WPB: In the first 11 months of 2024, the UK saw a notable increase in bitumen production, despite a significant decline in domestic consumption due to reduced government investment in infrastructure projects.
According to official data, bitumen output during this period grew by nearly 25%, driven solely by production at the Shell-Nynas joint venture refinery in northwest England—the only remaining bitumen-producing facility in the country. This sharp rise contrasts with the early 2023 cessation of bitumen manufacturing at the Lindsey refinery in northeast England. The refinery, with a capacity of 105,700 b/d, was acquired by Prax Group from TotalEnergies in 2020, but the company opted to discontinue bitumen production in favor of focusing on conventional petroleum products.
The most recent UK figures reveal a 23% year-on-year increase in bitumen production, reaching 434,000t from January to November 2024, compared to 352,000t in the same timeframe in 2023. However, output declined by 11% in the September–November period, falling to 82,000t from 91,000t recorded a year earlier.
Meanwhile, domestic consumption of bitumen dropped by 12% in the first 11 months of 2024, reaching 1.29mn t from 1.46mn t in the same period the previous year. This downward trend is attributed to insufficient government funding for construction projects, contributing to pessimism in the UK construction sector about the industry’s future demand and activity levels.
Since 2021, UK annual bitumen consumption has been consistently declining. It stood at 1.84mn t in 2021, decreasing to 1.56mn t in 2022 and further to 1.54mn t in 2023. The decline in bitumen demand aligns with a broader contraction in UK refined product consumption, which saw a 12% drop in domestic deliveries between 2018 and 2023, alongside a 14% reduction in overall product output.
By WPB
Bitumen, Market, Demand, Price
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