■ KENYA: Mass delays at Nairobi JKIA after pipeline fault starves airport of Jet A1.

Nearly two thousand passengers, among them 49 athletes from the Kenyan athletics team heading to the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Moscow were, on the night of Monday August 5, stranded at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after the main pipeline supplying jet fuel to the airport malfunctioned resulting in the mass cancellation of flights.

■ NIGERIA: Jet A1 fuel shortage hits the country; Abuja, Lagos worst affected.

For the last two days, Nigeria has been hit by a scarcity of Jet A1 aviation fuel, triggering numerous flight delays in some of the nation's airports, with Abuja and Lagos the worst hit. Some international operators have been forced to add sectors to Accra, Ghana to circumvent the shortage whose cause is not yet known.

■ KENYA: Gulf Energy planning to build new Fuel facility at Nairobi Wilson airport.

Gulf Energy has announced plans to construct a USD250'000 (KAS20million) aircraft fuelling facility on land leased from the Kenyan Airports Authority at Nairobi Wilson Airport.

■ KENYA: Kenya Airways considers setting up own fuel hedging firm.

Kenya Airways (KQ) is considering setting up a fuel procurement company as part of extensive measures aimed at stemming mounting losses incurred over the past two years. The Kenyan national carrier recently announced a USD92million loss for its 2012/13 Financial Year which it blamed on "harsh economic and geopolitical conditions" coupled with a global economic slowdown and volatile global oil prices.  

■ TUNISIA: Air BP, AGIL sign agreement covering 7 major airports.

Aviation fuel supplier, Air BP is to enter the Tunisian aviation fuel sector through the signing of a Commercial and Technical Service Agreement with the Société Nationale de Distribution des Pétroles (AGIL), Tunisia's national oil distribution company. The agreement, effective immediately,  includes service coverage at seven airports in Tunisia including: Tunis Carthage, Djerba, Enfidha, Tozor, Tabarka, Monastir and Sfax.

■ NAMIBIA: Air Namibia settles its bill with Engen; Frankfurt nonstop resumes.

Air Namibia's (SW) has settled its outstanding debt with fuel supplier, South African based Engen. Fuel bills have continuously hurt the Namibian national carrier's coffers with an estimated 40% of revenue going to fuel related expenses alone.

■ BOTSWANA: Puma Energy Co. opens new $3mln fuel storage depot at Maun International Airport.

Puma Energy Co. today commissioned a USD3million (BWP27million) aviation fuelling facility at Maun International Airport, northern Botswana. The airport serves as the country's primary gateway to the Okavango Delta and the Moremi Game Reserve.

■ GHANA: Fuel shortages ground domestic airlines 'til Tuesday; international operators forced to make other plans.

An ongoing jet fuel crisis caused by supply problems in Togo and exacerbated by lack of reserve at the national oil refinery in Tema, has compelled Ghana's domestic operators to suspend flights for the next three days (Sunday included), say reports out of Accra.

■ ANGOLA: TAAG's first Green Initative pays off handsomely with savings of $35mln.

Angolan national carrier, TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (DT), over the period between November 2011 and late 2012, was able to save USD35million (AOA3.5billion) following the successful implementation of its first Green program to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions said the company's CEO, Pimentel Araújo, in his year-end message.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: SAA gets another USD64million bailout as poor fuel sourcing deals return to haunt the carrier.

South African Airways' (SA) perennial problems with sourcing competitively priced Jet A1 fuel came back to haunt it once more as reports emerge of the carrier receiving an emergency USD64million (ZAR550million) "bank facility" from its sole shareholder, the South African government. 

● KENYA: AFRAA launches Fuel Procurement Tender for 1bn litres of JetA1.

The African Airlines Association's (AFRAA) has finalized its second bulk Jet A1 fuel tender awards for 2013 with volumes bought increasing to over 1 billion litres, up 300 million litres on 2012, with the number of participating airlines also increasing from 8 to 13 members. The increase in membership comes as the effects of drastically high global oil prices have continued to take their toll on airline's bottom lines, not just in Africa, but the world over.

■■ SOUTH AFRICA: 7 million litres of fuel contaminated in pipeline to Joburg OR Tambo International.

UPDATE [16 NOVEMBER 2012 19h00L]The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) this morning issued a statement to the effect that fuel in its AVTUR pipeline to Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport had been contaminated with "off-specification Jet A-1" and had therefore been rendered unfit for use by airlines.