Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) has announced a strategic artnership with the Ghana Air Force to put up a facility at the Takoradi base to provide aviation fuel to aircraft operating in the area. Mr. Alex Josiah Adzew, Technical and Special Products MarketingManager said: “We have also entered into strategic partnership withother exploration and production companies in the Jubilee Field for the constant supply of aviation fuel. "Now aircraft do not need to carry a-round-trip aviation fuel from the point of departure, which impact heavily on the weight of the aircraft.” Mr Adzew told the GNA in an interview that GOIL has the capacityto meet their demand at the Takoradi Air Force Base. Mr Adzew stated: “GOIL is currently the first indigenous oil marketing company to enter the aviation business, originally solely handled by multi-national companies with the acquisition of 33 percent shares in the Joint User Hydrant Installation (JUHI) at the Kotoka International Airport for the storage of aviation fuel. "The effort by GOIL is a huge breakthrough for local OMCs with high economic benefit to Ghana as proceeds entirely stays in the country…we are offering customers a third force alternative.” Contributing to the discussion, Mr Yaw Agyemang-Duah, GOIL's Managing Director, explained that due to the highly sensitive and technical nature of the aviation business GOIL had well-trained staff to meet the demand and challenges in the industry. He said in anticipation of the economic transformation and the middle-income status, GOIL had intensified efforts in penetrating into the non-fuel products marketing including premium lubricants, and the Bitumen market. “We are the leader in the local bunker fuel trading industry – providing marine gas oil and marine lubricants to ocean going vessels…Since 2004, we have acquired major stakeholdings in the Ghana Bunkering Services,” he said. “GOIL has extensive experience in the bunkering market and through its leadership has assumed a premier bunkering operation with a global footprint. Now Ghana can proudly say she has Bunkering Experts in GOIL.” Mr Agyemang-Duah said in spite of the fact that marketing of petroleum products in the country has become ultra-competitive, “GOIL remains one of the forerunners in the petroleum industry. ” “The company has maintained its market leadership in gasoline,premix, LPG, bunkering and lubricants since the year 2002 and hasrespectable market shares in all other products marketed by it. Source: GNA