Gazpromneft-Aero, the aviation fuel operator of Gazprom Neft, increased jet fuel sales by 26% YoY to 2.7 million tons of aviation fuel in the first nine months of 2021. The volume of retail sales of ‘into-the-wing’ refuelling grew by 27%, to 1.6 million tons.

Recovery in domestic passenger traffic and an increase in the number of international cargo flights helped drive the growth which was supported by a flexible planning system for jet fuel production at Gazprom Neft’s oil refineries to supply Russian airports.

Between January and September 2021, Gazpromneft-Aero signed new long-term agreements for refuelling with Aeroflot, S7, Ural Airlines, Smartavia, Rusline and Nordstar. This enabled it to increase retail sales at international airports and by 86% in Pulkovo, by 62% in Omsk airport, by 48% in Tolmachevo airport and by 20% in Sheremetyevo airport.

Gazpromneft-Aero also strengthened its partnership with cargo airlines Atlas Air, Polar Air Cargo, Volga Dnepr, and I Fly. The volume of cargo refueling abroad increased by 30%, up to 70,000 tons.

Vladimir Yegorov, Gazpromneft-Aero’s CEO says:

‘In 2021, the air travel market is demonstrating a steady recovery. This also applies to the demand for aviation fuel at Russian airports. In Q3 2021, the growth dynamics of wholesale and retail sales increased by 10 percentage points compared to the first half results. Due to the expanding Gazpromneft-Aero’s network with over 320 airports in 71 countries globally, we are able to provide a full range of in-wing refuelling services which includes the use of digital services. We have successfully implemented the Smart Fuel blockchain platform, that reduces payment processing time from a few days to only 10 to 15 seconds. In September, one more Russian airport, Koltsovo, in Yekaterinburg, was connected to the digital system. Currently, Smart Fuel is used by several airlines, and the number of flights refuelled using blockchain has exceeded 1,000.’