Pakistani refiner NRL has awarded its latest single cargo bitumen sell tender to Switzerland-based trading firm Element Alpha, after withdrawing its two previous tenders for October and November loading dates.
Unlike in the previous tenders, which specified 6,000t of pen 60/70 bitumen to be loaded at Karachi's Port Qasim port, NRL has on this occasion agreed to sell a 4,500t bulk bitumen cargo of the same penetration grade to Element Alpha at a price in the $370-380/t fob Karachi range, sources involved the tender process said.
International bitumen market participants said the cargo is expected to be loaded on the 5,249dwt Bitumen Kosei in the 20-30 December timeframe. The tanker is making its way towards Pakistan having delivered a cargo to Durban, South Africa, that had been loaded at Bahraini state-owned refiner Bapco's Sitra refinery and export terminal.
International trading firms said Pakistani exports need to be price competitive with Bahraini exports in particular to be attractive, and that gaps between bids into NRL's October and November tenders for 6,000t cargoes and values sought by the exporter had contributed to their non-awards.
Pakistan has become a growing source for cargo flows into South Africa over the past year or so, vying with supplies from the Mideast Gulf and with European Mediterranean flows shipped around west Africa.
The last monthly NRL tender to have been awarded was a 6,000t cargo in the $390-400/t fob Karachi range under its September offering that went to an international trading firm.
