ExxonMobil Baton Rouge coke quality shifts

ExxonMobil's 522,500 b/d Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery has begun producing petroleum coke with a higher shot content because of a project to expand the range of crudes processed at the facility, curbing demand from some anode-grade coke market participants in China.

Buyers in China have in recent years taken most of the fuel-grade coke produced by two of the refinery's cokers as it had a high HGI and low shot content, making it applicable for use in calcining blends. But upgrades at the plant to allow for a wider crude diet have lowered Baton Rouge fuel-grade coke's HGI and increased its shot content, with coke produced in December and January ranging from 81-93pc shot and 64-84 HGI, according to quality analysis reports. Quality analysis reports in 2021 and in early 2022 showed the coke had a shot content of 0pc, with HGI ranging from 100-128 and 85-96, respectively.

While the refinery's fuel-grade cokers have produced various amounts of shot coke in 2023 and in previous years, shot content became elevated on a regular basis in November, an independent coke market analyst said. High shot content coke production at Baton Rouge looks to be continuing through the first quarter, the analyst said, "but the situation can change quickly."

ExxonMobil on 22 February closed the bidding period for a Baton Rouge term tender offering coke with 4.8-5.3pc sulphur on a dry basis and a variable shot content of up to 100pc for loading in 35,000-70,000t cargoes from April-December.

The refiner also accepted bids for shot-free cargoes, although it postponed contracting deals for them because "the time required to build a segregated shot-free pile is uncertain," the tender document said.

Market participants expect that most of the coke Baton Rouge's fuel-grade cokers produce will go to cement makers this year, perhaps in South America or Turkey, while exports to China — where volumes were often used in anode-grade coke blends — will decrease.

One trader that typically purchases at least one term Baton Rouge cargo each year said it did not submit a bid, as it saw lower interest from its Chinese customers now that the refinery is not currently selling coke suitable for calcining blends. Its Chinese customers are also focusing on spot rather than term volumes as China's imported coke stockpiles reached record levels on record high imports in 2023.

But some anode-grade coke market participants will continue to receive material from another of the refinery's coking units, which produces anode-grade coke. Term coke from this unit was tendered around October and was of a similar quality to the year prior, market participants said.

By Delaney Ramirez