Coal news and updates

Saudi refinery starts exports of pet coke

December 22: The Saudi Arabian refinery, Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), has started exports of petroleum coke from the week ending December 13, after a gap of several months, an official from an Indian cement company said.

ICMW had reported on December 18 that SATORP is likely to resume exports from January 2015.

Exports of pet coke from the refinery had come to a halt due to loading-related issues as some fault was reported in its conveyor system.

“Loading of Saudi Arabian pet coke recently started -- in fact, in the week ending December 13. The conveyor belt for loading, which was down for some reason, is again in operation,” the Indian official said.

Asked if any Indian company has procured the material from Saudi Arabia recently, the official said, “I have not yet heard of any deals by any Indian companies, but the loading has started and now I think Indian companies too will start buying and the material will start arriving.”

“The resumption of imports from Saudi Arabia will definitely help Indian consumers as the price is cheaper by almost $5 per ton compared to the material that comes from the US Gulf. It will also put some pressure on domestic refiners,” the official said.

A number of Indian cement companies, including UltraTech, had brought pet coke from Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year as the material was coming at a much lower price compared to prices from the US Gulf coast, industry sources said.