Italian refiner API's 83,000 b/d bitumen-producing refinery at Falconara on the country's Adriatic coast is in the middle of a planned full-scale maintenance shutdown for a month-long period through to early February, a source familiar with the refinery's operations said.
It is routine to shut down during the winter period when demand for road paving is low, the source said, adding that the halt at Falconra began in late December and is scheduled to be completed in late January or early February.
Argus tracking shows no crude has been delivered to the refinery so far in January and there are no crude cargoes on route.
Falconara is one of several bitumen-producing plants across Europe that halt production during the winter period. In Mediterranean markets such as Italy, paving and other construction activity usually resumes in February or March, depending on weather conditions.
Italian bitumen production and exports are expected to be significantly dented by planned maintenance at Algerian firm Sonatrach's 198,000 b/d Augusta refinery in Sicily from February to May, one of a number of shutdowns affecting refineries in the region over the next few months.
By Fenella Rhodes
