News: The very first consignment of Made In India, AVGAS 100 LL- Aviation fuel flagged off for export on 28th January this year.
Details: 80 barrels of aviation gas (AV gas), consisting of 16 kilolitres each, was shipped from India to Papua New Guinea from GTI Terminal of JN Port Trust, Navi Mumbai.
This is the first-ever instance of India exporting this fuel, marking its entry into an estimated USD 2.7-billion global market, the PSU Oil Marketing Company (OMC), IOC chairman SM Vaidya was quoted saying in the company’s official statement.
What is AVGAS 100 LL : Aviation gasoline, is petroleum-based fuel used to power unmanned aerial vehicles and piston-engine powered aircrafts, used by Flying Training Organizations (FTOs) and defense forces for training pilots.
Significance: India has a consumption of around 3000 kilo litre per year and until recently, AVGAS 100 LL fuel was imported by India from European countries.
As part of PM’s Atmanirbhar Bharath initiative, IOL commenced in September 2022, the indigenous production of AVGAS 100 LL at its Vadodara (Gujarat) refinery. This plant has an annual capacity of five thousand tonnes (TT) per annum, which now will be addressing the domestic demands and will also tap into markets in South America, Asia Pacific, West Asia, Africa and Europe where there is significant market for aviation gasoline.