Logistical issues are holding up efforts by Saudi Aramco unit Luberef to commence truck-to-ship bitumen cargo loading operations at the Saudi state-owned oil company's Red Sea Yanbu terminal.
Luberef, a prominent global base oils supplier, had been planning to begin bitumen cargo exports from the 400,000 b/d Yasref refinery, a Saudi Aramco-Sinopec joint venture, for the first time from late June.
The first cargo had been planned for loading on a bitumen tanker in a truck-to-ship operation at the end of June, with an international oil trading firm having agreed to lift the estimated 5,000-7,000t cargo.
But a number of logistical issues related to establishing a direct connection with a Yanbu jetty from the refinery's bitumen-producing facility and with safely conducting truck-to-ship loading operations have caused significant delays.
No revised timeframe for commencing such cargo loading and export operations are so far available, with Luberef having initially targeted up to 500,000 t/yr of bitumen cargo exports from the Red Sea port to a number of export destinations.
The new supplies from a country that has traditionally been a net bitumen importer would boost global availability of the road paving product at a time when numerous bitumen-producing refineries — mainly in Europe and South Africa — have been shutting down and as EU and UK sanctions have halted Russian imports of bitumen-yielding Urals crude, as well as oil products, including bitumen.
