Bitumen Price List 2019

Note: Consider all the price figures at an average of ± 5 USD.

A Brief Analysis of Bitumen New Steel Drum Prices in 2019

Iran’s highest bitumen price in 2019 was $370 in August and October, and the lowest price was $275 in December. In October 2019, Iran’s new steel drum bitumen price started to decrease slightly. Singapore FOB’s highest price in 2019 was $590 in November, and the lowest bitumen FOB price was $505 in February.

Bulk Bitumen Price 2019

Note: Consider all the price figures at an average of± 5 USD.

A Brief Analysis of Bulk Bitumen Prices in 2019

The lowest bulk bitumen price for Iran was $220-240 in December 2019, and the highest was $300-320 in October 2019. As shown above, from March to July, Iran’s bulk bitumen prices were stable, but from July to the end of the year, prices rose and fell several times.

14 Important Factors Affecting Bitumen Price List 2019

1) Using IMO Convention

The start of using IMO convention 2020 at the end of 2019 and the substitution of crude oil and high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) in the bitumen price formula resulted in a fluctuation in the bitumen price list for 2019.

2) North Korea-US Nuclear Talks Stall

The meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un didn’t produce much progress. On June 30, Trump and Kim agreed to resume nuclear negotiations. They agreed on the specifics of the talks, but hours after striking that agreement, North Korea launched a ballistic missile in violation of UN resolutions. Negotiators met on October 5, but the talks ended after 8 hours with no agreement. The prospects for 2020 aren’t any better.

3) The US-China Trade War Continues

Back in March 2018, President Donald Trump tweeted that “trade wars are good and easy to win.” In February, Trump delayed imposing a new round of taxes on Chinese goods to give negotiators time to strike a deal.

In May, he concluded that the talks hadn’t progressed and imposed a new round of charges. In August, however, Trump announced he would place tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods effective September 1. Twelve days later, he partially reversed the course.

China wasn’t mollified; on August 23, it announced tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods. Negotiators continued to meet, and on October 11, they reached a tentative agreement on a “Phase 1” deal. It took another two months, though, before the details were worked out. Both sides claimed victory. However, the agreement failed to settle the significant differences between the two economic superpowers, suggesting that 2020 could be hard on the trade front.

4) Tensions in the Persian Gulf

War in the Persian Gulf seemed imminent at several points in 2019. In May, four commercial ships were attacked while anchored just outside the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes. The United States accused Iran of being “directly responsible” for the attacks, a charge Iran denied. Consequently, tensions in the following months between Iran and the US deeply affected the oil and fuel prices and bitumen price list in 2019.

5) The Amazon Burns

The 80,000 fires set in 2019 were the most in a decade, and they burned an area about the size of New Jersey. The year ended with scientists warning that deforestation in the Amazon had reached a point that would “release billions of tons carbon into the atmosphere.”

6) OPEC Cuts Production to Prop Up Oil Price

OPEC continued to respond to swelling US shale oil production by reducing its production.

7) US Oil Production Sets a New Record of 12.8 Million BPD

This event impacts the rest of the world’s oil markets. We would be living in a very different world today if not for the massive increase in US oil production over the past decade. The new record was 1.2 million BPD higher than last year’s record, and it pushed the US to net exporter status for crude oil exports and finished products for the month of October.

8) Damaged Commercial Ships Near the Port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed the incident was a destructive attack. On May 13, the US embassy in Baghdad said US citizens should not travel to Iraq and for those who were already there to keep a low profile. On the same day, The New York Times reported that the Acting US Defense Secretary presented a military plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East if any country attacked American forces or took steps toward developing nuclear weapons. US President Donald Trump later discredited this, saying he would instead “send a hell of a lot more” than 120,000 troops if necessary.

9) Warning of Oil Prices Pushing above $100 a Barrel

On June 13, 2019, two oil tankers caught fire after allegedly being attacked by limpet mines or flying objects in another incident in the Gulf of Oman. On June 17, the US announced the deployment of 1,000 more soldiers to the Middle East. All three incidents had a large impact on the bitumen price list for 2019.

10) Sanctions and Iranian Shoot Down of US Drone

Tensions reached a new high when, on June 20, Iran shot down a US drone, saying the drone had violated Iranian airspace. Iran called the shoot-down a “clear message” to the US while also pointing out that Iran was not seeking war.

11) British and Iranian Tanker Seizures

On July 3, Gibraltar enacted “Sanctions Regulations 2019” after the March 2019 Sanctions Act, referring to the EU sanctions for Syria. It also specified the Panama-flagged Iranian tanker Grace 1 as a ship under those regulations. On July 4, the ship was seized by British authorities while carrying out an off-port limited logistics stop in Gibraltar on suspicion that it was carrying oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

12) Seizure of Iraqi Tanker and Grace 1 Dispute

On August 4, 2019, Iran seized an Iraqi tanker for taking oil to other Arab countries. The seven crew members on board were detained, further heightening tensions in the Persian Gulf and the bitumen price list for 2019.

13) IMSC Launches Operations

On November 7, 2019, the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) launched official operations in Bahrain to protect the shipping lanes near the troubled Iranian territorial waters. The coalition opened its command center in the country to ward off the perceived threat to the global oil supply amid the crisis.

14) US airstrikes on Iraqi militia and Attack on Baghdad Embassy

On December 27, Iran, Russia, and China performed a four-day naval exercise in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman. According to the Iranian government and military officials on its state news channel Press TV, the exercise was a response to the US–Saudi regional plans and was meant to demonstrate that Iran was not isolated despite the US embargo.

There were more events that largely affected the bitumen price list for 2019, but we have included only the most important ones.