Mr S M Vaidya, Chairman, Indian Oil flagged off the first export consignment of AVGAS 100 LL to Papua New Guinea from GTI Terminal of JNPT. The consignment consisted of 16 KL of AVGAS packed in 80 barrels. This is the first-ever instance of India exporting AVGAS. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vaidya, said, “The global aviation gasoline market is projected to grow at 5% CAGR. The aviation traffic in India is also likely to grow by 7%. IndianOil is fully geared to explore the possible business avenues opened up with the manufacturing of this product. With superior performance quality standards and competitive prices, Indian Oil aims to secure a significant market share. The indigenous production of AVGAS 100 LL in India will not only help in saving foreign exchange on imports but will make pilot training in domestic flying institutes economical for budding pilots.”
In India, until very recently, AVGAS 100 LL fuel primarily used by Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) and Defence forces was imported at a huge cost from European countries for decades. Under the Prime Minister’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision, IndianOil launched the indigenous production of aviation fuel AVGAS 100 LL on September 26, 2022 at Air Force Station, Hindan and the same is now being extensively used in the domestic market. The present production of AVGAS 100 LL is being done from IndianOil’s Gujarat Refinery which has a capacity of 5TMT per annum. The domestic production of AVGAS 100 LL produced by Indian Oil at its Gujarat Refinery will make flying training more affordable in India and abroad. There is a significant consumption of AVGAS in countries in South America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Therefore, there is a great opportunity to export AVGAS beyond the shores of India. As a first step in this direction, the first parcel of AVGAS produced in India was shipped on date.
Leading the Change
Principal grade of Aviation Gasoline, AVGAS 100 LL is designed for use in reciprocating piston engine aircraft, mainly used by FTOs and defence forces for training pilots. AV GAS 100 LL produced by IndianOil’s flagship refinery at Vadodara has been tested and certified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the statutory body of the Government of India to regulate civil aviation in India. It is a higher-octane Aviation fuel meeting the product specifications with superior performance quality standards, as compared to imported grades. The indigenous availability of AV GAS 100 LL will help reduce dependence on imports and address the associated logistical challenges. Country will be able to save precious foreign exchange with the in-house availability of this product.
This will also benefit more than 35 FTOs across India. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is considering opening more training institutes in the country. Seeing the increase in aviation traffic, the requirement for trained Pilots is expected to increase.
