Page 148 - CW E-Magazine (28-5-2024)

Hydrocarbons

EYEING HIGHER SHARE
Reliance seeks access to ATF pipelines, storages

of PSU oil fi rms

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has
sought access to pipelines and storages
that public sector oil companies have
built over the years for supplying jet
fuel (ATF) from depots and oil refi ne-
ries to airports, as it looks for a larger
pie of fuel trade at some of Asia’s bus-
iest airports.

Reliance, which produces a fourth
of India’s aviation turbine fuel (ATF),
wants access to storage depots outside
the Delhi airport as well as to pipe-
lines leading to Mumbai, Bengaluru,
and Hyderabad airports. It currently
supplies small volumes of ATF when
compared with supplies made by State- facilities as they form an integral part of avoid infructuous investments by opti-
owned fi rms. the ATF supply chain.”. mum utilisation of product storage and
pipeline infrastructure,” Reliance said.
The fi rm made the suggestion in its “This will promote a competitive Such competition, it said, will benefi t
comments to oil regulator PNGRB’s market for supply and distribution of airline companies, which incur one-
(Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory ATF to the airport ‘on-site’ storage faci- third of their cost on fuel.
Board’s) draft regulation calling for lities,” it said.
supply of ATF in all existing and future The PNGRB had invited comments
airports through pipelines that can be Out of the 17.12-million tonnes of from the public and various stakehol-
accessed by any supplier so as to bring ATF produced by public and private ders including oil marketing companies
in competition and cut fuel cost. sector refi neries, 8.2-million tonnes of (OMCs), airport operators, and airlines
the fuel is consumed within the country operators for development of ATF pipe-
While the fuel market is open, air- and the rest is exported. Reliance’s twin lines connecting various greenfi eld and
planes at the country’s busiest airports refi neries at Jamnagar produce close to brownfi eld existing and upcoming air-
are fed by pipelines that were built by 5-million tonnes of ATF, with a large ports in the country.
state-owned Indian Oil Corporation part of it being exported.
(IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation “Pipelines are the cheapest mode of
Ltd. (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum ATF demand in India is growing in transport of liquid fuels with road trans-
Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) over decades. double digits as more people fl y. It rose port being quite costly. And looking at
by 11.8 percent in the fi scal year ended the high share of ATF price in airline
Reliance, which has been for more March 31, 2024. costs, provision of the pipeline could
than a decade now seeking access to bring down the cost of air travel,” the
pipelines that supply ATF to airports “Pipelines are an effi cient, eco- regulator had said in a notice inviting
especially at Mumbai, stated that “the nomical and safe mode of bulk trans- comments in February.
common carrier pipeline scope (which portation from supply installations to
gives third parties access to pipelines demand centres and these measures PSUs are open to declaring new
built by PSUs) should encompass the (proposed by PNGRB) will promote pipelines as common carriers but resist
associated storage facilities and pump- competition, ensure compliance with the same for old ones which they built
ing stations at the ‘off-site’ oil terminal environmental and safety statutes and for meeting captive requirements.

148 Chemical Weekly May 28, 2024

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