Senior
Shell has established a robust bitumen supply chain in Europe, anchored by its two main refineries in the region: Rheinland in Germany and Pernis in the Netherlands. In late 2015, Shell announced the decision to invest in a solvent deasphalter (SDA) unit at the Pernis refinery, with a view to improve its performance and competitiveness.
Shell’s Pernis facility is the largest integrated refinery complex in Europe and occupies a strategic location in the Rotterdam industrial region. The company continues to invest and increase its bitumen supply capabilities in the European market, especially in the Rotterdam area. This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which has recently seen two refineries shutting bitumen production operations in the Rotterdam area.
“We expect to be supplying bitumen for the long term here at Pernis, as we continue to increase our supply capabilities to meet future demands,” said Jos Van Winsen, general manager of Pernis refinery. “The SDA being built at Pernis will not impact our bitumen production activities.”
Shell has further increased bitumen production capacities in Pernis and Rheinland, backed up by bitumen supply from Shell joint venture refineries, such as Eastham in the UK, Miro in Karlsruhe and PCK in Schwedt, Germany.
“Today in Europe there are 30% fewer refineries producing bitumen than a decade ago, and we see this downturn as consistent with market demand. We are committed to provide our European customers, with reliable bitumen supply for the long term,” said Thomas Moons, general manager of Shell Bitumen, Europe and Africa.
Shell supplies its bulk products to customers by road, rail, barge and vessels via a network of dedicated bitumen assets, including its latest additions in France, depots located in Nantes and Bayonne. Shell has been optimising its supply envelope to customers by adding “multimodal” transport capabilities, using bitutainers that can be easily transported via rail and road (truck) from its manufacturing facilities directly to customers across continental Europe as well as the South East region of the UK.
To provide customers with technical support for their individual project needs, Shell Bitumen operates one of its three Regional Technical Centres in Strasbourg, France.
