KPI declares first SAF blending in approach to cut carbon emissions

KUWAIT, Dec 15 (KUNA) -- Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) declared its marketing arm, Q8Aviation, has successfully conducted its first blending process of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a bio refinery in the northern French port, Le Havre.
KPI President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shafi Al-Ajmi said in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Friday that the successful process constituted a new step forward in the company's endeavors to secure SAF for the markets.
SAF's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are proportionally 90 percent less than the gases produced by the burning of conventional jet fuel. This type of the environmentally friendly fuel is extracted from renewed substances such as used cooking oil (UCO) and some agricultural waste.
Al-Shafi said the blending process was conducted according to the voluntary sustainability criteria of the EU ISCC standards with full accreditation by the European Commission.
This qualitative accomplishment was preceded by substantial preparations by the Aviation8Q personnel that examined the blending mechanisms at the French refinery and coordinated with a local inspection company to ensure safety.
It will boost the marketing of SAF and supplying aircraft at the French airports.
The Kuwaiti company plans to set up more mixing plants in the main markets to contribute to the multi-state efforts to attain carbon neutrality by 2050, he disclosed.
The produced low emissions fuel will be delivered to the international Charles de Gaulle Airport, the largest one in France, and Paris' Orly Airport, the second largest air facility in the French capital.
KPI, established in 1983, is an international fuel marketing company and a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the umbrella energy body for a chain of oil and petroleum derivatives' companies in Kuwait. The KPI operates a grand network of retail fuel refineries and road services companies, amounting to 4,700, including 2,800 in Italy.
It supplies jet fuel to more than 70 airports worldwide, produces and markets some of the top-grade oils and has stakes in refineries in Italy, Vietnam and Oman.
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine. (end) km.rk