Bahrain's state-owned refiner Bapco will increase its bitumen listed prices by $15/t from 2 October on the back of higher crude and fuel oil prices.
This price hike will see listed prices increase to $440/t fob Sitra. This is the third time in a month Bapco has announced a price increase. It raised listed prices by $20/t on two occasions, first on 11 September and again on 19 September.
Hikes in high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) prices have prompted regional refiners to switch to producing HSFO over bitumen.
The price increase is also in line with a sharp spike in crude futures in September, along with an increase in benchmark fob Singapore prices. Argus assessed the ABX 1 fob Singapore bitumen prices for the week ended 24 September at $405/t, up by $12.50/t from the previous week.

