Petroleum coke
Overview
Used in the manufacturing of metals, for power generation and in the production of numerous other products including glass, paint and fertilizers, petcoke is widely used. As the energy transition drives markets around the world to search for ways to reduce carbon emissions, the outlook for Petroleum coke remains uncertain.
Gain transparency into the evolving international petcoke markets with weekly and monthly prices, expert analysis and global market-moving news for fuel-grade and anode-grade petroleum coke.
Latest petroleum coke news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global petcoke industry.
Corpus Christi port work to curb coke exports
Corpus Christi port work to curb coke exports
Houston, 1 May (Argus) — Planned shiploader maintenance at the port of Corpus Christi, Texas, from 8 May to 22 June should temporarily curb US Gulf coke shipments and squeeze availability, market participants said. There will be no coke loadings from the port for the 45-day duration of maintenance, a trader said, leaving companies to store coke over that period or move it to other terminals. The port of Corpus Christi did not reply to a request for comment or clarify whether the outage will also affect other dry bulk commodities. Coke loadings from the port averaged roughly 146,000 metric tonnes (t)/month in January-November 2025, with no loadings in December, according to US customs data. The port then loaded 249,600t and 110,000t in January and February this year. High-sulphur coke output from the Gulf of Mexico was already set to tighten in recent weeks after a fire at US independent refiner Valero's 380,000 b/d facility in Port Arthur, Texas, in March shut a delayed coking unit and a fire at Mexican state-owned Pemex's 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery in April damaged one of the towers of its coking unit. Narrower heavy-light crude spreads because of the Middle East war were also expected to cut supply. Stockpiling during the outage should mean higher availability for coke cargoes after late June. By Hadley Medlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Texas coke ships to JEA using Jones Act waiver
Texas coke ships to JEA using Jones Act waiver
Houston, 1 May (Argus) — A shipment of petroleum coke from Motiva's 640,500 b/d Port Arthur refinery travelled to Florida-based utility JEA on a Panama-flagged vessel last month, taking advantage of the recent US Jones Act waiver. The Handysize Japanese-built T Clever on 14 April shipped petroleum coke from the Pabtex terminal in Port Arthur, Texas, discharging in Jacksonville, Florida, on 22 April, according to data from ship tracking service Kpler. JEA had contracted with Aramco Trading and Holcim Trading for its 2026 supply, with the option to load coke from Mexican state-owned Pemex's 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery at Dos Bocas or other refineries from January-August 2026. Following US president Donald Trump's 60-day Jones Act waiver in March , Aramco began supplying JEA with coke from Port Arthur, sources said. The Jones Act requires shipments of energy-related products between US ports to be on vessels that are US-built, flagged and crewed. But these vessels are limited and expensive . Trump waived the act in an attempt to ease commodity prices that spiked after the start of the Middle East war, making shipments from US Gulf ports less costly. The Jones Act normally makes imported coke from Latin America a less expensive option for US buyers like JEA. JEA had historically been a buyer of Venezuelan coke, prior to the US sanctioning the state-owned oil company PdV in 2019, and it had also secured coke from Colombian state-owned Ecopetrol's 200,000 b/d Reficar refinery in Cartagena, despite this low-sulphur coke commanding a premium in China. But as Mexican high-sulphur coke supply rose at the end of last year with the ramp-up of the Olmeca refinery, this refinery became an attractive option. JEA received three shipments totalling 102,000t from Dos Bocas across January, February and March, Kpler data show. US Energy Information Administration fuel receipts data, which is only available through February, show the utility received 65,478t from Holcim Trading and Shipping. But Mexican loadings were significantly delayed in the early part of this year, as foggy and rainy weather disrupted loadings from Dos Bocas. Dos Bocas has also only restarted at partial capacity recently after an April fire that damaged one of the towers of its coking unit, a market participant said, which could further impact Mexican supply availability for JEA. The Trump administration on 24 April extended the Jones Act waiver for another 90 days, meaning JEA and other US buyers could potentially receive more US Gulf supply at competitive freight costs. The T Clever on 29 April loaded another 35,742t of petroleum coke at the Corpus Christi Bulk Terminal, in Texas, which also loads Motiva Port Arthur coke, but the destination was so far only listed as Northern America, according to Kpler. By Hadley Medlock and Lauren Masterson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Global petroleum coke supply seen dipping further
Global petroleum coke supply seen dipping further
Houston, 10 April (Argus) — Rising supply from the US Gulf early this year after around nine months of lower production, as well as the return of exports from Mexico and Venezuela, looked set to put pressure on high-sulfur petroleum coke prices by the second quarter. But effects of the Middle East war and recent accidents at US and Mexican refineries have again reduced production, keeping prices supported. Higher coke production was expected to put some pressure on the market this year after limited supply throughout much of last year supported fob US Gulf coke prices . US coke output sank to a 20-year low in 2025 because of refinery shutdowns and lighter crude slates, but rose to a 13-month high in January , largely because of favorable heavy sour crude economics. Disruptions to exports from Mexico and Venezuela contributed to keeping supply tight in January. But Venezuelan exports began to increase in February, although they were still below year-earlier levels , despite the US loosening sanctions restrictions on this supply. Offers of high-sulfur coke to India and China from Mexican state-owned Pemex's 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery, known as Dos Bocas, have increased over the past couple of weeks. Mexico planned to continue increasing domestic refining output throughout 2026, and market participants expected this year's exports to surpass 2025 levels. But a fire that broke out in a coke storage pit at the Dos Bocas refinery on 9 April may have damaged one of the towers of its coking unit, which could cut coke output from the refinery again. Pemex has not disclosed a timeline for restarting the coking unit, but a market participant said it may return to operating at 50pc capacity next week. The refinery also reported a fire in mid-March that killed five people. Pemex has not said the two incidents are related, but some market participants suggested that recent efforts to increase domestic refining output may have put some strain on Dos Bocas' infrastructure. A fire at Valero's 380,000 b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on 23 March is also expected to cut US Gulf coke production in the near term. A delayed coking unit was one of the units affected by the fire, which has led the company to postpone April coke shipments to May. Valero has still not provided a timeline for restoration of service. The fire compounds the effects of the war in the Middle East, which broke out on 28 February. Limited crude exports from the region have raised crude prices, as well as narrowing the spread between heavy and light crudes. High-sulfur supply from Saudi Arabia, a major supplier to India and China, has also been disrupted. The 400,000 b/d Aramco/Sinopec Yasref refinery in Yanbu has reduced coke production, sources said, while shipments have been blocked from the 460,000 b/d Aramco/TotalEnergies Satorp refinery at Jubail, which is located within the Mideast Gulf. The latter refinery sustained damage to one processing train in Iranian attacks over the evening of 7-8 April. By Hadley Medlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Weather disruptions cut Mexican coke exports
Weather disruptions cut Mexican coke exports
Houston, 23 March (Argus) — Fog and rainy weather disrupted loadings from Mexico's Dos Bocas port in January, tightening supply of high-sulphur fuel-grade coke. Increasing export availability from Mexico following the ramp up of production at Mexican state-owned Pemex's 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery at Dos Bocas in the second half of 2025 had helped keep supply balanced in the fourth quarter . But spot offers dried up so far this year after poor weather conditions prevented loadings from Dos Bocas for most of January and required these cargoes to be pushed to February, according to market participants. Many products need to load at the port and get priority over coke, and operational issues with a short conveyor belt to move coke onto vessels caused further problems, market participants said. Preliminary data from ship tracker Kpler showed 110,000t of coke on four ships exported that month, although sources said at most two cargoes loaded from the port in January. Draft restrictions at the port limit ships to loading about 35,000t. In comparison, Mexico shipped 248,600t in December and 212,800t in November, according to the latest available official trade data compiled by Global Trader Tracker (GTT). Kpler showed 184,400t loaded on four ships in February, much of which had been delayed from the previous month. And Mexico has loaded three cargoes of coke totalling about 101,400t so far in March, Kpler data show. At least four cargoes are expected to load this month, a market participant said. But although the loading rate appears to be improving, there has still been little spot offered from the refinery. One buyer said in early March that although it was still confirming laycans, it had not received new offers for some time. And another said the refinery had an end March/early April loading cargo to offer but postponed the sale. The slowdown in Mexican exports in January and February potentially disrupted supply to Florida utility JEA, which purchased over 500,000t of Mexico-origin coke for delivery this year in a November tender . The utility had scheduled five delivery windows for the shipments across January, June and August. But even with lower shipments so far this year, market participants still expect Mexican coke exports to surpass last year's levels, as the country's domestic refining output is set to rise further in 2026. Mexico exported nearly 1.5mn t of coke in full-year 2025, according to GTT. Shipments will likely be closer to 2mn t or more in 2026 as Dos Bocas' coker output continues to become more consistent, a Mexican cement maker said. Pemex is also planning to switch berths sometime this year to be able to load 50,000t cargoes. This could help assuage concerns from some buyers about doing long-term contracts for the supply. "Unless loadings improve going forward from Dos Bocas, this will impact [sourcing] decisions in 2027", one coke buyer said. By Hadley Medlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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