Managing Fuel Scarcity in Nigeria: Struggling to secure fuel in Nigeria? As the country’s aviation industry continues to suffer from a severe scarcity of Jet A1 that’s resulted in some flight delays, cancellations, and inbound flights having to seek alternative refueling stops at airports in neighboring countries, we’ve some advice for how operators can best deal with the situation.
Though Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and sixth in the world, most the crude oil produced is exported. Refined products like PMS. DPK, AGO, and Jet A1 are imported for local consumption because the countries four state-owned refineries are extremely dilapidated and unable to produce the amount of refined product to meet local demand. This means Nigeria must import almost 95% of its requirements. However, the country’s reliance on the crude oil market and the recent downturn in global prices has seen its economy take a hammering.
The situation is further worsened with recent changes to its foreign exchange policy that have led to the local currency losing strength and thus resulting in higher fuel costs. And even when fuel is successfully secured, there is then the issue of distribution. Inadequate ground infrastructure, trucking distance, and the non-availability of hydrants at certain airports further complicate the situation.
We advise operators planning trips to any destination in Nigeria to contact their trip support partner well in advance of their mission. Ideally, give prior notice of at least three days so fuel availability can be confirmed. The shortage is expected to persist in some form until 2018 when the new state refinery is set to become operational.
UAS’ Nigeria team has been managing this issue for quite some time now, and although every client request brings new challenges, we relish any opportunity to find innovative ways of getting around these types of situations. Our ground presence facilitates this, and we also have in-house fuel intelligence and a monitoring program which tracks the fuel situation on a regular basis. Our regional office at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and our two Nigerian based station managers work closely with reliable local vendors and fulfill clients’ requirements.
For more information on this and other industry topics, visit UAS Blog
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Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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