Questions linger over French bitumen dynamics

摘要

A series of unresolved questions regarding French demand and supply of bitumen continue, centered around the strength of domestic consumption and whether supplies will be imported or produced in France. French production has fallen sharply at the start of this year, hit by the closure of dominant road builder Colas' 300,000 t/yr Societe de la Raffinerie de Dunkerque (SRD) plant, after the company reported a [string of annual losses] from the unit. Output has also been negatively impacted by the shut-in of production at ExxonMobil's 233,000 b/d refinery at Port Jerome, Le Havre. The reduction in output came after an atmospheric distillation unit [caught fre during routine maintenance], cutting output to 110,000 b/d. Port Jerome re- started the unit around 22 March, but it remains unclear how much extra bitumen will be produced as refiners prioritise production from lighter crude fractions - notably gasoline and oxygenates - in the frst half of the year, while profts remain buoyant.