect you?
AZ China is pleased to announce a new comprehensive service that gives you the handle you need on the ongoing saga of Shale Oil and Tight Oil. The Crude Revolution is not just a report, not just a blog, not just a news aggregation service. It is all of those and more.
The Crude Revolution Monitor (available Dec. 20, 2013) starts you off with a complete run-down of the situation regarding developments in Shale Oil and tight Oil generally. What is happening in the oil fields themselves, especially as well life diminishes? How will the pipeline v. rail logistics roll out affect the adoption of shale oil? To what extent have oil refineries already taken up shale oil and tight oil in their blends? How has this affected petcoke volumes and quality? How are the calciners affected, and what are they doing about it? Plus many other subject areas.
That gives you the starting point, but AZ China will give you so much more. Each month, we will send you the latest updates, together with a commentary on the expected developments to come. And we also give you exclusive access to our Crude Revolution blog site, where we will bring you the latest news as it occurs. The blog will also feature opinion pieces from experts in the field.
There is plenty of information out there about shale oil, but AZ China’s Crude Revolution Monitor is the only place to find out how shale oil affects petcoke and the supply of carbon to the world’s aluminium industry. Contact enquiries@az-china.com for more details.
Many of you would have read of the explosion in Qingdao last Friday. Authorities say at least 55 people were killed in the explosion, with another 136 injured and 9 still missing.
But the explosion could parlay into problems for the aluminium industry. The pipeline ran crude oil from Qingdao to Sinopec oil refineries in Weifang and surrounding areas. Weifang is about 170 kilometres from Qingdao.
Already Jinan refinery, Qilu refinery and Qingdao refining group have decreased output 20% to 40%, in the days since the accident. Each refinery will be impacted differently, according to how much inventory they had at the time of the accident. Sinopec is reportedly talking to some of the small independent refineries in the area to provide product for Sinopec customers.
The design capacity of the pipeline is max. 10mtpy. Of course, pet coke is a waste product for refineries, so output of coke will be impacted to differing degrees. It is still too early for an official timetable of repair and restart of the pipeline, but there’s no doubt it will be brought back on line as quickly as possible, to preserve jobs in the area.
The coker capabilities of major refineries which were influenced by this incident are: Cangzhou refinery with capacity of 1.2mtpy, Jinan refinery with capacity of 1.2mtpy, Qingdao refinery with capacity of 1.6mpty, Shijiazhuang refinery with capacity of 800ktpy, Shengli oil field with capacity of 400ktpy, Qilu refinery with capacity of 2.8mtpy and Qingdao refinering Group with capacity of 2.5mtpy.
We estimate the total output of petcoke from these refineries will reduce by a combined 284kt per month. This includes anode grade coke output of 130kt and fuel grade coke output of 154kt. In a country that produces about 24 million tonnes per year of pet coke, this is a small percentage, but anode coke is already looming as a potential shortage in the new year.
We will continue to monitor the situation. Subscribers to our reports will receive more information in our next editions.
(Thanks to AZ China’s Ji Yuan for compiling this information.)
Have you registered for the Petcoke Online Forum yet?
This is your last chance. It starts Tuesday morning 9am Beijing time, which is the same time as 7pm Monday in Houston. Don’t delay - go to www.petcokeconference.az-china.com and register NOW.
Need more information? The web address has information about the panelists and topics, and how it works.
Worried that you don’t have the time? As an “attendee” you will not need a lot of time. You can scan the sessions, read through the dialogue that has already taken place, and ask your questions or post comments in a matter of minutes. And you can do so at any time in the 24 hours following the start of each session. How much time do you spend reading online newspapers, blogs etc? It will take you about as much time as it takes to read an online newspaper. And it’s more topical to your business right now.
Not sure it is a good idea? If you are involved in the petcoke market, from raw coke, calcined coke, anodes, buying, trading, selling, then this is important to you. It takes about as long as reading an online newspaper, and it costs next to nothing.
See you in the forum!
We’re just two weeks away from the online petcoke event of the year. Register today to ensure your payment of just $99 will be received in time. Here’s the link: https://petcokeconference.az-china.com/register.html
It’s going to be a great time of discussion and info sharing!
The topics and panelists
Shale oil/tight oil
In the last 4 years, the USA has dramatically increased its output of domestic crude oil, thanks to the development of new technology to extract oil from geological rock formations such as shale rock.
Tight oil, of which Shale oil is one type, is now reaching 1 million barrels per day, and is forecast to double output. American oil refineries, especially those that produce anode grade petcoke, are now trying to figure out what to do about the rising influence of tight oil. Tight oil can deliver huge savings to a refinery, but the impact on each refinery’s petcoke production can be highly variable. Refineries that switch to Canadian Heavy oil will produce substantially more fuel coke, but those who switch to Eagle Ford or Bakken will produce a lot less coke. Some estimates predict that anode grade coke production call fall by more than half.
What is the full story on the shale oil phenomenon? What is the impact on green coke production, now and in the foreseeable future? How are calciners reacting now, and what additional challenges are ahead of them?
To examine these questions, we will be joined by:
Stuart Ehrenreich, Managing Director, Cascade Resources
Keith Neyrey, Customer Support Manager, Rain CII
China Petcoke
In this session we will examine the new/old phenomenon of hydro treating the vacuum materials in Chinese oil refineries, and what this will do to the supply of green coke.
Sinopec have reportedly started experimenting with the use of hydro treating in a couple of its refineries. Although the technology is not new, its application in today’s environment represents a threat to coke output. Some have reported that Sinopec’s experiments have led to a petcoke output reduction of up to 30%.
We will learn what the other major petcoke producers are doing to improve their value products output, recognizing that increased light product output means decreased coke output. What is CNPC doing?
On a broader scale, we will look at China’s total petcoke supply picture. 2012 saw no growth in petcoke supply – what is the outlook for 2013, and 2014?
What is happening with imports and exports, and what about the talk of new Customs Tariffs on petcoke?
With the changes to the total supply side in China, what does this mean for availability for export? To what extent is China dipping into medium-high sulphur cokes to support its anode demand?
To examine these questions, we will be joined by:
Ji Yuan, Analyst at AZ China, and author of the monthly Black China Report
Wang Hao, Senior Engineer and Vice Director, Petrochina (TBC)
Calcined Coke
Anyone involved in the global calcined coke/anode business will be aware that calcining capacity has grown strongly in recent years. New projects in China have recently opened, while others in China, India, and the Middle East are in various stages of development.
This growth comes at a time when primary aluminium production is under pressure from low prices and lack of profitability. Outside China, the outlook is grim, with closures likely to exceed expansions for the next couple of years.
Meantime, inside China, new anode plants and new smelters are adding to the total demand, but from within China. What will that do to availability for the rest of the world? Will China’s domestic demand for anode grade coke, combined with lack of growth of this coke, cause shortages of coke? What does that do to the calciners that have recently been built or are due to enter the market?
Out of all this, where are prices heading? If petcoke prices rise, won’t that put a squeeze on calciners, especially as smelters are less willing than ever to pay more.
Finally, what does the panel think will happen with anode plant development? Is there any threat to the traditional model that sees each smelter having its own anode plant? What about tightening environmental regulations, and the decreasing availability of capital for furnace rebuilds? Will we soon see the day when global anode producers, perhaps based in China or elsewhere, are supplying multiple plants with their anodes from one massive ultra-modern anode plant?
To help us understand these questions, we will be joined by:
Mr Tony Botelho, Sales Manager, Sinoway Carbon, China
Dr Akram Madanat, formerly of Gasan Calcining Project, Saudi Arabia
Open Forum
In the first 3 topic areas, we have tried to address the major issues facing the petcoke industry right now. But that doesn’t mean there are no other topics to be examined. Some of these include:
- Fuel grade coke prices – will coal price drive fuel coke prices down?
- What of the talk that high sulphur coke imports will be taxed in China?
- What is happening in India? Will that country grow CPC exports?
- What is the price gap between CPC at 3% sulphur compared to lower levels of sulphur?
- How to obtain the best prices for CPC, and what about the new CPC Index services popping up?
To help us with this discussion, our panelists from the previous 3 sessions will be joined by Paul Adkins, Managing Director of AZ China and Oscar Mascarenhas of Goa Petcoke Consulting.
To register for this conference, go to the forum website and use the online registration page at https://petcokeconference.az-china.com/ (The registration page will be open on or before October 23.)
Last week we announced the Petcoke Online Forum, an important briefing on the latest developments in the petcoke market (see here for the original announcement.)
Here is some more information about the conference.
The AZ China Petcoke Online Forum
The Petcoke Online Forum is a key event not to be missed by anyone involved in supplying carbon into the world’s aluminium smelters.
In past years, there has been a conference held (The Fall Petcoke Conference) which has allowed participants a chance to update themselves with the latest developments in the market. This year, the conference is being held by AZ China, the world’s leading carbon consulting company.
AZ China believes it is vitally important to provide this forum at this time. There are some serious changes occurring in the petcoke market, and we feel it is essential that market participants keep themselves abreast of the latest developments.
This conference will be held online. AZ China recognises that it is difficult at this time of year for participants to find the budget to travel, especially to conferences. But this conference will allow you to participate from the comfort of your office or home.
We are delighted to announce that Rain CII is our sponsor for this event. In the words of Rain CII’s Vice President Commercial, Ron Garbarino, “Rain CII applauds AZ China for trying something different in the conference space, and we look forward to participating.
How it works
Simply go to the AZ China website and click on the tab for the Petcoke Online Forum. There you will find the registration page. Once you have registered (there is a small $99 admin fee), you will receive a password.
Once each session of the conference starts (you will receive an email alerting you that it is about to start), simply log in, enter your password, and join the discussion.
Because participants will be coming from multiple time zones around the world, the conversation will be there waiting for you when you log in. Post your comments and questions, and if you are in the same time zone as the moderator and panelists, you will get answers and responses immediately. It’s that simple.
To help you learn more about each panelist and the particular point/s that they want to make, most panelists will prepare a short video. The video will contain a brief introduction to themselves, and a quick explanation of the key points they want to make. We suggest you watch the video before joining the conversation.
When will it be held?
The AZ China Petcoke Online Forum will be held November 12 to 14, Beijing time. However, if you are in the USA or a country with a time zone behind the time zone in Beijing, it will start a little earlier for you.
Important note: Each Live Forum will run for approximately one hour, while the session will run for at least 24 hours.
Live forum:
Session Topic Beijing Houston Dubai
time time time
1 Tight oil/Shale oil Tues Mon Mon
08.00 19.00 24.00
2 China petcoke Tues Mon Tues
16.00 03.00 12.00
3 Calcined coke Wed Wed Wed
16.00 03.00 12.00
4 Open Forum Thurs Wed Wed
08.00 19.00 24.00
In the next post, we will talk about the topics and panelists.
Over the last several years, there has been a “Fall Petcoke Conference” held somewhere around Asia, with the last one being held in Hong Kong last October.
This year, AZ China is offering our own petcoke conference, but this conference is going to be unlike any other you have attended. It will be held online.
The Petcoke Online Forum will be held November 12 - 14, and will be held in the comfort of your own office or home.
We at AZ China believe it is a vital time to get up to date with what is happening in the petcoke world. The recent announcement by Valero in the USA only highlights what is likely to get worse. Anode grade petcoke is about to go short, perhaps critically short. To the situation with Shale Oil and Tight Oil developments in the USA, add the increased use of hydro treating in Chinese oil refineries, and you have a potentially “tectonic” shift in the market balance of anode grade petcoke.
Fuel grade coke prices are also set for a roller coaster ride. China is likely to set import duties on high sulphur petcoke in 2014, but coal prices are set to fall. For as long as the calorific value connection is maintained, that will drive fuel coke prices down.
In the calcined coke world, new calciners are starting to impact the market. Some projects have been delayed or cancelled, but meantime, new capacity in calcined coke, and especially in anode manufacturing capacity.
In short, if ever there was a time to keep ahead of the curve, this is it. AZ China recognises this, and has decided to step into the breach.
To help us arrange this event, we are delighted to announce that Rain CII has agreed to sponsor the Petcoke Online Forum.
So, how does it work? Simple. We will shortly make a registration page available. Register your details and receive your login password. On the day, go to the forum site (we will provide the special link), and join the conversation. Because participants will come from all sorts of time zones, the conversation will be there waiting for you no matter where you log in from. (There’s a small admin fee of $99 with registration.)
Best of all, no need to find extra budget for travel or accommodation costs. No need to find a week out of your busy diary. An online forum will not have the networking opportunities that a physical presence does, but the AZ China Aluminium and Carbon conference in May 2014 will give you that opportunity.
In a separate post, I will give you more information about the line up of speakers and the topics we will cover.
If you don’t want to wait with registering for this important and innovative event, you can write to me at paul.adkins@az-china.com to pre-register. The office is closed this week for China Golden Week, but we will process your registration when the office re-opens.
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