A major player in the oil and gas sector has solicited for coordination among relevant regulatory agencies in monitoring and enforcement of standards along the supply chain as a means towards achieving a sustained quality of aviation fuel.
General Manager, Total Aviation Operations, Mr. Rabiu Abdulmutalib made the call while presenting a paper titled ‘Jet A1: Challenges & Solutions’ at the 25th Annual Conference of the League of Airport & Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), held at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, with the theme, Nigeria’s Aviation Industry: Management, Policy & Regulation.
According to Abdulmutalib it was vital as an industry to ensure it handles Jet A1 delivery to airlines with established international and local regulations to avoid compromise.
He proposed,†International specification checklist for aviation fuel recognized by major aviation fuel suppliers in the world, checking competencies and capacities of laboratories contracted for testing parameters of aviation fuel; Government intervention to aviation fuel importers through access to Forex and national sensitization and awareness on monitor filtration phase out from all aviation handling systems in Nigeria before the deadline of July 1st 2023
Meanwhile, he also identified cost of supply and distribution, inability of local refineries to refine Jet A1 for local consumption, unavailability of Forex for importation as well as high investment in logistics as some challenges that trigger the jet fuel issues in the country
Others he listed included, dedicated trucks, high bridging cost to airports outside Lagos, airport taxes; High cost of aviation fuel handling equipment, refuellers, hydrant dispenser/Servicers as well as filtration systems