Works to stop Leuna refinery bitumen output in October

Bitumen production at TotalEnergies' 240,000 b/d Leuna refinery in northeast Germany will be halted for the duration of a major planned month-long maintenance shutdown at the refinery starting in early October, market participants said today.

With the halt having been planned well in advance, the market sources indicated stocks of the heavy oil product used for road paving and other construction work were currently being built up to manage supply during the shutdown period. That will help meet peak season requirements for road and other project work during the autumn and mitigate the impact of the bitumen stoppage at one of Germany's key bitumen-producing refineries.

German market participants have indicated over the past few days that some maintenance work began at the refinery on 6 September ahead of the planned shutdown of oil products units there at the start of October, with diesel stocks being raised ahead of the turnaround.

By Keyvan Hedvat and Fenella Rhodes