OREANDA-NEWS. The GazpromNeft bitumen business operator, GazpromNeft-Bitumen Materials, increased sales of high-tech modified bitumen and bitumen-derived products in the first half of 2019 to more than 100 thousand tons, which is 37% more than in the same period last year, the press service said.

“The increase in demand for high-tech bitumen materials is directly related to the active development of the transport infrastructure and the construction of new road facilities in Russia. At the same time, the trend towards a further growth in the segment of modified bitumen and bitumen-derived products in 2019 indicates a further reorientation of the road construction industry towards better and more durable materials capable of multiplying the life cycle of Russian roads by many times”, said the Director General of GazpromNeft - Bituminous Materials Dmitri Orlov.

The company also increased the geography of deliveries of high-tech bitumen - to 85 regions of Russia; abroad, these products are sold in 56 countries of Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. The total sales volume of bitumen, according to the GazpromNeft report for the first half of the year, amounted to 1.14 million tons, which is 16.2% lower than the same period last year.

Earlier, Orlov told reporters that in the next five years the company has no plans to reduce investments in bitumen production, which will grow to 2.8-2.9 million tons by 2024 (in 2018 it was 2.3 million tons), and this level will be persist until 2030. Thus, the company intends to retain a third of the Russian market. 

Gazprom Neft's bitumen business development strategy also implies strengthening cooperation with Russian regions. “For this, the unique operating conditions of highways are modeled using unique equipment, taking into account traffic and the degree of impact of transport on the road surface”, the company noted.