Bitumen supplies steady following Tehran refinery fire

A fire at Iran's 220,000 b/d Tehran refinery this week is likely to have only a minimal impact on supply of feedstock vacuum bottom (VB) or vacuum residue, Iranian bitumen producers said.

The fire broke out at two storage tanks on 2 June, prompting operator TORC to immediately shut down operations. Operations were expected to resume late yesterday, although it could not be confirmed if this was the case.

VB deliveries may be reduced as a result of the incident, market participants said.

The incident came shortly after TORC announced plans last week to conduct maintenance at the site from 10 June, lasting for about a month. The maintenance may be delayed for up to a month, market participants said, although there has been no confirmation from the company.

Local producers had been preparing for an expected reduction of VB production and delivery by up to 50pc of capacity during the maintenance period.

"We have stocked enough VB and bitumen to meet our commitments for the overhaul period, but the impact from this fire is not clear right now," one market participant said.