Motiva moves coke to Deepwater

US refiner Motiva has begun moving petroleum coke supply from its damaged Pabtex terminal in Port Arthur, Texas, to Houston's Deepwater terminal for loading, according to a number of market participants.

The refiner has been unable to load its production from the Pabtex terminal since mid-March, when a vessel collided with and damaged a shiploader there. But Motiva has finalised an agreement allowing it to rail its trapped coke to Houston's Deepwater terminal. Motiva on Tuesday began railing 10,000t/day to Deepwater, market participants said.

Pabtex serves Motiva's 626,000 b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, which has the capacity to produce about 3mn t/yr of petroleum coke, mainly high-sulphur fuel grade.

It is unclear how long the refiner will be railing its volumes into Deepwater. But the damage at the Pabtex shiploader seems unlikely to be resolved soon.

Cargoes of coal and other commodities that were blocked by a bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, on 26 March have also begun moving to other terminals. Eastern railroad Norfolk Southern said on 3 April that it had "successfully transported" the first cargo from a Baltimore vessel diverted to its Lamberts Point terminal in Norfolk, Virginia.

By Delaney Ramirez