By Ken Okeke
In its efforts to ameliorate the fuel supply disruptions to the aviation industry, Nigeria’s emerging indigenous oil and gas major, Bonny Light Energy and Offshore Limited, has committed to the supply of 60,000,00 litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) in the next six months.
This projected supply aligns with the pressing need for an increased supply of the much-needed fuel to sustain flight operations for millions of travellers in the country.
Speaking on this commitment, Mr. Toyin Banjo, Chief Executive Officer, Bonny Light Energy and Offshore Limited, stated that the company’s response aligns with the company’s desire to salvage the Nigerian aviation sector from the daunting effects of the fuel shortage that is ravaging the global airline industry.
“The aviation industry is one of the most energy-intense sectors in the global economy regarding its consumption metrics. Unfortunately, as the industry began recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic-inspired slump in the global aviation sector, external pressures such as the Russia-Ukraine war have driven a sudden hike in fuel prices worldwide, which has resulted in a shortage of aviation fuels, thereby leading to this national aviation crisis.
“This is where our contributions come in. We are aware that Nigeria must build on its reputation of having a stable aviation industry, especially as it is the economic hub of Africa. However, as we have seen in recent times, global constraints can plunge our local aviation sector into a supply crisis despite Nigeria’s oil-rich status.
“As a responsible organisation with an understanding of the intricacies of international energy supply dynamics underpinned by our local knowledge of the Nigerian aviation space, we are committing a total of 60,000,000 litres of aviation turbine kerosene (ATK) monthly over the next six months.
“All things being equal, we are envisaging a supply of 60,000,000 litres of ATK, by the end of the year. We strongly believe that this corporate action will positively affect the supply crisis in Nigeria’s aviation industry and provide much-needed relief in the already strained sector. We, however, understand the complexities of the global aviation industry, as well as the existence of numerous factors which may impede the fulfilment of our projection. Some of these constraints include the paucity of foreign exchange, poor competitive currency lines by banks to support importers and marketing companies, and high logistics costs for transhipment or trans-loading of time-critical products.
“Despite these factors, we will continue in our strides, having supplied the market with similar volumes in the last quarter, ensuring that the projected volumes are achieved as an enduring solution to this supply gap in our aviation industry, especially in the imminent Ember Months and the electioneering season,” he further stated.
Bonny Light Energy and Offshore Ltd is an emerging corporate in Nigeria’s indigenous exploration, production, pipeline transportation, strategic storage, and marketing of petroleum products.
Over the years, the company has built expertise in the upstream, downstream, and midstream sectors of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, trading in both crude and refined petroleum products, which include Motor Fuels (Gasoline), Industrial Oils (AGO/Gasoil, Baseoil LPG) Aviation Fuels (ATK), Lubricants and various other specialist oils (Bitumen). As a leading integrated Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company, Bonny Light Energy augments a wide range of energy needs in the economy’s upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors – markets refined petroleum products and provides jetty services.
