UK bitumen production at highest since July 2021

UK bitumen production in April hit its highest in nearly three years even though there is only one remaining bitumen-producing refinery in the country, in Eastham.

The UK government's latest provisional data showed production at 68,000t in April, up by 7pc compared with the same month last year.

Bitumen production declined overall last year by 147,000t on the year to just 373,000t, the lowest since records began in 1995, after UK energy company Prax Group ceased all bitumen production at its Lindsey refinery in the northeast of England in early 2023.

In January-April this year, the UK produced 77,000t of bitumen, a decrease of 10,000t from the same period last year.

UK consumption in April was at 122,000t, up 7,000t since the other refineries in the UK closed by April 2023.

With the UK's general election taking place on 4 July, parties have made promises which could support bitumen consumption. The UK government this year committed £8.3bn ($10.52bn) to fill potholes and resurface roads by 2034, and the UK opposition party Labour last month pledged to keep this plan in place if elected while additionally funding councils £320m over five year by deferring the planned A27 Arundel bypass works in Sussex.

Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) in March 2024 published a report stating that the total number of potholes filled in 2022 was 1.4mn, down from 1.7mn in 2021 and the equivalent of one every 22 seconds. Spending on pothole repairs fell to £93.7mn last year from £107.4mn in 2021.

By Fenella Rhodes