05/03/26
Explainer: Military-grade jet fuel
Explainer: Military-grade jet fuel
London, 5 March (Argus) — In addition to disrupting flows of crude and refined
product out of the Mideast Gulf, the war in the Middle East is also likely to
trigger an increase in demand for military specification jet-kerosine, a
specialist fuel that is only produced and traded in small volumes. What is
military-grade jet fuel? There are two main specifications of military jet fuel,
JP-5 and JP-8. The latter is Nato-grade aviation kerosine suitable for ground
refuelling, and is similar to commercial grade A and A-1 jet fuel, but with
certain additives. JP-5 is for refuelling aboard aircraft carriers, because its
higher flashpoint — the temperature at which vapours from the fuel would ignite
in air when exposed to flame — makes it safer. Who supplies it? For defence and
security reasons, very little military-grade jet fuel is traded or exported. The
majority goes to militaries of the countries in which it is produced. Global
monthly seaborne trade of both grades combined has in recent years only twice
topped 100,000t, according to data from trade analytics platforms Kpler and
Vortexa. Only a few refiners export these fuels. In Europe, only Motor Oil
Hellas' 180,000 b/d Corinth refinery in Greece and Moeve's 244,000 b/d Algeciras
refinery in Spain have loaded JP-5 in the past two years. In Asia, South Korea's
GS Caltex and SK Energy have exported JP-5 from South Korea, while Eneos has
loaded some from Japan. International trade in JP-8 appears even rarer. The most
regular trade has involved US refiner Valero, which loaded cargoes from the US
Gulf Coast to Israel almost every other month between May 2023 and September
2025. Moeve has loaded some from Algeciras, as has Korean refiner S-Oil from
Ulsan. How do trade flows work for military-grade jet fuel? Destination ports
for military jet fuel vary greatly, but Israel is by far the largest importer,
mainly from the US Gulf Coast. Just ahead of the start of hostilities over Iran,
an Israeli firm issued a buy tender last week for military jet fuel, market
participants tell Argus . The US procurement of military jet fuel for its forces
worldwide is run by the Defense Logistics Agency's energy division, DLA Energy,
in Virginia. In Europe, the US can aso rely on the Nato Support and Procurement
Agency and the network of pipelines, including the vast Central Europe Pipeline
System (CEPS), it developed in the 1950s to ensure fuel supply to military bases
and airports. DLA Energy runs four fuel purchase programs — two cover
procurement within the US, a third covers its fuel needs in Europe, the Atlantic
and the Mediterranean, and a fourth its requirements in the western Pacific.
Details on specific supply contracts are limited. GS Caltex sells jet to the US
military, company sources say, and Eneos also has military fuel contracts. How
could increased demand for military jet fuel affect trade flows? Greater demand
for military jet fuel could encourage those refiners capable of producing these
grades to increase output at the expense of commercial jet fuel, potentially
squeezing that market — although reduced civilian air traffic in the Middle East
may offset some of those effects. But logistics could be a problem, given the
limited supply options and the threats to shipping in and around the Mideast
Gulf. Greece's Corinth refinery could be a source of military jet fuel for the
US and Israel, as it is only a few days' sailing time across the eastern
Mediterranean and has supplied Israel in the past. But such sailings would be
well within range of Iranian missiles and drones, which have this week hit the
UK's Akrotiri military base in Cyprus. By Amaar Khan and Leon Wheeler Send
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