Indian Oil to Upgrade Panipat Refinery for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) will be producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from used cooking oil at its Panipat refinery. For this purpose, IOCL will upgrade its 3,00,000 barrels-per-day diesel desulphuriser unit at the Panipat refinery.

The upgrade, expected to take place in late 2025 or early 2026, targets to produce approximately 30,000 metric tonnes of SAF annually. The government is exploring option of blending aviation fuel with SAF. Some media reports cite the possibility of having 1% SAF blending with conventional aviation turbine fuel for international flights by 2027, which will be increased to 2% blending by 2028. In light of this, IOCL’s decision to produce SAF at Panipat gains national importance.

As per media reports, IOCL is also exploring the possibility of retrofitting or upgradation of some of its kerosene-producing units to produce SAF.

Reuters quoted Mr. Arvind Kumar, Director (Refineries) of IOCL, as saying that the company plans to invite bids for a 70,000 tonne-per-year Green Hydrogen plant and an additional SAF project soon. The company has already awarded a contract to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to construct a 10,000 tonne-per-year Green Hydrogen facility at Panipat.