Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) is to invest $6.9 million in a range of projects in Fujairah and Dubai aimed at better coping with increased demand in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) aviation sector and ensuring optimum quality of product delivery.
The investment includes $1.4 million on new storage facilities at Fujairah International Airport, $190,000 on upgrading and expanding its airport service vehicles at Dubai International Airport and $5.4 million on redirecting the jet fuel pipeline running from Jebel Ali to Dubai International, ENOC Group CEO Hussain Sultan disclosed.
"The aviation and petroleum sectors are both zero tolerance industries in which quality of product and safety are paramount, hence the need for continual upgrading," stated ENOC International Sales General Manager John W. Hodge.
The core business of ENOC’s subsidiary, EPPCO Aviation, is the receipt, storage and delivery of jet fuel to customers at Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah international airports as well as military air bases. At Fujairah International Airport, EPPCO has witnessed increasing demand from 200 to 800 barrels per day (bpd), according to a company press release. "The new storage facilities at Fujairah International Airport will be completed by May this year when demand will be met by a near five-fold increase in storage capacity to 5,700 barrels," said Hodge.
At Dubai International Airport, the ENOC Group plans to upgrade its existing Skycart airport service vehicle and add a second. "We will upgrade the Skycart to introduce digital controls, which will replace pneumatic versions to ensure optimum product quality and, by the middle of March, will add a second Skycart to our Dubai operations," he said.
The lion's share of the invest—$5.4 million—has been committed to reinvestment in the 60 kilometer jet fuel pipeline, the largest in the Gulf, which currently runs from Jebel Ali to the joint industry tank farm at Dubai International.
"The pipeline will be redesigned and redirected to enable fuel to be supplied directly from ENOC's own refinery in Jebel Ali to Dubai International," said Hodge. "Protection of the pipeline will also be enhanced. These steps are being taken to meet the projected fuel supply needs of Dubai International until 2010."
Hodge said the future of the Arab world's aviation sector remained bright despite the international downturn in the global air travel sector. He pointed to industry forecasts which suggested continued annual growth in the regional sector of 4.2 percent per annum, region-wide investment in airports over the next three years of two billion dollars and manufacturers' bullish predictions of around 620 aircraft being bought by regional carriers over the next 16 years.
Hodge stated that fuel suppliers needed to be heavily involved in aviation infrastructure development and signaled ENOC's ambition to enter into joint venture projects outside the UAE.
ENOC owns 51 percent of EPPCO Aviation, which currently operates at international airports in Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah. The aircraft-refueling operator currently manages the joint industry fuel farm at Dubai International. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
