What is the commercial advantage of loading petcoke in New Orleans versus Houston?

Draft and loading geometry. Lower Mississippi River terminals maintain a 50-foot controlling draft allowing fully laden Supramax and Panamax liftings (50,000–65,000 MT) without short-loading. Houston Ship Channel controls at 45 feet. Midstream floating crane transshipment on the river achieves loading rates >1,500 MT/hour, minimizing demurrage risk.

What sulphur level is standard for USGC fuel-grade green petcoke?

Standard refinery sponge coke runs 4.5% to 6.5% sulphur, perfectly suited for cement clinker kilns where raw lime meal naturally absorbs sulphur dioxide into the clinker matrix. Low-sulphur green coke (<3.0% S) commands a freight and quality premium.

What parcel sizes does CBIL broker ex-US Gulf?

We work single-deck ocean bulkers: Handysize (25,000–35,000 MT), Supramax (50,000–55,000 MT) and Ultramax (60,000–65,000 MT). Cargoes are structured on FOB port terms or CFR landed terms.

How is payment structured for USGC petcoke stems?

Settlement is standardly conducted via 100% Irrevocable Documentary Letter of Credit (L/C) at sight (UCP 600) issued by a top-50 prime international bank against shipping documents, ocean Bill of Lading, and SGS load-port certificates.

North America · United States

US Gulf Petroleum Coke Export Gateway

Q: What parcel sizes does CBIL broker ex-US Gulf?

We work single-deck ocean bulkers: Handysize (25,000–35,000 MT), Supramax (50,000–55,000 MT) and Ultramax (60,000–65,000 MT). Cargoes are structured on FOB port terms or CFR landed terms.

Q: How is payment structured for USGC petcoke stems?

Settlement is standardly conducted via 100% Irrevocable Documentary Letter of Credit (L/C) at sight (UCP 600) issued by a top-50 prime international bank against shipping documents, ocean Bill of Lading, and SGS load-port certificates.

3.1+ million tonnes monthly across Houston, Mississippi River and Texas terminals — the Atlantic Basin benchmark

The US Gulf Coast houses the densest concentration of high-conversion delayed coking units (DCU) in the world, processing heavy Western Canadian and Latin crudes into high-calorific fuel-grade petcoke (≥8,200 kcal/kg NCV). Official US Census Bureau customs manifests show 3,140,681 metric tonnes exported by vessel in July 2026 at an average declared value of USD 104.16 per tonne FOB, with India taking 609,687 tonnes, China 597,850 tonnes, Turkey 351,559 tonnes and Brazil 338,291 tonnes. Deepwater loading economics differ substantially by waterway: Lower Mississippi River terminals (Mile 0 to 232 AHP) boast 50-foot controlling drafts and midstream floating crane transfer rates exceeding 1,500 MT/hour, clearing stems at USD 91.21/MT FOB, whereas Houston Ship Channel (45-foot draft) cleared at USD 86.29/MT FOB and Port Arthur at USD 84.18/MT FOB.

CBIL brokers uncalcined green petcoke directly from refinery offtake and Gulf terminal allocations for cement kilns, precalciners, industrial power boilers and lime producers. Every cargo is contracted against independent SGS or Intertek certification at load port covering net calorific value, total moisture (≤8%), Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI 35–48), volatile combustible matter (8–12%), ash (≤0.5%) and trace vanadium. We structure Handysize, Supramax and Ultramax fixtures on FOB US Gulf Coast and CFR destination terms, optimizing parcel size to your discharge berth draft and emissions permit constraints.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices US Gulf to India and Turkey dry bulk chartering on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Declared US vessel exports, July 2026: 3,140,681 t (USD 327.1 million FOB)
Top loading ports: New Orleans 680k t · Houston 490k t · Port Arthur 406k t · Lake Charles 204k t
Top export destinations: India 610k t · China 598k t · Turkey 352k t · Brazil 338k t
Controlling draft limits: Lower Mississippi River 50.0 ft (15.24 m) · Houston Ship Channel 45.0 ft (13.72 m)
Physical grade standards: NCV ≥8,200 kcal/kg · HGI 35–48 · Ash ≤0.5% · Moisture ≤8% · S 4.5–6.5%

Official trade data; sources listed below. Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

What is the commercial advantage of loading petcoke in New Orleans versus Houston?: Draft and loading geometry. Lower Mississippi River terminals maintain a 50-foot controlling draft allowing fully laden Supramax and Panamax liftings (50,000–65,000 MT) without short-loading. Houston Ship Channel controls at 45 feet. Midstream floating crane transshipment on the river achieves loading rates >1,500 MT/hour, minimizing demurrage risk.
What sulphur level is standard for USGC fuel-grade green petcoke?: Standard refinery sponge coke runs 4.5% to 6.5% sulphur, perfectly suited for cement clinker kilns where raw lime meal naturally absorbs sulphur dioxide into the clinker matrix. Low-sulphur green coke (<3.0% S) commands a freight and quality premium.
What parcel sizes does CBIL broker ex-US Gulf?: We work single-deck ocean bulkers: Handysize (25,000–35,000 MT), Supramax (50,000–55,000 MT) and Ultramax (60,000–65,000 MT). Cargoes are structured on FOB port terms or CFR landed terms.
How is payment structured for USGC petcoke stems?: Settlement is standardly conducted via 100% Irrevocable Documentary Letter of Credit (L/C) at sight (UCP 600) issued by a top-50 prime international bank against shipping documents, ocean Bill of Lading, and SGS load-port certificates.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau International Trade Data, HS 2713.11 vessel exports, July 2026 declarations (read 20 Sep 2026).
NOAA Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS), Houston Ship Channel (8770613) and Mississippi River SW Pass (8760922).
UN Comtrade, HS 2713.11, US vessel exports 2025: 36,424,234 tonnes.
CBIL Master Commodity Monograph CBIL-INTEL-USGC-MASTER-MONOGRAPH-2026-09.