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Bitumen output hit at Mol's Szazhalombatta refinery

  • Märkte: Oil products
  • 09.11.23

A technical issue has damaged an atmospheric distillation unit at Mol's 161,000 b/d Szazhalombatta refinery in central Hungary, cutting bitumen production there.

There is now no spot market availability of bitumen trucks, with the producer focusing on fulfilling its contractual commitments. Market participants expect the production issue to last at least until the end of next week.

Central European bitumen supply has already been constrained in the Czech Republic and in Germany in recent weeks.

Orlen's 108,000 b/d Litvinov refinery has seen bitumen production affected as the company trials alternative crudes to Russian medium sour Urals, while Bayernoil's 207,000 b/d Neustadt-Vohburg refinery has experienced production issues after a series of outages caused by a leaking catalytic desulphurisation unit and a fire that damaged a mild hydrocracker in early October.

Bitumen production at the Bayernoil refinery came back online last week, at around 50pc of its normal levels.

The bitumen output cuts come towards the tail end of the road paving and bitumen consuming season across the region, limiting their effects on the overall supply-demand balance.


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