The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

Asphalt oil is almost as
valuable as fuel oil
BY JOHN MACKINNON
I had always been under the impression
that asphalt oil was the bottom of
the barrel in the refining process, almost
a waste product that the refiners were
happy to get rid of. This may have been
the case years ago, but today it is almost
as valuable as fuel oil.
The end product or base material that
is used for asphalt road oil can be further
refined with minor effort and sold as
“Bunker C” oil, the fuel that powers most
of the world’s merchant fleet. In Puget
Sound, there is a good market for Bunker
C. Asphalt oil markets there are competing
with the market for fuel for the merchant
fleet.
Some refineries have installed new
coking towers that can take the asphalt
oil material and refine it into fuel oil and
market it for heating oil for the commercial
market. In areas where coking towers
are refining the product further, they
Fairbanks International Airport
R/W 1L-19R Reconstruction
• Bids Opened – July 18, 2007
• Contract Amount - $32,987,400
– Electrical - $10,816,000
– HAP – 112,000 tons – $4,699,350
– Asphalt Cement and Tack Coat – 6,248 tons
– $5,072,627
• Alaska Asphalt Material Price Index at Bid Opening
– $376.67
• Paving during summer of 2009
• Bid Opening to Paving – 2+ years
• Average (65% Increase)
– Increase - $238.99/ton
– Total Increase for 6,248 tons – $1,493,181
• High Increase (260% Increase)
– Increase - $979.34/ton
– Total Increase for 6,248 tons – $6,118,891
• Low (36% Decrease)
– Decrease - $135.60/ton
– Total Decrease for 6,248 tons – $847,229
Annual Crude Oil Price
June 2008