Essar Oil UK Ltd has signed its first agreement for direct supply of jet fuel from its Stanlow refinery to a commercial airline.
The company, which owns and operates the Stanlow refinery at Ellesmere Port, UK, signed a deal to supply Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to Emirates Airlines at Manchester Airport, Essar Oil UK Ltd said in a statement today.
Emirates operates three flights daily from Manchester to Dubai operating the carrier's Boeing 777-300 and its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft, the world's largest passenger jet.
Stanlow, which produces 16 per cent of the UK's road transport fuel demand, manufactures over two billion litres of jet fuel each year and plays a key role in the North-West regional aviation industry.
It supplies on wholesale basis, a significant proportion of Manchester Airport as well as Liverpool John Lennon and other regional airports jet fuel demand.
"However, this is the first time Essar Oil UK will directly supply aviation fuel to an airline, with discussions with other potential partners already underway," it said.
Colin Dixon, Head of Marketing at Essar Oil UK, said: "This is a major milestone in our strategy of further downstream integration, combining our refinery supply strength with our marketing capabilities in the aviation sector. We look forward to becoming a key player in the aviation market."
The deal with Emirates is part of Essar Oil UK's strategy of downstream integration, which has recently seen a highly successful entry into the UK transport fuel retail market.
The firm has already started retailing petrol and diesel in the UK and plants to take its retail network to 400 sites over the next three years.
"Looking forward, Essar has also committed to a significant capital investment of USD 137 million in a project for major improvements to key units at the Stanlow Refinery which will deliver a further reduction in crude oil costs and improved yields across the finished product range," the statement said.
Essar Oil UK Ltd is a subsidiary of Essar Energy Ltd. Its Stanlow refinery produces three billion litres of petrol, 4.4 billion litres of diesel and two billion litres of jet fuel per year.
