The role of aviation fuel   , its pricing availability, quality and supposed regulation by aeronautical and other agencies dominated discussions at a one day Colloquium put together by CITA Energies and LAAC as part of activities to celebrate the 55th Birthday Celebration of the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of CITA, Dr. Thomas Ogungbange.

The Colloquium, provided yet another opportunity for players and experts in the aviation fuel sub sector to appraise lingering issues in the business, steps needed to optimize the value chain and interventions  needed to ramp it up to global standards.

Adopting the input gathering format featuring paper presentation and a panel session, participants resolved that :

1. There is a need to revamp aviation fuel infrastructure across Nigeria’s airports to improve the availability and distribution of aviation fuel to airlines
2. Government should take deliberate measures to devise a less cumbersome and expensive aviation fuel distribution method that will keep trucks away from the roads while ensuring quality, enhancing availability and minimizing safety challenges posed by congestion of fuel trucks at the airports and at the same time, minimizing losses created by the current distribution method and chain.

 

3. There should be provision for aviation fuel storage facilities such as tank farms location in the planning of airports construction and fuel hydrants should be installed at the existing new airports.

 

4. Because jet fuel constitutes 40% of airlines operating costs and the price and access to jet A1 negatively affects airlines, it is important for aviation and fuelling authorities to address issues of quality, availability and pricing of jet fuel to enable airlines survive.

 

5. The current all-comers’ status of jet fuel marketing and the existing human capacity gaps should be addressed to ensure efficiency, quality and safety of jet fuel used by airlines while regulatory bodies should give more attention to the financial health of aviation marketers.

 

6. The foreign exchange rate should be stabilized by the government so as to protect the survival of airlines and jet fuel marketers.

 

7. Airlines should factor the cost of jet fuel into their ACMI so as to determine a realistic cost of operations.

 

8. The NNDPRA, DPR, NCAA and fuel marketers should collaborate to minimize other costs of operation outside landing costs such as trucking costs, demurrage cost, delayed payment cost and so on, so that both fuel marketers and airplanes can survive.

 

9. Participants  applauded the establishment of Dangote Refinery and the impact it has made so far on jet fuel availability but demanded compliance with international standards in regular inspection procedures and measures towards breaking monopoly in the business of refining jet fuel so as to ensure sustained quality and avoid market manipulation.

 

10. Considering the required international standards of production and maintenance and expensive nature of the investment in jet fuel quality, modular refineries cannot meet such conditions contrary to opinion held in some quarters that modular refineries should serve as alternatives to Dangote refinery.

 

11. Participants made much emphasis on the need for all aviation and petroleum regulators and operators to ensure product integrity and quality assurance in the interest of safety and survival of both airlines and marketers.

 

12. There is a need for a dedicated jet fuel regulatory framework.

 

13. There is a need to explore opportunities of embracing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SARF), an emerging global trend that may become dominant in future.

 

14. The fuel marketers should champion collaboration of airlines on fuel to bring down prices and ensure quality of jet fuel used by airlines.

 

15. There is a need to build a jet fuel sector that mirrors the best of Nigeria with the resilient Nigerian spirit, driven on the platform of innovation such that every litre of jet fuel in an aircraft symbolizes a promise that each aircraft departing from point A to B carries the strength and reliability of the Nigerian spirit.

 

Speakers were Dr. Thomas Ogungbangbe, CEO. CITA Energies Limited, Mr. Chris Ndulue, Managing Director, Ndano Energy, Dr. Richard Aisuebeogun, Co-Founder, Geometric Aviation Synergy Services Limited, Capt. Augustine Okon, former Managing Director of ADC Plc.

 

There were five panelists in the panel session moderated by Mr. Ajibola Olayinka. They are Grp. Capt. John Ojikutu, former Commandant, MMIA, Lagos, Engr. Peter Dia, General Manager, Operations, Octavus, Dr. Betiku Olasimbo, CEO, Mangrove Hills, Engr. John Abegunde, Managing Director, COLT Engineering and Martin Abhulimen, Regional Manager, Lagos & West Africa, Ibom Air.

 

Speakers were Dr. Thomas Ogungbangbe, CEO. CITA Energies Limited, Mr. Chris Ndulue, Managing Director, Ndano Energy, Dr. Richard Aisuebeogun, Co-Founder, Geometric Aviation Synergy Services Limited, Capt. Augustine Okon, former Managing Director of ADC Plc.

 

There were five panelists in the panel session moderated by Mr. Ajibola Olayinka. They are Grp. Capt. John Ojikutu, former Commandant, MMIA, Lagos, Engr. Peter Dia, General Manager, Operations, Octavus, Dr. Betiku Olasimbo, CEO, Mangrove Hills, Engr. John Abegunde, Managing Director, COLT Engineering and Martin Abhulimen, Regional Manager, Lagos & West Africa, Ibom Air.

 

8. The NNDPRA, DPR, NCAA and fuel marketers should collaborate to minimize other costs of operation outside landing costs such as trucking costs, demurrage cost, delayed payment cost and so on, so that both fuel marketers and airplanes can survive.

 

9. The colloquium applauded the establishment of Dangote Refinery and the impact it has made so far on jet fuel availability but demanded compliance with international standards in regular inspection procedures and measures towards breaking monopoly in the business of refining jet fuel so as to ensure sustained quality and avoid market manipulation.

 

10. Considering the required international standards of production and maintenance and expensive nature of the investment in jet fuel quality, modular refineries cannot meet such conditions contrary to opinion held in some quarters that modular refineries should serve as alternatives to Dangote refinery.

 

11. Participants made much emphasis on the need for all aviation and petroleum regulators and operators to ensure product integrity and quality assurance in the interest of safety and survival of both airlines and marketers.