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UK bitumen demand outlook downbeat ahead of budget
UK bitumen demand outlook downbeat ahead of budget
London, 23 October (Argus) — The outlook for UK road construction and bitumen demand is downbeat, with no clear prospects of a recovery from years of weakening consumption ahead of the government's budget announcement on 30 October. Construction sector buyers and refinery suppliers at the recent Highways UK conference said road and highway spending, and resulting bitumen demand, is likely to remain slow, with the government unlikely to commit larger sums as it looks to tackle a £22bn ($28.6bn) "black hole" in government finances it says was left behind by the previous administration. A European construction firm with a UK project portfolio said a number of major highway projects it had expected to begin in 2025 will probably be postponed to 2026, as a start next year would have required funding to be allocated to them well before now. A firm with extensive UK project work said its activity and volumes had dropped this year but that it was hoping for no further falls in 2025. Some of the funds due to have been switched from the UK's ambitious high-speed rail (HS2) programme into road building could end up plugging the financial gap. The previous goverment in November last year pledged £8.3bn from a massively curtailed HS2 would be spent on resurfacing more than 5,000 miles (8,000km) of roads over an 11-year period. Some market participants pointed to the government's commitment to a major housebuilding programme as something that could, if public and private funds are forthcoming, generate a significant boost to bitumen demand for associated paving and roofing work. Fixing potholes Additional demand could be generated from pothole repair work, after the most recent annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (Alarm) survey showed a further deterioration in road surfaces because of real-term cuts in local authority maintenance budgets. Transport secretary Louise Haigh pledged in October to fix a "pothole plague" as part of a government plan to repair up to 1mn more a year. An October 2021 spending review by the previous government had pledged more than £2.7bn of local highway maintenance funding over the three tax years from 2022 to 2025 to local authorities outside London and the eight largest city regions. The funds, including monies to fix potholes, have failed to arrest a decline on UK roads. Motorist body AA said that up to September this year pothole related breakdown call-outs have increased by 2pc compared with the same period of 2023. The other leading UK body representing road users, RAC, said its pothole-related breakdown numbers went up by 10pc in the 12 months to 31 March. Government data show UK bitumen consumption slipped to 1.54mn t in 2023, the lowest since 2016 . Consumption was 1.89mn t in 2021 and 1.56mn t in 2022. In the first seven months of this year consumption was 835,000t, 9pc down from 917,000t in the same period of 2023. By Fenella Rhodes and Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Biomethanol, fuel oil demand up in Rotterdam port 3Q
Biomethanol, fuel oil demand up in Rotterdam port 3Q
London, 23 October (Argus) — Bunker fuel oil and biomethanol sales at the port of Rotterdam rose in the third quarter of this year, but those of gasoil and marine biodiesel fell, according to official port data. Very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), ultra-low sulphur fuel oil (ULSFO), and high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) sales all picked up on the quarter and on the year ( see table ). Participants attributed the increase in HSFO demand to the seasonal arrival of containerships at the port. HSFO demand rose in the previous quarter owing to re-routing of vessels because of chronic traffic disruption in the Red Sea. Ahead of the Mediterranean Sea becoming an emission control area (ECA) in May 2025, participants had pointed to expectations of firmer ULSFO demand in Europe for scrubber-less vessels operating between ECA zones. Vessels operating in ECA zones are be required to burn marine fuels with a sulphur content no higher than 0.1pc, rather than the global cap of 0.5pc. Combined sales for marine gasoil (MGO) and marine diesel oil (MDO) fell on the quarter and on the year in July-September. Market participants reported mostly lacklustre bunker fuel demand in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub in that time, combined with tight prompt availability that weighed further on sales. Marine biodiesel blend sales declined sharply owing to a shift in voluntary demand east of Suez. B24 dob Singapore, a blend comprising VLSFO and used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome), was an average of $715.56/t in July–September. This is lower than comparable assessed European blends, such as B30 Ucome dob ARA that averaged $804.71/t, B30 advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0 dob ARA — which includes a deduction of the value of Dutch HBE-G renewable fuel tickets — at $738.12/t, and B24 Ucome dob Algeciras-Gibraltar at $784.12/t. Consequently containerships seeking to deliver proof of sustainability (PoS) documentation to their customers, to offset the latter's scope 3 emissions, shifted their marine biodiesel demand to Singapore when feasible. PoS can be obtained on a mass-balance system, allowing shipowners flexibility with regards to the port at which a blend can be bunkered. Biomethanol sales at the port of Rotterdam more than doubled on the quarter and soared by more than eight times on the year. Several shipping companies are leaning towards methanol and renewable methanol as alternative marine fuels to reduce their emissions. Danish shipping giant Maersk has ordered 24 methanol-powered container ships for delivery and commissioning during 2024-25, and Japanese classification society ClassNK said recently it expects 77 methanol-ready ships to be ordered by 2026, up from 27 newbuilds expected to be ordered this year. ESL Shipping said earlier this month it will build four new vessels that can run on biomethanol and green hydrogen-based e-methanol. Offtake agreements for renewable methanol are on the rise. Maersk has signed several letters of intent for procurement of biomethanol and e-methanol from producers such as Norway's state-controlled Equinor , Proman and OCI Global . Maersk has agreed to buy 500,000 t/yr from Danish shipping and logistics company Goldwind from 2024. Singaporean container shipping group X-Press Feeders said in 2023 it will buy biomethanol from OCI's Texas plant starting this year. By Hussein Al-Khalisy, Natália Coelho, and Evelina Lungu Rotterdam bunker sales t Fuel 3Q24 2Q24 3Q23 q-o-q% y-o-y% VLSFO & ULSFO 1,045,774 917,253 997,356 14.0 4.9 HSFO 906,737 825,125 790,195 9.9 14.7 MGO & MDO 334,752 369,267 379,142 -9.3 -11.7 Marine biodiesel blends 137,177 235,043 183,249 -41.6 -25.1 Total 2,424,440 2,346,688 2,349,942 3.3 3.2 LNG (m³) 220,120 242,931 204,418 -9.4 7.7 Biomethanol 2,066 950 250 117.5 726.4 Port of Rotterdam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
MOH bitumen flows little impacted by refinery CDU halt
MOH bitumen flows little impacted by refinery CDU halt
London, 22 October (Argus) — A steady stream of bitumen export cargoes and truck supplies into inland markets have continued from Motor Oil Hellas' (MOH) 180,000 b/d Agioi Theodoroi refinery and terminal at Corinth despite the shut down of a crude distillation unit. The refinery was hit by a fire on 17 September which MOH said caused "damage" and injured three sub-contractors, adding that the refinery was running at a "lower capacity level" as a result. MOH has since remained tight-lipped about the operational status of the facility, although one of its crude distillation units (CDU) was shut as a result of the fire, and remains down, illustrated by considerably reduced crude deliveries . Bitumen trading, supply and buying firms on cargo and truck markets said the CDU halt, which they estimate could last 3-6 months, had caused no significant bitumen loading or supply issues, with production not as badly affected as for other products, most notably high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO). The outage helped drive refining differentials for Rotterdam HSFO barges against front-month Ice Brent crude futures from their usual discounts to a premium for the first time since August 2023 . Bitumen market participants also pointed to weaker than expected demand in key export markets including Romania and much of north and central Europe ahead of the usual winter activity slowdown — along with the continued rainy season slowdown in west African road project activity and bitumen demand — as contributing to keeping bitumen cargo values down. A sustained flow of typically 4,000t bitumen cargoes exported by Greece's other refinery bitumen producer, Helleniq Energy, under tenders and spot deals — with a fresh sell tender on 18 October for a 4-6 November cargo loading at its 137,000 b/d Aspropyrgos refinery — has added to east Mediterranean oversupply. Market participants said the most recent MOH cargo offers for standard Mediterranean cargo sizes around 5,000t have been at fob discounts of around $10/t to fob Mediterranean HSFO cargoes, while Helleniq exports are indicated at fob discounts of at least $15/t, with no sign of a boost to differentials following the fire. The latest bitumen cargo to load at Agioi Theodoroi is on the 5,897dwt Iver Accord , which today left the terminal for Djen Djen, Algeria. The 7,944dwt Lilstella , under time charter with an international trading firm, will make its second consecutive bitumen cargo loading at Corinth when it arrives on 24 October, with the first loading proceeding under the pre-agreed dates before being shipped to Mohammedia with the same loading schedule expected for the second. Another international trading firm moved an Agioi Theodoroi cargo to Mohammedia, arriving 19 October on the 8,021dwt Poestella , again with no loading issues indicated. The 4,531dwt Stella Maris moved a cargo from Corinth to a Thessaloniki storage facility — arriving 2 October — for onward truck shipment to inland export markets including Romania, where Greek product remains highly price competitive. The only loading issues reported occurred over the few days following the 17 September fire when a large cargo loaded at the MOH terminal on the 45,986dwt Rubis Asphalt bitumen tanker Bitu Atlantic was delayed and its volume lower than planned. That shipment was moved to Rubis' west African terminal hub at Lome, Togo. The Corinth refinery is one of Europe's leading bitumen producing and exporting plants, last year exporting around 1.1mn t, up from just over 800,000t in 2022. Helleniq Energy increased its Aspropyrgos cargo exports to around 100,000t last year from 70,000t in 2022. Six bitumen cargoes totalling around 24,000t will have loaded at Aspropyrgos in the month to 25 October. By Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Viva seeks state funds for refining margins
Australia’s Viva seeks state funds for refining margins
Sydney, 22 October (Argus) — Australian refiner Viva Energy said today it will apply for taxpayer aid after margins at its 120,000 b/d Geelong refinery in Victoria fell by a third in July-September. Viva expects to receive about A$24mn ($16mn) in federal government support under Canberra's Fuel Security Services Payment (FSSP). It will draw on the payment for the , when it received A$12.45mn in subsidies. The funds will raise the Geelong refining margin (GRM) by $1.50/bl to $7.90/bl for July-September, putting it above breakeven levels, Viva said on 22 October. But the payment must still be confirmed by the government. The FSSP compensates refiners during lossmaking periods. It was established as part of a . Refiners become eligible for the FSSP when margin markers fall to A$10.20/bl, with a maximum of A1.8¢/litre available when the marker drops to a floor of A$7.30/bl. The government established the FSSP after BP closed its 146,000 b/d Kwinana refinery near Perth, Western Australia in March 2021, and ahead of ExxonMobil's shutdown of its 90,000 b/d Altona refinery in Melbourne, Victoria in August of the same year. Australia only has two remaining refineries — Geelong and Australian firm Ampol's 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery in Brisbane, Queensland — which together can produce enough to meet about 22pc of Australia's oil product demand. Viva's total sales in July-September fell by 2pc on the quarter but rose on the year. Sales volumes increased by 4pc year on year in the firm's commercial and industrial fuel division and by 1pc in its convenience and mobility sector. Viva commissioned three 30mn l (189,000 bl) diesel fuel storage tanks in September, which were funded under Canberra's to help meet its IEA strategic reserve commitments. The tanks have enough storage capacity to supply Victoria state's diesel demand for one week, Viva said on 4 October. Viva also commissioned a bitumen export line during the quarter and recently completed the first locally produced bitumen shipment from Geelong to Sydney. Refining is expected to remain challenging for the rest of 2024, Viva warned, echoing comments from . Run cuts and maintenance could rebalance global refining capacity and provide some support, Viva said. By Tom Major Viva Energy results (b/d) Jul-Sep '24 Apr-Jun '24 Jul-Sep '23 q-o-q % ± y-o-y % ± Refining intake 110,000 114,000 66,000 -4 66 Sales 285,000 291,000 276,000 -2 3 GRM ($/bl) 6.4 9.6 8.5 -33 -25 Source: Viva Energy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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