Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

A shortage of jet fuel in Nigeria has intensified this week, forcing several of the country’s airlines to delay and cancel flights. According to a report by S&amp;P Global Platts, a scarcity of currency exchange has prevented marketers from shipping jet fuel to airports such as Muhammad Murtala Airport in Lagos, forcing several of the country’s airlines to cancel and delay many more flights than they normally do.

 


The lack of foreign exchange relates to the government's refusal to devalue the naira, despite the currency’s recent downward spiral. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has restricted access to foreign currency and banned a number of imported goods, making it difficult to import crucial refined oil products. The shortages continue even while a number of tankers wait outside Lagos for lack of access to foreign exchange to fuel marketers.

 


Separately, the government has increased the price of jet fuel to 140 nairas ($0.70) per liter from 115 nairas per liter, increasing operating costs among local carriers, according to the Platts report.

 


The country’s minister of state for petroleum, Emmanuel Kachikwu, recently reported that a nearly 40 percent drop in oil production in Nigeria has severely hurt the government's revenue, making it impossible to continue to fund the subsidy on imported jet fuel and gasoline. He added that oil production has declined to 1.4 million barrels a day from some 2.2 million barrels a day at the beginning of the year due to a wave of attacks on production facilities in the Niger Delta.

 


Low use rates of the country’s four state-run refineries have exacerbated the problem, and decreasing oil revenues have left infrastructure in desperate disrepair. Despite its rich oil reserves, Nigeria must import most of its jet fuel.

 


While industry demand typically totals around 25 million liters per month, fuel marketers have barely managed to ship 5 million liters over the past two months.

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