Sulphur and Sulphuric acid
Overview
The global sulphur market has gone through fundamental changes in buying patterns, trade routes and pricing over the past few years. Fixed price contracts and formula-based indexation have become the dominant ways in which supplies are bought and sold around the world, which makes accurate price assessments and detailed analysis key to any sulphur market participants.
The global sulphuric acid industry has seen structural change in recent years and new capacities will continue to challenge the balance in the years to come. While demand will be driven by fertilizers — predominantly the increased production of phosphate and ammonium sulphates — the market will continue to be exposed to short-term supply shocks, especially from the metals sector.
Rising demand for battery materials such as nickel and cobalt (due to growing electric vehicle production) will in turn bolster demand for sulphur and sulphuric acid, increase competition for supply and impact pricing.
Our extensive market coverage includes formed sulphur (both granular and prilled), crushed lump sulphur, molten/liquid sulphur and sulphuric acid. Argus has decades of experience covering these markets, and incorporate our multi-commodity market expertise in key areas including phosphates and metals to provide the full market narrative.
Argus support market participants with:
- Price assessments (daily and weekly for sulphur, weekly for sulphuric acid), proprietary data and market commentary assessments
- Short and medium to long-term forecasting, modelling and analysis of sulphur and sulphuric acid prices, supply, demand, trade and projects
- Bespoke consulting project support
Latest sulphur and sulphuric acid news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global sulphur and sulphuric acid industry.
Potential Hormuz closure threatens ferts, sulphur trade
Potential Hormuz closure threatens ferts, sulphur trade
London, 23 June (Argus) — Iran's threat to "close" the strait of Hormuz in response to the US military attack on its nuclear sites over the weekend risks disrupting 20-50pc of international trade in urea, sulphur, phosphate and ammonia. The risk is primarily to buyers of fertilizer and associated raw materials outside the Mideast Gulf as, with the exception of sulphuric acid, potash and some niche products, the flow of trade is dominated by exports. Fully half of global seaborne sulphur trade originates from the Mideast Gulf — 20mn t this year, according to Argus Analytics — which goes primarily to China, Morocco and Tunisia, and for mining users in southern and central Africa. Sulphur is a key raw material for making phosphate fertilizers. Some substitution for sulphur by merchant sulphuric acid is possible but the sulphuric acid markets are already tight. Urea markets also have a substantial degree of exposure to potential disruption to shipments from the Mideast Gulf, with around a third of seaborne trade supplied from the region. Exports from the Mideast Gulf are forecast at around 18mn t this year by Argus Analytics , from a global total of 56mn t. The major destinations for Middle East urea during the third quarter each year are typically Brazil, India, Thailand and Australia. Ammonia exports from the Mideast Gulf account for around a fifth of global trade. Shipments this year from Mideast Gulf producers averaged around 365,000 t/month, according to Argus ' tracking of loaded vessels, with the main buyers being fertilizer producers in India and Morocco, which have taken 830,000t and 315,000t, respectively, and mostly industrial buyers in South Korea, which have taken 335,000t. For phosphates, the main risk is to the supply of MAP and DAP from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's Ma'aden produces around 20pc of the 17mn t/yr of seaborne trade in MAP and 14pc of the 12mn t/yr of DAP trade, with India typically the largest recipient of the latter, in terms of quantity, during the third quarter. All DAP and MAP shipments, plus some NPS, are loaded from Ras al-Khair. On the import side, the greatest impact from any disruption to shipments in the region would be on sulphuric acid. Ma'aden is expected to import around 700,000t of sulphuric acid through Ras al-Khair in 2025, and line-up data show nearly 500,000t of acid will be shipped in the first seven months of the year, mainly from Asia-Pacific origins such as west coast India and China. Few alternative loading mechanisms are available to bypass any disruption to the strait of Hormuz. The UAE port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman can load bulk cargoes, but in the event of significant regional disruption the port might not be able to prioritise fertilizer exports over other commodities. It is also on the far side of the country from the urea and sulphur production facilities. Saudi Arabia has several Red Sea ports, but distances overland from production sites close to the Mideast Gulf make this route operationally and commercially challenging. The threat of disruption has so far not prevented trade in and stevedoring of cargoes within the region — including shipments from Iran's ports of Bandar Imam Khomeini and Asaluyeh — which continued over the weekend. By Bede Heren Mideast Gulf fertilizer and related raw material exports Product Exports (t/yr) % of seaborne trade Sulphur 20,058 50 Urea 17,978 32 Ammonia 3,635 21 MAP 3,480 20 includes exports from Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE — Argus Analytics Mideast Gulf ports Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Northern Nutrients, Shell partner on ferts plant
Northern Nutrients, Shell partner on ferts plant
Houston, 13 June (Argus) — Canadian fertilizer producer Northern Nutrients will partner with Shell Trading Canada to increase fertilizer output at Northern Nutrients' facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Northern Nutrients produces enhanced nitrogen sulfur fertilizers using Shell's Thiogro technology. The company's flagship product, Arctic S, consists of 75pc micronized elemental sulfur and 11pc nitrogen. The joint venture will result in an expansion of the Saskatoon-based facility, tripling its total fertilizer output from 50,000 metric tonnes (t) to 150,000 t/yr. The expansion will also increase sulfur consumption at the facility to approximately 112,500 t/yr, according to Northern Nutrients. Northern Nutrients said that groundbreaking is underway and the expansion should commence operations in the second half of 2026. The addition of new equipment, infrastructure and construction activity is not expected to impact operations or capacity of the current facility until the project nears completion during the third quarter of 2026, the company told Argus . By Chris Mullins Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Kazakh Jan-May sulphur rail shipments fall
Kazakh Jan-May sulphur rail shipments fall
London, 9 June (Argus) — Sulphur transported by rail from the Kashagan and Tengiz projects to seaports on the Russian network dropped by 9pc to 1.85mn t in the first five months of this year, Russian rail data show. When factoring in sulphur rail shipments from other Kazakh refineries, the drop is smaller at only 6pc. Tengiz sulphur quantities fell by a substantial 26pc to 869,000t, with the majority moving to the Baltic port of Ust Luga for onward shipment at 835,000t. Just 34,000t went to Batumi on the Black Sea. The drop is attributed to maintenance early this year reducing output at some crude units at the plant. Kashagan sulphur rail shipments bucked the declining trend, rising by 14pc to 977,000t in the first five months of this year. This includes 568,000t delivered to Ust Luga on the Baltic Sea and 408,000t to Taman on the Black Sea. Crushed lump sulphur from Kashagan's block is expected to be depleted by July-August, and Kashagan's sulphur rail shipments for export markets are expected to drop by around 350,000-400,000 t/yr as a result. Crushed lump sulphur has been moved via Ust Luga and Taman ports alongside granular shipments, with Taman replacing Kavkaz in the fourth quarter of 2024 as the Black Sea port receiving crushed lump. Other Kazakh refineries contributed a further 32,000t to St Petersburg port and 6,000t to Ust Luga port, both on the Baltic Sea, and 31,000t to Taman port in the Black Sea. By Maria Mosquera Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
High sulphur prices pressure Indonesian buyers
High sulphur prices pressure Indonesian buyers
Singapore, 7 May (Argus) — Steep increases in sulphur prices, against expectations of lower future nickel demand, and falling nickel prices since last year are pressuring metals producers in Indonesia, and some are considering postponing new projects. Sulphur is used as a raw material in the production of nickel intermediates such as nickel matte and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), through the rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) and high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) processes, respectively. Producing 1t of MHP or nickel matte requires an estimated 10t and 15t of sulphur, respectively. Global sulphur prices began to rise in mid-2024 on firmer demand from Morocco and Indonesia. Morocco's OCP started up two sulphur burners last year that will consume 967,000 t/yr of sulphur at capacity. In Indonesia, newly commissioned HPAL production lines at QMB New Energy Materials and Halmahera Persada Lygend also added an estimated 830,000 t/yr of sulphur demand. Uncertainty over Kazakh and Russian sulphur export availability because of EU sanctions also created uncertainty over available supply in the region. Tighter supply, compounded by competing Chinese and Indonesian demand after the Lunar New Year holidays, spurred a rally in sulphur prices in the first quarter of the year. Fob Middle East sulphur prices more than tripled to $285.5/t fob as of 1 May from $86/t a year earlier, Argus assessments show. Cfr Indonesia granular sulphur prices rose by $185/t to $297/t cfr over the same period. While sulphur prices have risen significantly over the past year, prices for Indonesian-origin nickel intermediates have been largely rangebound at $12,000-14,000/t of nickel contained since January 2024. The comparatively flat nickel prices and the rising raw material prices mean that producers' margins are narrowing further. Gross profit margins for MHP products were close to $10,000/t in 2023 before falling to around $7,000/t in 2024, according to Argus estimates. Current sulphur prices take up around 40pc of the total production cost of nickel matte, the largest portion out of other raw materials such as caustic soda, according to one metals producer. And the increased adoption of non-nickel containing battery chemistries such as lithium-iron-phosphate and higher demand for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have led the industry to revise its expectation of future nickel demand from the battery section. The International Nickel Study Group has forecast a nickel market surplus of 198,000t for 2025 , rising from 179,000t in 2024. But new ternary precursor cathode active materials projects will support a rise in nickel usage in the medium term, the group said. As higher raw material prices continue to chip away at producer margins, upcoming projects including QMB New Energy Materials' phase 3 in Morowali, and developments by Guangqing and Blue Sparkling Energy in Weda Bay may have to be postponed, market participants said. The three projects are expected on line this year, adding 844,000 t/yr of sulphur demand at capacity. By Chi Hin Ling, Deon Ngee Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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