Anode grade raw petroleum coke, which is also known as green petroleum coke (GPC) in international markets, recently started showing moderate price corrections. This grade also had a long price uptrend, like the fuel grade, in international markets till recently.
Notably, petroleum coke having low sulphur and lower metals content are suitable for use in anode grade. The sulphur in GPC generally ranges from 0.8% to 5%. In case of metals, the important inputs are vanadium (the most critical), nickel, ferrous, and silicon etc. Lower the metal content, better is the quality and higher is the price of GPC. Different countries and refineries have varying quality parameters due to which prices vary substantially from one source to another, unlike the fuel grade coke. Notably, the present price of the fuel grade on CFR India basis is $157/tonne (t).
Generally, most of the calciners engaged in imports source different qualities of anode grade coke keeping in view the required sulphur content in the finished product, i.e. calcined petroleum coke (CPC). The major use of CPC is in the aluminum industry in which sulphur content is 3.5%, but for use in the steel industry it is less than 1.5%.
GPC anode grade
The availability of anode grade coke has improved relatively. Thus, prices are cooling off a bit, with coke of different origins and varying quality dropping by up to 5%. Indian calciners, after getting allocation of 1.4 million tonnes (mn t) for FY’22 by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), have already booked cargo from different countries like Oman, Russia, the US, China and Indonesia.
The low sulphur anode grade (0.8S) with vanadium of 150 ppm of US Gulf Coast (USGC) was sold in the range of $360-365/t FoB, a reduction of around $30-35/t. The low sulphur GPC of Chinese origin with sulphur content of 0.8% with vanadium of 150ppm is at around $400-410/t FoB, a reduction of around $50-60/t.
GPC of Chinese origin of suphur2%,andvanadiumof 150-250ppm, is at around 350-355/t, an increase of $5/t. However, GPC with 3% sulphur and vanadium of 200-250 ppm has dropped by about $5/t to 300-305/t.
A cargo from Oman was sold to an Indian calciner at $248/t CFR last month.
Galveston Bay (US) Coke with high sulphur and vanadium was sold at around $235/t FoB to an Indian calciner last month.
The ocean freight from USGC to Indian Ports for a Handymax vessel (30,000-35,000 t), in which GPC is generally imported, is in the range of $80-85/t. From China, it is $50-55/t.
Calcined petroleum coke (CPC)
Although green coke prices have mostly dropped, CPC prices remained stable. This is mainly due to strong demand from the aluminum industry with the metal at a historically high level of around $2,500/tin the first week of July on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
The current prices of CPC from USGC, on FoB basis, with 3%sulphur and vanadium of 250-300ppm, is in the range of $430-440/t.
The FoB China CPC price for 3%sulphur and vanadium of 250-300ppm has increased to $460-470/t, a gain of about $10/t.
As the green coke prices have shown some corrections, it is expected that in the coming months this trend might be seen in CPC prices too, as the input cost for calciners would reduce.
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