IndianOil commissions fuel pipeline to BIA
Bengaluru   15-Oct-2008
IndianOil on Tuesday commissioned its 36-km long Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) pipeline, which runs from its bulk storage terminal at Devanagonthi, to the Bengaluru International Airport near Devanahalli. At BIA, the aviation fuel hub is operated by IndianOil Sky tanking Ltd (IOSL), a joint venture of IndianOil, Indian Oiltanking and Sky-tanking Gmbh, Germany IOSL chairman and IndianOil Director (Marketing) G C Daga inaugurated the pipeline in the presence of R Sareen, IOSL director and Executive Director (Aviation), IndianOil, and other senior officials. The Rs 33-crore underground pipeline has a capacity to carry over 1.56 lakh litres of ATF per hour, which can be further scaled up to over 2.2 lakh litres in the second phase. With this, tankers will stop making over 80 trips to and from BIA. The pipeline covers over 18 major roads, four watercourses and five highways. The-system, according to an IndianOil release, is also protected with Dual Fusion Bonded Epoxy (DFBE) coating to protect it from external corrosion. The flow of the ATF is monitored using the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) with provision for built in fail-safe processes and leak detection mechanism. IOSL currently handles over 160 refuellings each day, meeting ATF requirements at the BIA. Speaking at the commissioning, Daga said the new pipeline would ensure supply of uninterrupted and pollutant-free ATF even during bad weather, transportation snags and other disruptions.