Bitumen production and supply from Spain's 220,000 b/d Huelva refinery have been restricted for the past month and there is no sign of a rebound in the near future.
Market participants said a change in the refinery's crude slate away from bitumen-rich grades is probably the main reason. But the operator — Abu Dhabi-owned Moeve, formerly known as Cepsa — has not confirmed this.
At least three bitumen cargoes have been delivered to Huelva over the past six weeks to help Moeve meet inland customer requirements, starting with the partial delivery in late September of a cargo that was loaded at the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu on the 14,911dwt bitumen tanker The Chief.
That was followed on 25 October by the arrival at Huelva of a cargo on board the 8,353dwt Castillo de Pambre, which was loaded at Tarragona, where Moeve operates a joint venture 1.2mn t/yr bitumen plant with Spain's Repsol. The third cargo arrived at Huelva in early November on board the 7,995dwt Baustella, also loaded at Tarragona.
Bitumen cargoes have been exported from Huelva during this period, including one shipped from the refinery to Galp's Viana do Castelo terminal in northern Portugal on the 7,500dwt Sheng Hua Wan. The tanker loaded bitumen again at Huelva earlier this week and is due to arrive at Leixoes in Portugal today.
But market participants say they still see no improvement in Huelva's overall bitumen production and supply position.
While Huelva's crude receipts rose to 170,000 b/d last month from 145,000 b/d in September, according to Argus tracking, they were still well below the 190,000 b/d average in the first 10 months of the year. Meanwhile, Argus analysis shows European refiners ran their second-lightest basket of crudes in October since at least 2015, limiting output of heavy products such as bitumen and high-sulphur fuel oil.
Bitumen supply in the Mediterranean has also been affected by the shutdown of one of two crude distillation units at Motor Oil Hellas' (MOH) 180,000 b/d Corinth refinery since a fire on 17 September. MOH does not expect the repair work to be completed until the third quarter of 2025.
The supply restrictions have failed to prevent a gradual slippage in Mediterranean bitumen values as construction activity and asphalt demand fall ahead of the winter season.
