Unexpected issue hits Mol's Hungary bitumen production

Hungarian bitumen production has been significantly reduced this week because of problems at Mol's 161,000 b/d Szazhalombatta refinery during some maintenance work.

The production cutback has had an unspecified knock-on effect on Mol's Zalaegerszeg plant, which is directly connected with Szazhalombatta and that produces a number of standard penetration grades of bitumen along with specialised bitumen products like polymer-modified bitumen (PMB) and rubber bitumen.

A source familiar with Mol's refining operations said today that bitumen production at both refineries should be back to normal at the end of this week, enabling a return to full output and supply to domestic and export markets from next week.

The Szazhalombatta refinery is expected to undergo a full refinery shutdown in June and July, according to market participants.

Bitumen demand in central and northwest Europe has been steadily picking up over recent weeks at the start of the road paving season. Mol is a key regional truck exporter, especially into the Romanian market.

By Keyvan Hedvat and Jonathan Weston