ENOC has been granted a patent for preserving the quality of jet fuel during transit. The United States Patent No. 7,691,258 is also the first-ever for the Dubai-Government-owned oil and gas company.
As a new process in petroleum processing, ENOC’s approach ensures that the quality of “merox treated” jet fuel is not allowed to deteriorate while it is transferred from one tank to another until it reaches the aircraft’s fuel tanks, the company said in a statement.
Transferring of “meroxed” jet fuel from refinery to terminals through tank transfers has been a cause of quality concerns in the supply chain logistics of petroleum industry. The new process which took more than four years to develop, included installing special clean up filters at the EIL Terminal at Jebel Ali which helped maintain the quality of jet fuel when it was moved from the refinery to Dubai airport.
Tayyeb Al Mulla, chief executive, International Refining and Marketing, ENOC, said: “Our first patent represents a major advance and is a contribution of ENOC to the industry. It also marks the group’s commitment to further developing industry standards through continuous innovation. Our new process addresses a concern that is being faced by the global petroleum industry for several years. I thank everyone who was involved in developing the process; this achievement would not have been possible without their invaluable help, encouragement and support, especially Dr. M. S. Venkateshan, who was the man behind the whole idea. We are confident this is the first of many more patents to come.”
ENOC is also looking to utilise the benefits of this patent to generate additional revenue and profits in the long run. Tayyeb Al Mulla added: “Through these patents we can licence our methods to others in the industry and gain additional revenues which will benefit ENOC over a period of time.”
