The prices of imported petroleum coke from the USA and Saudi Arabia have currently moved down by 6.8-7.1% respectively from their previous assessment levels.
Notably, the prices of imported coal of US and South African origins have also come down in recent months, pushing down pet coke import prices.
The latest offers for pet coke (6.5% Sulphur) from USA are assessed to be varying in the range of USD 82-83/MT CNF India, as against USD 88-89/MT in the last month.
Offers for pet coke (9% Sulphur) from Saudi Arabia are assessed in the range of USD 78-79/MT CNF India, against USD 84-85/MT last month.
The U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) FOB price of pet coke (6% Sulphur) is in the range of USD 50-51/MT, which is a drop of USD 5/MT over its last month’s price of USD 55-56/MT.
Ocean freight rates from USGC to Indian ports for Supramax vessel (50,000-55,000 MT) continue to be in the range of USD 33-34/MT. However, the rates may increase amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
It is also understood that certain major customers like UltraTech, ACC, Shree Cement, Dalmia Cement have term contracts for import, which varies with spot cargo rates, resulting in a variation of pet coke prices in the market.
The major cement players compare pet coke economics with imported coal, mostly high-CV coals like US thermal coal having net calorific value of 6,900 kcal/kg NAR, whereas pet coke has net calorific value of approximately 7,500 kcal/kg NAR. However, the Sulphur content in US coal is in the range of 3%-3.3%, whereas in pet coke it ranges from 6.5%-8.5%.
Presently, almost three-fourths of the fuel requirement of cement producers is met through pet coke in India. However, as the use of pet coke has been partially restrained in the country due to environmental concerns, users are exploring new alternatives to pet coke.
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