Shell continues to grow European bitumen business
Shell continues to invest and grow its bitumen business in Europe, as many smaller players continue to slow operations due to tough market conditions. Shell Bitumen has bucked that trend, by improving supply availabilities throughout the region, anchored primarily by its two largest refineries in the region: Rheinland in Germany and Pernis in the Netherlands.
“We in Shell are committed to supply bitumen for the long term, and are constantly looking to expand our business footprint, where the right opportunities arise. Our strong network of bitumen refineries, depots and flexible logistics allow us to widen the reach of our business in recent years and we are introducing new technologies and application practices to achieve more sustainable projects as well as safer working conditions,” said Thomas Moons, General Manager for Shell Bitumen, Europe and Africa.
Shell Bitumen has also increased bitumen production capacities in Rheinland and Pernis, further strengthened by bitumen supplies from Shell joint venture refineries, such as Eastham in the UK, Miro in Karlsruhe and PCK in Schwedt, Germany. “We are committed to continue producing bitumen from Pernis refinery,” said Bart Voet, General Manager of Pernis refinery.
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.
Shell supplies a wide range of high quality bitumen products, from standard-grade bitumen to special polymer-modified bitumen (PMB), which are marketed under the brand name Shell Cariphalte. Shell Cariphalte has been used in a number of iconic projects for applications such as highways, urban roads and porous asphalts for urban drainage systems. It is ideal for use in heavily trafficked locations such as airfields, racetracks and bus lanes. It can be particularly beneficial in heavy duty applications such as rail, ports, bridge decks, crack relief systems or overlaying concrete pavements and expansion joints.
To provide customers with technical support for their individual project needs, Shell Bitumen operates one of its three Regional Technical Centres in Strasbourg, France.