European Bitumen Market Update July 2024
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Iran widens shipping threat beyond Hormuz
Iran widens shipping threat beyond Hormuz
Dubai, 15 April (Argus) — Iran has warned it could disrupt shipping across key regional waterways, including the Red Sea, in response to US restrictions on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports. It marks a broadening of Tehran's maritime threat beyond the strait of Hormuz, where vessel traffic has already slowed sharply since the conflict between the US and Iran started in late February. Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Headquarters — the country's highest operational military command — said continued US actions targeting Iranian ports and tankers would "constitute a prelude to a violation of the ceasefire" between Washington and Tehran. He warned Iran would respond by preventing "any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea" if the US blockade persists. The US began a naval blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports on Monday. The US military said no vessels breached the restrictions in the first 24 hours. It said several ships had been instructed to turn around and return to Iranian ports. Vessels calling at or leaving non-Iranian ports are not subject to the measures. At least seven ships transited the strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours with AIS signals active, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and MarineTraffic. Despite the escalation in rhetoric, both sides have signalled scope for renewed diplomacy. US president Donald Trump told ABC News that the conflict could end "very soon". Vice-president JD Vance, who led the US delegation in recent talks, said he remained positive about the trajectory of negotiations following discussions in Islamabad that ended without a breakthrough. The statements have raised expectations that US and Iranian officials could return to Pakistan, or another venue, for further talks. Washington has continued to portray regional instability as driven by Tehran and its allies. Speaking at the UN on 14 April, US representative Jennifer Locetta said Iran continues to enable destabilising activity across the region, including support for Yemen's Houthi movement. The US has accused the Houthis of launching repeated missile and drone attacks on shipping in and around the Red Sea and has called for tighter compliance with UN inspection mechanisms for vessels bound for Houthi-controlled ports. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran war drives up African bitumen truck prices
Iran war drives up African bitumen truck prices
London, 15 April (Argus) — Bitumen truck supply prices are rising sharply in key sub-Saharan Africa markets as increased in cargo and container shipped values feed through. The biggest effects have been in east and central African markets like Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the construction sectors rely on Mideast Gulf supply, mainly from Iran, of bitumen in drums, bags and bitutainers for the bulk of their road paving requirements. Prices in Nigeria and into landlocked west African markets, and in southern Africa, have also been rising steadily, or in some cases sharply, with more gains likely in the next few weeks. But sub-Saharan African suppliers say there has been little evidence so far of demand destruction, as construction companies broadly maintain their buying patterns to get project work done. A supplier of bulk and drummed bitumen into east and central Africa said ex-Mombasa, Kenya, truck prices had jumped to 150-170 Kenyan shillings/kg ($1,159-1,313/t), around 40pc up from KSh95-100/kg just prior to the 28 February start of Mideast hostilities. Ex-works Nairobi values are now KSh165-175/kg, while massive gains in diesel import prices are adding to the rising cost of delivering trucked bitumen into inland east and central African locations. The price gains have followed a rise in fob Iran bulk and drummed export values, and massive container shipping freight rate increases since war risk surcharges were imposed by leading international container shipping lines early in March. Argus assessed drummed bitumen freight rates from Bandar Abbas/Jebel Ali to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and Djibouti at $230/t last week, compared with $90-100/t, $95-110/t and $110-120/t respectively in the last week of February. Nigerian, South African receivers hit In Nigeria, which is supplied with bulk tanker cargoes usually loaded at Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and in the Mediterranean region, truck price increases have been more modest. Some suppliers are still working through stocks at Nigerian terminals of imported cargoes loaded before the US-Israel-Iran war began. Most Nigerian prices have reached 1.35mn naira/t ($998/t) ex-works, with some indications now inching up to N1.35mn-1.4mn/t. Some local sales were being made until last week at N1.25mn/t. Domestic truck prices in February were around N1.2mn/t ex-works. Market participants expect values to rise substantially in the next few weeks, once suppliers switch to selling imported bitumen loaded after the war began. Other west African buyers have already been hit by much bigger increases. A constructor in a landlocked west African market reported a 40pc rise in April supply price versus March for bitutainer flows from Lome, Togo. Those reached $755-760/t ex-Lome terminal for pen 35/50 bitumen, plus a $150/t truck transport cost, to yield a $900-910/t delivered price range. Domestic truck prices in South Africa, with the same values applied for onward truck exports to its southern African neighbours, were assessed 1,000 rand/t higher last week at R12,500-13,000/t ($749-779/t) ex-works, compared with R10,200-10,700/t ($639-670/t) in the last week of February. Some supply prices have gone up far more dramatically this month, to around R14,500/t ($885/t) ex-works, a South African supplier said today. The sharp gains are partly linked to a halt of competitively priced bitumen tanker cargoes loaded at Mideast Gulf ports, leaving South Africa almost exclusively now dependent on Mediterranean region — mainly Turkish and Greek — cargoes that head around west Africa to deliver to Durban and Cape Town. Argus assessed Greek fob cargo prices at $605-610/t last week, up from $386/t in the week ending 27 February. With indicative freight rates added, these cargoes would land in May at around $810/t CFR Durban before port handling, trans-shipment and terminal storage costs are added. The effect on the South African road construction sector is likely to be mitigated by the upcoming southern hemisphere winter activity slowdown from May to August, which typically cuts bitumen requirements by around a half. By Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Asian refineries to run less efficiently on crude shift
Asian refineries to run less efficiently on crude shift
Singapore, 15 April (Argus) — Shifting crude slates at Asia-Pacific refiners are reshaping regional refined-products output, weighing on residual fuel production and potentially leaving secondary units running less efficiently, market participants said. Asian refiners are scrambling to secure alternative crude feedstocks because access to their regular supplies from the Mideast Gulf was effectively cut off by the US-Iran war, prompting many to look increasingly towards the US for replacement supply. US light sweet crude has emerged as a leading substitute for Middle Eastern heavy and medium sour grades stuck at or unable to transit the strait of Hormuz. A record 3.5mn b/d of US crude is expected to arrive in Asia-Pacific for June delivery, exceeding the previous record of 2.5mn b/d set just a month ago, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. Japan, which relies heavily on Mideast Gulf crude, has become a key buyer of US cargoes. Japanese refiners have so far purchased more than 530,000 b/d of US crude for June delivery , according to Argus deal tracking data, easily surpassing the previous monthly high of 290,000 b/d in December 2025, based on the country's trade and industry ministry figures. ExxonMobil also bought just over 230,000 b/d of WTI for delivery to its 592,000 b/d Jurong refinery in Singapore in June. The Jurong refinery stopped importing US crude in May last year, after it upgraded residue processing and shifted to a heavier, more sulphurous slate. Lighter crude appetite The shift from heavier sour grades to lighter sweet crudes is expected to reduce residual fuel output, with knock-on effects on secondary unit feedstock availability, market participants said. Ironically, complex refiners — designed to upgrade residual fuels into higher-value gasoil and gasoline — may find themselves short of feedstock for secondary units under a lighter crude slate, resulting in lower operational efficiency. Argus Consulting research on Japanese refineries — which typically operate cracking configurations — shows the crude switch could increase light distillate output while sharply reducing residual fuel oil production. This could leave refiners struggling to source feedstock for hydrocrackers and fluid catalytic crackers, the key units for gasoil and gasoline production. It remains unclear whether refiners not accustomed to running such light slates will face operational constraints, but the impact may be limited in the near term while run rates remain below normal due to rationed crude supplies, an Argus consultant said. Some refiners may instead turn to spot purchases of secondary feedstocks such as vacuum gasoil (VGO) and straight-run fuel oil (SRFO), but these options come at elevated costs, according to an Argus survey. Refiners are seeking to buy VGO and SRFO, but supply is currently tight, a Singapore-based senior fuel oil trader said. It also depends on whether a refinery has a direct injection facility, which allows secondary unit feedstocks to be fed directly into downstream units rather than through the crude distillation unit (CDU), a senior oil analyst said. Vietnam's Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP), for example, has made unusual SRFO and VGO purchases due to reduced residual output after switching to lighter crude grades, partly as a result of the US-Iran war. NSRP typically processes medium sour Kuwait Export Crude, but supply disruptions have forced it to source alternative grades — a process that had already begun prior to the conflict — resulting in lower production of heavier products such as fuel oil and VGO. Market participants warned of a potential double-whammy effect for Asian refiners — crude shortages force lower refinery run rates while mismatched crude slates reduce secondary unit efficiency, ultimately weighing on refined-products output. By Aldric Chew, Tng Yong Li and Chay You Liang Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia to import 1.6mn bl gasoline from Europe
Australia to import 1.6mn bl gasoline from Europe
Sydney, 15 April (Argus) — Australia is set to import around 1.6mn bl of gasoline from Europe as the former scrambles to secure its fuel supply for the coming months, data from trade analytics platform Vortexa and Kpler show. Non-oxy gasoline prices in Singapore flipped to a premium to European non-oxy gasoline on 2 March before reaching a premium of over $34/bl on 23 March (see graph) , opening arbitrage opportunities from Europe to Australia. The 74,356dwt Pacific Debbie and 109,990dwt Hafnia Thalassa loaded 428,400 bl and 870,300 bl of gasoline, respectively, from storage in Amsterdam and are now en route to Botany Bay, Sydney, via the Cape of Good Hope for May deliveries, vessel tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler show. The 49,999dwt TP Endeavour is signalling that it will arrive at Kwinana, Western Australia in early May with a 300,000 bl cargo of gasoline loaded at Valero's 210,000 b/d Pembroke refinery in Wales in the UK, Vortexa data show. The movements come on the back of prolonged feedstock disruptions due to the US-Iran war that have tightened transportation fuel supplies across Asia-Pacific. The new gasoline trade flow is in addition to the flow of diesel from Europe to Australia . Australia has relied heavily on importing gasoil and gasoline from the US in order to replace cargoes that its traditional suppliers in Asia cancelled or deferred because of the conflict in the Middle East. The country has imported gasoline from Europe in the past, primarily on Long Range 2 tankers, but these cargo movements are infrequent and reliant on arbitrages opportunities being open to traders. Australia previously imported 2.41mn bl of gasoline from Europe in 2024, Vortexa data show, and received small volumes from Europe in 2025. The country had 38 days' worth of gasoline consumption and only 31 days of gasoil and 28 days of jet fuel on 7 April, Australian government data released on 13 April show. By Tom Woodlock Europe vs Asia non-oxy ($/bl) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.