The Layer Marney Cup is an ideal event for Gulf to be associated with says Steve White, general manager for Gulf Oil Next month, Gulf Oil will be supporting the historic Layer Marney Cup, a car fuel consumption trial first run 101 years ago in 1914. “This is an ideal event for Gulf to be associated with,” said Steve White, general manager for Gulf Oil. “This event – and the people and vehicles participating – truly reflects the Gulf strap line Quality, Endurance, Passion.” An impressive selection of cars produced during the last century will take part in the competition on Sunday 16 August. The first re-run of a unique event which took place during the dawn of motoring will see the cars drive through the Stow Maries Aerodrome – the UK’s only First World War airport still in use.  With some WW1 aircraft based there, the airport has recently been recreated to look as it would have done during the war and, if the weather is kind that day, spectators may also witness some aircraft practising their displays. At the Gulf branded forecourt McCreadies of Layer Marney tanks will be unsealed and checked for fuel consumption. “The event will be a visual delight for spectators, whether car enthusiasts or not,” said Sheila Charrington from Layer Marney Tower. “For the younger generation it will be a real eye opener and a lesson in history.  The world of fuel and motor racing has changed exponentially in the last 100 years, which will be demonstrated through the classes taking part in the competition.” For more information contact Sheila Charrington on Sheila@layermarneytower.co.uk.www.gulfoil.co.uk

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service is still investigating the cause of the oil tank fire which caused extensive damage to three housesPic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Following a serious oil tank fire that caused extensive damage to three houses in Dunmurry, just outside Belfast, OFTEC is asking is it time Northern Ireland had a competent persons scheme similar to that currently operating in England and Wales? Reported in the July issue of Fuel Oil News (pages 4 and 21), the fire is believed to have started in a shed before spreading to an oil tank which ruptured, setting fire to other oil tanks in the near vicinity. Meanwhile, OFTEC is calling on the Northern Ireland government to introduce mandatory registration for all oil and boiler installers, following the example of the competent persons scheme in England and Wales. This will give householders more security, knowing that their appliances and oil tanks have been installed by a qualified person and they meet building control regulations. David Blevings, OFTEC said: “Oil tank fires have the potential to be extremely dangerous and, as sadly highlighted in this case, to substantially damage properties. We know that oil is a very safe fuel if stored correctly and the best way to protect yourself and others is to make sure your oil tank and any fuel burning appliances are installed correctly, and inspected and serviced by an OFTEC registered technician at least once a year.” “OFTEC is reminding householders that registered technicians will check all oil appliances and oil tanks during annual boiler service visits to minimise the risk of such incidents. All tanks should be checked and advice given on how to comply with current building regulations in terms of fire safety and environmental protection. OFTEC technicians are reminded that if the recommended separation distances cannot be met, you can advise consumers to place a fire safety panel(s) that provide a minimum 30-minute fire-resistant wall which extends at least 300mm above and beyond the ends of an oil tank.”www.oftec.org.ukwww.nifrs.org

Europe’s biggest ethane tank – INEOS has also built two brand new import terminals to receive the gas, one at Grangemouth and the other at Rafnes in Norway Earlier this month a 330 tonne roof was placed on Europe’s biggest ethane tank.  The move means that INEOS is on schedule for the first US ethane to arrive in Grangemouth during the second half of 2016. The £450m investment into the ethane project represents part of a rescue package for Grangemouth. Part of a $1 billion dollar global project, spanning China, the US and Europe – all to bring ethane to Grangemouth and Norway – it will transform the Grangemouth petrochemicals business and provide a secure supply of essential ethane for the next 15 years. In a remarkable feat of engineering, the 330 tonne roof was floated up almost 150 feet on nothing more than a cushion of air. The tank, which is 56 metres in diameter and 44 metres high, is designed to hold over 60,000 cubic metres of ethane brought from the US to replace declining North Sea supply. “This is an important day for Grangemouth. It takes us one step nearer our goal of importing US ethane to Scotland and putting Grangemouth back into the premier league of petrochemical plants,” said INEOS O&P UK’s chief executive John McNally. The project will transform Grangemouth overnight and will allow its manufacturing assets to once more compete globally, providing raw materials for thousands of manufacturing businesses across the UK and Europe. The building of Europe’s largest ethane storage tank is just part of INEOS’ $1 billion global project to get US shale gas to Europe. The company, which has contracts to access a 100-mile pipeline from the Marcellus Shale in western Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook gas terminal close to Philadelphia, has commissioned eight huge Dragon class ships to carry the liquefied shale gas ethane from the US to Europe.www.ineos.com

Greg Lofts – “a supply chain specialist whose consultative approach supports Suttons’ ability to provide customers with the service that is right for them and their business” Greg Lofts has been appointed business development director at Suttons Tankers, as the company looks to further strengthen its UK leadership team and expand the products and services it provides to customers. Greg joins Suttons with an impressive track record in business development and account management, most recently at Wincanton. His remit includes the strategic development of the division’s new business opportunities and existing accounts in the bulk chemicals, gases, fuels and food sectors, with a focus on relationship management and customer service. “Greg’s experience and proven ability to lead teams and deliver solutions tailored to individual customers, rather than applying a one size fits all model, is key to the development of our business and an ideal fit with Suttons,” said Michael Cundy, managing director,  Suttons Tankers. “He’s a supply chain specialist whose consultative approach supports Suttons’ ability to provide customers with the service that is right for them and their business.” “Suttons is an ambitious business with a dynamic leadership team who I have admired for a long time,” said Greg. “They have a rich history and continue to move forward at great pace.” “In addition to focusing on both new and existing customers and their requirements, I will work closely with our highly experienced and dedicated teams to deliver value adding innovative world class solutions.” “It is this commitment which will further cement our position as industry leaders in specialist bulk logistics and supply chain services.”www.suttonsgroup.com

Iain Duncan, general manager at Scania Inverness with Nicola Clase, Sweden’s ambassador to the UK and Claes Jacobsson, managing director Scania GB Following an 18-month development project, Scania has opened a new £3m state of the art premises at Bridge Point in Inverness. Scania Inverness, which is ADR-ready, plans to include the addition of tank testing and Petroleum Regulations work in order to serve the local fuel supply industry. The 1.8 acre site with a high security, CCTV-monitored truck parking area offers two full length pits, an DVSA Authorised Test Facility with brake tester, beam setter and shaker plate, a rolling road, tachograph bay and steam cleaning equipment.  The workshop provides extended opening hours and a fully stocked parts department provides components for all makes of trucks and related equipment, including trailers, tail-lifts and refrigerators.  In total, £400,000 of the £3m Scania Inverness investment has been channelled into workshop equipment and special tooling. In addition to new vehicle sales, the branch offers used truck sales and a full vehicle rental service through Scania Truck Rental. “The staff we have at Scania Inverness are very much our most important asset,” says Sandy Millar, regional executive director for Scania Scotland.  “Compliance is a key issue for operators today, and the complexity of modern vehicles mean that only technicians with the very best training and access to the latest advanced diagnostic and maintenance technology are capable of reliably carrying out work to the standards required by legislation.” “As home to a wide and diverse range of transport operations, and with many local operators traditionally favouring the Scania marque, the Inverness area has long been an important location for us,” comments Claes Jacobsson, managing director of Scania (Great Britain) Limited. www.scania.co.uk

The Falkirk team, which is named after the silverback gorilla, hopes the connection with such a powerful species will resonate in their performance during the coming season Brogan Fuels has agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with the Falkirk Silverbacks Australian Rules football team “It’s important that we support clubs in the area where we work, which we try to do where we can,” said Brogan Fuels general manager Gerry Paice.

The hallmark of the XPO Logistics brand is an iconic shade of red worn by all employees. The company’s top three European markets are France, the UK and Spain with operations in Italy and the Netherlands With its acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle last month, XPO Logistics became a top ten global supply chain provider. To emphasis the company’s European capacity and drive for innovation in transport, logistics solutions and global forwarding, this month the company launched a major advertising campaign in Europe based on the theme Welcome to the next supply chain generation. Reinforcing that Norbert Dentressangle is now XPO Logistics, the campaign focuses on the company’s commitment to providing customers with responsive solutions, both locally and globally. “We’re always ready to challenge established models and offer bespoke solutions that contribute to the performance of our customers’ supply chains today and tomorrow,” said Hervé Montjotin, chief executive officer of XPO Logistics in Europe. “Our next generation in Europe is a world-class service team in every respect: entrepreneurial and attuned to customer needs – supply chain experts who utilise the latest technological advances to achieve optimum results for our customers.” Continuing a long-standing partnership as the official carrier of the Tour de France, the first red XPO Logistics trucks have been on display at each of the 2015 Tour’s major stages. The trucks bear the hashtag #WeAreXPO, which has become a symbol of pride among XPO Logistics employees.www.xpo.comwww.norbert-dentressangle.com

Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) currently operate in the grey areas Following the introduction of Sulphur Emission Control Areas in the North and the Baltic Seas on 1st January 2015, the European Maritime Safety Agency has reported on the results of spot checks on vessels. To check compliance with the new EU regulations sulphur content of fuel in 1,458 vessels operating in European waters was tested between January – April 2015.  Ninety vessels (6%) were found to be non-compliant with the new regulations. Reasons for non-compliance included keeping inaccurate records or having incorrect processes, being unable to produce satisfactory fuel samples, and having fuel in tank with a sulphur content above 0.1%. The EU requires member states to conduct spot checks on a minimum of 10% of ships in its waters in 2015, although several states exceed this and test up to 20%. “Being in control of our supply chain from the oil refinery and onwards to the vessel means that our customers can trust us to supply top quality product every time,” said Barry Newton,  managing director of the Geos Group, a specialist physical supplier of marine gas oil which has terminals at Aberdeen, Thames, Blyth, Heysham, Montrose, Great Yarmouth and Lerwick. As of 1 January 2015, vessels operating in EU Sulphur Emission Control Areas, or SECA (including the North Sea, Baltic Sea, North American coastal areas and the US Caribbean Sea), are required by EU law to burn fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1%, a reduction from 1%.www.geosgroup.com

Firstly let’s get the partisan stuff out the way. Portland strongly believes that Britain is “Better Together” and sincerely hopes that Scots vote to stay part of Great Britain on September 18th. This view is partly forged from a lifetime of summer holidays on the West Coast of Scotland (42 summers and counting) but also based on a career that over the years has resulted in many periods “North of the Border”. The politics of independence is the usual ding-dong affair between Nationalists (pro-independence) and Unionists (anti-independence), but when it comes to the economics of independence, the subject of oil is never far away. Over the last 18 months, the Nationalists have done their upmost to paint a picture of an independent Scotland where oil is only part of a balanced economy made up of manufacturing, technology and financial services. But the facts would say otherwise. In 2012, the Oil & Gas industry (crude oil, natural gas and refined products) accounted for over 50% of Scottish exports and without the sector, Scotland would be running an annual budget deficit in excess of £20bn. Scottish Independence and oil are inextricably linked and it is no coincidence that nationalism only really came into the popular Scottish psyche in the early 1970s, when North Sea oil had just been discovered and the slogan “it’s our oil” began to get traction. Back in October 2013, we looked at the downstream oil industry in Scotland (Grangemouth strike, Compulsory Stocking requirements) and that was complicated enough, but the issues around North Sea Oil make the downstream industry look like child’s play. Firstly there is the thorny issue of who the oil belongs to. Depending on which boundary lines are used (fishing regulation, maritime law, UN demarcation or ancient legal frontiers), most experts agree that around 75% of North Sea oil lies in Scottish waters. But this seemingly simple measurement ignores the fact that British government money was used for the initial geological surveys, British tax incentives were used to incentivise oil company investment and British government grants were used to build the offshore logistics structure that runs from Montrose up to Peterhead. Nor does the 75% figure take into account that much of the oil sits off the Shetland Islands and the Shetlanders have a very different view of independence to their mainland counter-parts. They also have used their oil royalties to create a mini-Sovereign fund that they are hardly likely to cede to a newly formed Scottish government (they haven’t yet handed it over to the British government in 30 years of asking!). And finally, when commentators talk about North Sea oil what they really mean is North Sea Oil & Gas and rightly so, because most energy forecasts predict gas demand comfortably outstripping oil over the next 50 years. But when it comes to gas, the tables are turned as circa 60% of North Sea gas sits in English waters. Nonetheless, oil and gas proceeds still sit at the heart of the Nationalist plan and high levels of ongoing tax revenue will be crucial if they are to create the society (some say utopia) that has been set out in their referendum manifesto. Scotland already spends about £3,000 more on its people than any other part of the UK and post-independence (according to campaign promises), that figure is to increase so that public spending per head will be circa 25% more than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. No wonder the vision presented by the Nationalists is so popular amongst the less well-off! This extra money can only realistically come from the North Sea and here the Nationalists have made some pretty risky assumptions on oil prices. But the truth is that income from oil can never be guaranteed and no prudent government would sensibly rely on roller-coaster oil prices to build a new nation state. In the first 5 years of Scottish Independence, it is totally feasible that the world could be faced with another financial crisis and oil prices could plummet to below $50 per barrel. It has happened in the very recent past – in 1999 oil prices were $15 per barrel, in 2005 they were at $50 and at the end of 2008 oil prices were $35. If these events happened again for anything other than a short period of time, then the economics of Scottish Independence would be utterly blown out of the water. That being said, Portland has long maintained that oil prices will remain high and will even go higher as the world’s population grows. So it would be insincere of us to argue against the pro-independence position on oil prices, however risky they may seem based on historical precedent. What is far more reckless is the Nationalist position on future North Sea production levels. In 2008-09, tax revenue from North Sea Oil was £12bn, but by 2012-13 and with oil prices still high, revenues had dropped to £6bn. All industry predictions show declining production going forward – irrespective of the price of oil – so when the Office for Budget Responsibility (an independent body) predicts tax revenue of £3bn by 2016-17 and the Nationalists predict $7bn, something is amiss. Plus if the oil fields are nearing the end of their working lives, then consideration has to be taken of the massive costs (billions) involved in the environmental remediation and decommissioning of exhausted oil fields – the cost of which one assumes will fall to the newly created Scottish State. That North Sea oil will provide a nascent Scottish state with tremendous economic clout is without doubt. But overwhelming reliance on a declining industry, in a sector as fickle as energy is a dangerous game indeed. And take a perfect storm of low oil prices, reduced production and spiralling decommissioning costs and you can kiss goodbye to increased public spending, let alone the proposed idea of a rapidly endowed Sovereign Wealth fund (a la Norway). Yes, there is enough oil to ensure that an independent Scotland would not be the economic disaster that some have claimed, but equally nor will an independent Scotland be the economic panacea that the Nationalists claim. In fact the pro-independence groups have been disingenuous in presenting the offshore industry as a stable and non-shifting entity – something it is blatantly not. With a fair wind an independent Scotland could sail a clear course to prosperity, but if those winds change and oil prices drop, investment in the North Sea dries up and the moth-balling process begins earlier than expected, then it is neither scare-mongering nor propaganda to suggest that periods of serious economic stagnation will be the result.

Essar Oil UK’s Stanlow refinery, which has reported ‘strong results and healthy financials’ produces approximately 15% of UK transport fuels, including three billion litres of petrol, 3.5 billion litres of diesel and two billion litres of jet fuel per year Essar Oil UK has agreed new long term working capital facilities to ‘plan for the long term growth ’of its Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port. The Inventory Monetisation arrangement with J. Aron & Company covers the supply of crude oil to Stanlow and replaces a similar agreement with Barclays Bank Plc, who are exiting the global commodities business. Under the new five year deal, J. Aron will provide inventory management services in relation to approximately 5.8 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products at Stanlow. Management of customer relationships and of product sales processes remain with Essar Oil UK. In addition, a previous invoice discounting receivables financing arrangement has been replaced with a new three year £300m ($475m equiv.) Receivables Securitisation arranged by Lloyds Bank Plc. Essar Oil UK chief finance officer, Sampath P, commented:  “I’m delighted we have the funding in place to plan for the long term growth of our business. The arrangements give both operational and planning flexibility and will help us continue to deliver an excellent level of service to our customers.” Chief executive Volker Schultz said: “I’d like to thank Barclays and ICICI for their support over the last few years and warmly welcome J. Aron and Lloyds as our new banking partners.  We can now look ahead with renewed confidence.  Stanlow is running very successfully and competitively as a single train highly optimised refinery, while ongoing projects to further improve margins will see us making further significant investment to unlock even greater value.”  www.essar.com

The remaining refinery demolition on the former Coryton site is due to be completed in 2016. A 403-acre plot on this regionally important industrial development site is now up for sale Up to 403 acres of land at Thames Enterprise Park is being offered for sale for industrial development by  Vopak, Greenergy and Shell, the joint venture partners in the Thames Oilport project.

A further 12 sites have joined the JET network including one owned by north of Scotland distributor Simpson Oils. Among the latest wins are sites in Thurso, Gloucestershire and Grimsby with nine new sites in the north east thanks to a deal with KSC Worldwide.  The latter sees a multi-million litre volume deal for its nine Teesside and County Durham sites which are a mixture of smaller community-based and larger high volume traffic sites on main routes. Expanding its north east presence “JET offered us a competitive deal,” said KSC finance director Chirayu Patel. “Combined with the refinery down the coast offering a secure and flexible supply, it gave us confidence that JET was the right choice for us. Our sites have been quickly and expertly rebranded and we’re predicting a very successful future with JET!” “We’re very much looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship with KSC and to further expanding our brand in this key region,” said Carl Smaller, JET’s territory manager Immingham north & east. Simpson Oil goes with JET JET has also secured its most northerly Scottish site, Ormlie filling station in Thurso; a site owned by Simpson Oils, a longstanding wholesale customer of Phillips 66. Hugh Simpson, director of Simpson Oils, commented: “We knew we had to choose a really strong fuel brand to compete with the two other forecourts in Thurso. With its competitive pricing, JET was simply the best solution for our local customer base. As a Phillips 66 wholesale distributor for over six years, choosing JET as our fuel brand also feels like a natural progression. We know the company very well and have an excellent working relationship. Security of supply was also a key factor in our decision-making process.” Also in Scotland the JET brand has recently resigned a contract with Springburn Service Station in Glasgow – a 48 nozzle site and the largest site in JET’s Scottish network. Co-operative Food also chose JET following a £5 million programme of investment to overhaul its Aberfeldy filling station and supermarket. So far this year, four new JET sites have joined JET’s Scottish network, with four others committed to join in the coming months. The network now spans from Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway to Thurso in the Highlands. JET has also agreed a retie deal with the country’s largest independent dealer MRH (GB) for eleven existing JET branded sites and has also secured an additional MRH site in Grimsby. The sites span from York to London and will all be rebranded in JET’s latest image throughout June and early July.  www.phillips66.co.uk/EN/jetbrand

“We can now look ahead with renewed confidence,” said chief executive Volker Schultz Last week the owner and operator of the Stanlow Refinery filed financial results for the year ending March 31st 2015 and announced the agreement of new long term working capital facilities. Essar Oil UK reported its highest ever annual Current Price Gross Refining Margin (CP GRM) at $7.80/bbl, a 91% increase to the $4.08/bbl reported in FY14, primarily due to refinery reconfiguration and improved benchmark margins. Stanlow has outperformed the Northwest European FCC Cracking margin off Dated Brent for the year, which stood at $2.66/bbl.Chairman – confident that the business will continue to improve its performance “This was a significantly better year for us,” said chairman, Naresh Nayyar. Essar has taken several initiatives since acquiring the Stanlow site in 2011, in order to improve and optimise the operational and financial performance of the company. Besides re-optimising the configuration, the company has connected the refinery to the natural gas grid, materially diversified its crude slate, significantly improved the production of high value products and delivered a variety of cost efficiencies. This has enabled Essar to deliver an additional margin of $3/bbl. It’s heartening to note that the impact of several initiatives taken at the site in recent years is now being reflected in the operational and financial performance of the company,” said Naresh. “I am confident the business will continue to improve its performance.  We also take pride in saying that the company delivered 100% product availability to our customers throughout the period, significantly contributing to energy supply security in the region.”Key highlights • Highest ever Profit after Tax (PAT) at $70 million vs a loss of $121 million in FY14 • Highest ever Current Price Gross Refining Margin (CP GRM) at $7.80/bbl vs $4.08/bbl in FY14 • EBITDA at $177 million vs a loss of $113 million in FY14 • Stanlow’s optimised configuration delivers improved refinery economics • Strong financial position with a Net Worth of $640 millionMeeting 15% of the UK’s transport fuel demand The refinery, which meets about 15% of the UK’s transport fuel demand, processed 8.54 MMT of crude, an 18% increase on the previous year’s 7.24 MMT which had included a major site maintenance turnaround. Gross revenues for the year stood at $7,615 million, an 11% drop to $8,569 million reported in FY14, largely due to the lower crude oil price which fell 21% year on year average. EBITDA for the year was at $177 million, against a loss of $113 million reported in FY14. Profit after Tax (PAT) in the period grew to $70 million, against a loss of $121 million in FY14.  www.essar.com During the year, Stanlow began to operate as a reconfigured and optimised single train site to increase the production of high value products. In the new single train operation, higher margin gasoline and middle distillates yield improved by about 5% compared to the representative period of FY14 and lower margin fuel oil and naphtha reduced by about 6%. “We continued to receive strong support from our shareholders, who helped substantially strengthen the balance sheet by equity capitalization,” said chief executive Volker Schultz.  With strengthened operations and a refinanced business, we can now look ahead with renewed confidence, as we pursue projects to further strengthen our operation and improve the profitability of the business.”

“We’re already working towards providing tests on another sample we have received from the ASTM and will be submitting that before July,” said Phil SaundersPicture by www.edwardmoss.co.ukAll rights reservedMorris Lubricants The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has given its seal of approval to the laboratory testing procedures of Morris Lubricants. The Shrewsbury-based company signed up for the ASTM’s engine oil proficiency testing programme, a statistical quality assurance test which enables laboratories around the world to assess their performance in conducting test methods. Along with other leading laboratories around the world, Morris Lubricants  received a sample from ASTM to examine; each laboratory tested the sample and their results were assessed against ASTM’s benchmarks.  Tests undertook included base number, density, colour, viscosity, cold crank simulator, open and closed flash points and pour point. Quality assurance manager Phil Saunders said the hugely positive results represented another significant step towards the business becoming the first ever lubricants manufacturer to secure the UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation for laboratory quality.Thorough and rigorous “Our testing has always been extremely thorough and rigorous,” said Phil. “The results we received from the ASTM confirmed that and ensures we’re at the very highest level in terms of our testing procedures in the lubricants industry. “We submitted tests across a wide spectrum of different areas and we will continue to expand the number of tests we submit to ensure we have assurances across every test method performed. The ASTM results come on the back of Morris Lubricants investing around £200,000 in new equipment to ensure its products remain at the very highest standard. The company purchased a new automated open flash point machine, a top-of-the-range density meter, a new Karl Fischer to measure trace levels of water, a low temperate Brookfield viscometer and a high temperature high shear simulator.  www.morrislubricants.co.uk

Gulf Aviation – now fueling a private charter service from Leeds East Airport Gulf Aviation has been selected to supply fuel to the recently rebranded Leeds East Airport, near Tadcaster, North Yorkshire; the home of private aviation service provider, Makin Air. Nestled between the affluent cities of Leeds and York, and easily accessible from the A1(M) and M62, Leeds East Airport is located on the former RAF Church Fenton base. Yorkshire entrepreneur Chris Makin acquired the site in December 2014, with the aim of providing a new location for airlines and flying clubs requiring a base in the north of England.  Makin has long-term investment plans for Leeds East, with a view to developing the airport into a hub for air travel in the north of England. In May 2015 Makin Air (owned by Chris Makin) launched its private charter service from Leeds East Airport.  The airline offers a luxury, stress-free travel alterative to London or other southern cities. The launch event was held in the airport’s refurbished hangar supported by Bentley, Ginetta cars and Gulf Aviation with the Gulf Aston Martin racing car. To entice customers to trial this service, Makin Air has invested in a new HondaJet and an executive Agusta helicopter to provide a personalised doorstep-to-destination service. For those seeking that extra bit of indulgence, Makin Air also has use of a Learjet which offers executive trips further afield.  Currently perceived to be a service for the wealthy, Makin Air aims to offer a charter service to London City airport with prices competing with first class train travel. “This is an exciting opportunity for Gulf Aviation to be involved with this venture from the offset,” said head of aviation Alex Murphy. “Chris Makin has big plans for his Makin Air service and the airport itself.   With a luxury business offering such as the service from Makin Air, the airline needs to be supported by a fuel supplier able to provide a bespoke, flexible service, which is why they selected Gulf Aviation.” Gulf Aviation supplies the 450-acre two-runway, site with Jet A1 fuel via two on-site refuelling vehicles.  In future, Gulf will also supply Avgas.  aviation.gulfoil.co.uk

Steve Gillingham Steve Gillingham, principal engineer – safety, dangerous goods division has updated Fuel Oil News as to the progress of the government’s supplementary research on the tankers manufactured by GRW Engineering.  “The further work by the Department for Transport (DfT) to establish acceptance criteria for the circumferential welds of GRW tankers built after the middle of 2010, which could allow these tankers to continue in use for up to 12 years after entering into service, has been suspended as neither GRW, nor any other interested party, chose to undertake the necessary related work on manway flanges and bottom nozzles. “This means that it will not be possible to allow the use of these tankers to continue beyond 31st December 2015. In the meantime, as originally planned, GRW tankers built before the middle of 2010, and still in service, are to be withdrawn by 30th June 2015 or when they have been in use for six years, whichever is the sooner. “DfT has notified owners and operators of the situation and GRW is supplying new replacement tankers that have been certified as ADR compliant by a different tank inspection body.” The DfT work to further assess the end dish to extrusion band joints is not affected by the suspension and is expected to be available soon. See also the Tanker Knowledge feature in the February 2015 issue of Fuel Oil News.