World Sulphur Outlook

The Sulphur Institute

Washington, DC, USA

Donald L. Messick
Vice President, Agricultural Programs
 TSI’s Mission
Global advocate for sulphur

Represents all stakeholders producing, buying,

selling, handling, transporting, or adding value
to sulphur

Unified voice for sulphur producers,

consumers, and service providers
•Promotes safe handling, transportation
•Protects the environment
All forms Sulphur Production, by Type
Million tons sulphur equivalent

Most growth in non-voluntary sources: elemental and smelter acid

100
90 ELEMENTAL SOF PYRITES

80 73.1 78.3

70
60
50
51.8
40 48.8
30
20
10
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
 Gas-Recovered Sulphur Production
(1000 tons)
2009 2010 2015
Canada 4,412 4,150 3,600
U.S.A 1,190 1,250 1,100
EECA 7,655 8,455 11,600
West Asia 6,894 8,230 13,290
Europe 1,365 1,290 865
China 80 1,070 4,000
Others 928 915 915
Total 22,524 24,860 35,370

Source: Fertecon, 2010

Source: Fertecon, 2010
 Oil-Recovered Sulphur Production
(1000 tons)
2009 2010 2015
U.S.A 7,630 7,875 9,400
Europe 3,359 3,230 4,230
West Asia 1,955 1,975 2,905
Asia 7,903 7,600 9,020
-China 1,300 1,540 2,300
-India 1,450 1,600 2,000
Others 2,837 3,110 4,070
Total 22,874 23,790 29,625

Source: Fertecon, 2010

 Middle East production grows by
12.6 million tons, 2009-2019
Others Kuwait
• Iran Qatar
Saudi Arabia UAE
25

20
(million tonnes)

15

10

Source: IFA, 2011; BSC, April, 2010

 West Asia States’ sulphur export availability
more than doubles, 2009-2019
Others Kuwait Iran Qatar Saudi Arabia UAE

20000

15000
thousand tons

10000

5000

Source: BSC, 2010

North America: +1.6 million tons
Canada USA
20
• Canadian production from
18
gas declines. All growth from
16
oil sands, which increases

million tonnes
14
from 1.6 Mt/y (2009) to 3.0
Mt/y by 2015. 12
10

•Sulphur recovery capacity at 8

US oil refineries increases by 6

~ 2.5 Mt/y by 2013. 4

2
0
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Source: BSC, 2010
 US Gulf forming plant capacity now totals
>12,000 t/d.

Company Location Capacity (t/d)

Gulf Sulphur Service Donaldsonville LA 4,000

Gulf Sulphur Service Galveston TX 2,000

Martin Midstream Beaumont TX 4,000

Koch Sulfur Products Beaumont TX 345

Koch Sulfur Products Corpus Christi TX 2,000

And more plants are under study, some at inland locations

Source: ICIS, 2011

 FSU: +6.4 million tons
Gas-Recovered Sulphur Production (1000 tons)

Russia Kazakhstan
16 Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
FSU sulphur from gas
14

12
(million tonnes)

10

0
2008

2009

2010
2011
2012

2013

2014

2015

2016
2017

2018

Source: IFA, 2011;BSC, April, 2010 2019

 FSU Offshore Exports

Source: Oxbow, 2011

Elemental Sulphur Production
Million tons sulphur
• Strongest growth is in Middle East, FSU and Asia.
• All growth is from involuntary production.
70
North America Middle East FSU East Asia Rest of World
60 12.45
51.9 12.1
12.26
48.6 11.3
50 10.4
10.3 9.6
9.8 9.5 7.2 8.7
40 6 12.4
5.95 6.2 10.3 11.7
10
30 8.9 8.7 10
12.7 13.3 14.3 15.3
20 8.4 9.1 10.2

10 17.1 17 16.9
15.6 15.3 15.5 16.7
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Year

Source 2008 and 2009: The Sulphur Institute

Source 2010-2014: British Sulphur Consultants April 2010
Source: Fertecon, 2010
Source: Fertecon, 2010
Sulphur Overview - Uses
Sulphuric Acid

93% of sulphur consumption is as sulphuric acid

7% is consumed as elemental sulphur
Total world acid production in 2010: 200 million
tons, up 9% from 2009
• From elemental: 122 million tons
• From smelters: 64 million tons
• From pyrites: 14 million tons
 Nickel Projects Will Create New Demand

Location Sulphur Requirement

(tonnes/year)
Goro, New Caledonia 460,000

Ravensthorpe, Australia 500,000

Ramu River, Papua New Guinea 360,000

Ambatovy, Madagascar 600,000

Moa, Cuba 200,000

Source: ICIS, 2011

 Sulphur Consumption
Million tons sulphur equivalent

After two years of decline, fertilizer demand recovers in 2010

Industrial demand impacted by declining global economy; slight recovery in 2010

100
90
Fertilizer Non-Fertilizer
80 70.8 76.4
70
Million Tons Sulphur

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
Sulphur Overview - Uses
Phosphate Fertilizers

• Over 50% of world sulphur demand

• Demand in 2010 increased
• Maaden adding 1.5 Mt/y S demand
• Fertilizer demand growth to come mostly from E.
Asia, L. America and S. Asia
…for someone…
 Internationally Traded Sulphur - 2009
Exports Imports
Kuwait
UAE Venz.
3% Oceania
1% Others Morocco
6% Canada 2%
Poland 7% 11%
20%
1% Africa
4%
Others
11%
U.S.
8%
Iran
4%
India
Russia Japan 5%
10% 5%
China Tunisia
5%
43%
Saudi ME
11% 5%
Kaz+FSU
Latin Am.
11%
Mexico W. Europe Europe 8%
U.S. 7% 2%
2% 8%
28.3 million tons

Source: FRC
 China Sulphur Imports by Origin
Total
12
N.America
E.Asia
10 Mideast
Million Tons Per Year

Declining trend from N. America (22% of the

8 total in 2010) more than offset by increases
from Mideast (42% of the total); Asia and
FSU account for 20% and 16%, respectively
6

0
1995 1997 2000 2002 2005 2007 2009 2010
* Projection

Source: China Sulphuric Acid Industry Association

Sulphur: An Advantaged Element
• Essential for protein in
humans, animals and plants
• Valuable raw material for
making wide variety of
products in everyday life
• Natural element in air, water
and land
• Valuable: plant nutrient
• Valuable soil amendment
• Valuable component of select
construction materials
 Sulphur Deficit and Requirement:
Global
Sulphur - fourth major plant Plant Nutrient Sulphur
nutrient Requirement and Deficit (Mt)
Required in similar amounts 30
as P, about 20.6 million tons 25 Crop Requirement

M illio n T o n s S u lp h u r
S in 2005. Fertilizer Applied
20
2015 Deficit = 12.5 Million Tons
15
About 10 million tons S 10
applied as a fertilizer 5
worldwide 0
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2010 2015
Total S fertilizer market Year

potential for 10.6 million tons

S today
12.5 million tons by 2015,
primarily in Asia and the
Americas.
 Regional Plant Nutrient Sulphur Deficit
Worldwide
2005 2015
7 6.7

6
5.4
5
Asia has the largest regional
Million Tons Per Year

deficit around the world with

4 India and China in the lead
3 2.6
2.1
2 1.6
2 1.5 1.5
1.3 1.3
1 0.8
1 0.7 0.74 0.44
0.36
0
Asia China India Africa North Latin Western Eastern
America America Europe Europe
 Sulphur Fertilizers: New Ground
for Fertilizer Industry
 Traditional S fertilizer
production will not meet the
increasing demand for sulphur
in agriculture.

 Sulphur fertilizers and their use

provides potential market of 9.6
million tons of sulphur
consumption annually,
benefiting the industry.

 Fertilizer producers need to

address this market potential
Sulphur World Symposium 2012
Mark your calendars now!

The Premier Sulphur Industry Event will be in

Antwerp, Belgium – April 23-25, 2012 for:

• Two days of networking with top industry players

• Insightful speakers on key topics
• A Sulphur Education Session for those new to
the industry

Visit www.sulphurinstitute.org for updates!

 TSI Member Companies
BP Products North America, Inc.
California Sulphur Company
Chemical Initiatives
Chemtrade Aglobis
Citis SA
ConocoPhillips Company
Con-Sul, Inc.
CoreSulphur
Crescent Technology Inc.
Devco USA LLC
Enersul Inc.
Etihad Railway
ExxonMobil Oil Corporation
Franz Fischer Spedition GmbH
GATX
H.J. Baker & Bro., Inc.
Importadora Santa Alicia Ltda. (ISA)
Interacid Trading S.A.
Inter-Chem
Jupiter Sulphur L.L.C.
Koch Sulfur Products Company LLC
Marsulex, Inc.
Martin Operating Partnership, L.P.
Mitsubishi Corporation
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
Mosaic Fertilizer LLC
Oxbow Carbon
PotashCorp
Primary Resources Inc.
PRISM Sulphur Corporation
SaeKwang Chemical Ind. Co. Ltd.
Sandvik Process Systems
Savage Services Corporation
Schiber Truck Company
Shell Sulphur Solutions
Sino-Chem Fertilizer Company Ltd.
solvadis GmbH
Sultran Ltd.
Tasweeq – Qatar International Petroleum
Marketing Company Ltd.
Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc.
Transammonia, Inc.
Union Tank Car Company
Uralchem
Valero Marketing and Supply Company
Zwaans van der Heuvel Tankvaart BV