At a time rumours and speculations are rife that aviation fuel scarcity may hobble smooth air travels within the ongoing season of yuletide, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it has supplied 38.7 million litres of Jet A1 also known as Aviation fuel to the market to ensure a hitch-free air travel across the country during and after the Christmas period.
Besides, the Minister of State Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has assured air travelers of Government’s commitment to end the lingering aviation fuel scarcity facing the nation’s aviation industry.
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, Jet A1 supply in Abuja has become steady, stating that the step was taken to limit shortage of the product, a situation that had recently led to reported cases of flight delays and cancellations across the nation’s airports.
According to him, the Corporation had exceeded the demand of marketers with plans to obviate the hardship been faced by airlines to access the product which has in turn affected passengers.
He explained that the NNPC had imported about 38.7million litres of aviation fuel which represented about 26-day sufficiency.
Baru said “Specifically on December 14, 2016, the Corporation completed the discharge of 8,800 metric tonnes which represented about 10.6 million litres to major terminals in the country.
“In addition, as at this morning (December 19, 2016), 23,500 metric tonnes which represented about 28.2million litres was being discharged to the major oil terminals.
“In order to sustain the tempo, the Corporation had also secured the supply of additional 30,000 metric tonne vessel of aviation turbine kerosene which represented about 36million litres expected to berth Nigerian shores before the end of the year,” he said.
“NNPC has over 40-day sufficiency for premium motor spirit and adequate volumes of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) and Automotive Gas Oil to satisfy national demand throughout the yuletide period and beyond.”
Explaining more on the main reason behind the fuel crisis, Hadi Serika said the scarcity was occasioned by the fact that the country does not produce JetA1 locally, adding that the scarcity of foreign exchange had made the importation of the product difficult.
