2026-10-21
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), an Indian public sector oil and gas company, signed a licensing agreement with Topsoe for kerosene hydrotreating technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Mumbai Refinery, announced on 14 October 2026.
- BPCL will revamp an existing Kerosene Hydrotreater Unit rated at 4,000 metric tons per day, co-processing 5% renewable feedstock (used cooking oil) with 95% conventional feedstock, according to reports.
- No new dedicated SAF unit is required because production uses the existing refinery infrastructure; a final investment decision (FID) has been taken, the revamp is underway, and commissioning is expected by the end of 2026.
- The SAF will be supplied to airlines refuelling international passenger flights at Indian airports, and India’s SAF blending targets for international flights are 1% by 2027, 2% by 2028 and 5% by 2030.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will use Topsoe’s kerosene hydrotreating technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Mumbai Refinery, according to an announcement made on 14 October 2026. The two companies signed a licensing agreement, and BPCL plans to revamp an existing Kerosene Hydrotreater Unit rated at 4,000 metric tons per day to produce SAF, according to reports.
The project is notable because it uses co-processing within existing assets instead of a new dedicated SAF unit. The feed is reported to comprise 5% renewable feedstock, in the form of used cooking oil (UCO), blended with 95% conventional feedstock. The final investment decision has been taken and the revamp is underway, with commissioning expected by the end of 2026.
The parties to the agreement are BPCL and Topsoe, whose relationship is reported to span about two decades. The project is located at BPCL’s Mumbai Refinery, and the technology is Topsoe’s kerosene hydrotreating process, licensed for co-processing to produce SAF. The project cost has not been disclosed; reports mention only that a final investment decision has been made.
BPCL will revamp its existing Kerosene Hydrotreater Unit, which is rated at 4,000 metric tons per day. Co-processing means that a renewable feedstock such as used cooking oil is fed together with fossil feedstock into an existing refining unit; in this project the renewable share is 5%. The reports present the absence of any need for a dedicated SAF unit as an advantage of this approach.
The SAF produced is to be supplied to airlines refuelling international passenger flights at Indian airports, according to reports. Alok Verma, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Topsoe, said that India is an important and growing market for sustainable aviation fuel and that the project shows the technology offers refiners a practical route into SAF production without major changes to existing infrastructure. Sankar M, Executive Director of BPCL’s Mumbai Refinery, said that as India advances its journey towards Net Zero emissions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 2040, SAF will play a key role in decarbonising aviation, and that the project supports building a domestic SAF ecosystem.
Numbers
- Existing unit: Kerosene Hydrotreater Unit, 4,000 metric tons per day
- Feed composition: 5% renewable feedstock (used cooking oil), 95% conventional feedstock
- Location: BPCL Mumbai Refinery, India
- Relationship: about two decades between Topsoe and BPCL
- Commissioning target: end of 2026
- India’s SAF blending targets for international flights: 1% by 2027, 2% by 2028, 5% by 2030
- BPCL emissions target: Net Zero in Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 2040
- Project cost: not disclosed
The 4,000 metric tons per day figure is the rating of the existing unit to be revamped; the SAF output volume has not been presented in the reports. Because the renewable share is 5%, the volume of used cooking oil processed through co-processing is limited relative to total feed.
Timeline
2026-10-14 — Topsoe announces technology contract for BPCL’s Mumbai Refinery SAF project
As of 2026-10-14 — FID taken and revamp underway
End of 2026 — Commissioning expected
2027 — India’s mandatory CORSIA compliance begins; SAF blending target of 1% for international flights
2028 — SAF blending target of 2%
2030 — SAF blending target of 5%
2040 — BPCL’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 Net Zero target
Note
Co-processing is a method of feeding a renewable feedstock such as used cooking oil together with fossil feedstock into an existing refining unit. Scope 1 refers to direct greenhouse gas emissions from a company’s own operations, and Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions from purchased electricity and heat.