Kazakh sulphur railings curbed by August maintenance

Kazakh sulphur delivered to sea ports along the Russian rail network fell by 3pc in August, reflecting maintenance at the Tengiz oil field, Russian rail data show.

Rail deliveries from Tengiz dropped by 23pc on the month to 155,000t, with 133,000t heading to Russia's Baltic port of Ust Luga, and 22,000t to Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi.

Operator TCO said on 3 September that it has completed annual Tengiz maintenance. The month-long work was carried out on two of five production trains.

But sulphur output from Kazakhstan's Kashagan oil field rose in August, with rail deliveries up by 19pc, at 219,000t. Some 119,000t was sent to Ust-Luga, and 61,000t to Taman, 35,000t to Kavkaz and 4,000t to Batumi — all on the Black Sea.

Kashagan will undergo three-four weeks maintenance from around 1 October, which will lead to lower sulphur output.

By Maria Mosquera