Since Vietnam Airlines still has to wait for opinions from four foreign aircraft engine manufacturers, the national flag air carrier still cannot use the air petrol made by Dung Quat Oil Refinery.

Meeting all the domestic and international standards, Jet A1 petrol made by Dung Quat Oil Refinery has been provided to some partners and has served 100 successful flights carrying specialists, engineers and workers from mainland to the oil rig in Vung Tau over the last many months.

Since August 2010, Dung Quat Oil Refinery has churned out 200,000 tons of air petrol, including the 10,000 cubic meters of petrol sold to the British BP. Dung Quat has also sold petrol to Petrolimex for the domestic consumption and for exportation. However, to date, Vietnam Airlines, the most potential client, still has not purchased Jet A1 petrol from Dung Quat.

Nguyen Hoai Giang, General Director of Binh Son Refinery – Petrochemical Company, said PetroVietnam and Vietnam Airlines have reached a consensus on using Dung Quat’s oil. The only thing that needs to be done is to wait for Vietnam Airlines to consult with four aircraft engine manufacturers. “Two of the four have shown their opinions already,” Giang said.

Giang said that if Vietnam Airlines can use domestic air petrol, this will help the air carrier to save foreign currencies that it has to spend to import petrol. Besides, this will also help it reduce the freight charges and storage fees.

A senior executive of Vietnam Airlines has confirmed that the air carrier is nearly completing necessary procedures in order to use Dung Quat’s oil. “We are awaiting the answers from the engine manufacturers from the US and Europe,” he said. “We have planned to have a meeting with PetroVietnam next week to discuss the measures to strengthen the use of Dung Quat’s oil for Vietnam Airlines’ flights”.

Binh Son plans to churn out 400,000 cubic meters of air petrol in 2011, satisfying 50 percent of the domestic demand. With 300 flights per day, Vietnam Airlines really has a big demand for Jet A1 fuel.  Therefore, it is considered the biggest client of Binh Son.

In August 2010, Dung Quat released an announcement about the export of 5800 cubic metres of air petrol. At that time, a question was raised as to why Dung Quat could sell its products to foreigners, while it could not sell products to a domestic airline. A paradox exists in which Dung Quat exports its products, while Vietnam Airlines must import similar products.

The spokesman of Vietnam Airlines affirmed that before deciding to use domestic air petrol, the air carrier needed to take necessary verification steps.

According to the airline, some air carriers around the world had accidents due to bad fuel which contained impurities. The official cited the case of the flight CA780 of Cathay Pacific which had troubles on April 13, 2010. The A330 aircraft carrying 309 passengers and 13 crew members, had an emergency landing due to engine problems. The Aviation Herald on August 11 reported that the problem was the fuel.

However, Le Xuan Trinh, Deputy General Director of PetroVietnam Oil believes that once BP Group has confidence in Dung Quat’s oil, Vietnam Airlines should not hesitate to purchase the product.

On November 9, 2010, the Ministry of Science and Technology granted ISO 17025 certificate to the laboratory, certifying that Dung Quat’s Jet A1 can meet 21 technical standards.

In the latest new, in early March, eight products made by Dung Quat Oil refinery received the ISO 9001:2008 certificate from Det Norrske Veritas, including LPG, propylene, Mogas 90 petrol, Mogas 92 petrol, Mogas 95 petrol, Jet A1 air petrol, kerosene and diesel.

C. V