Singapore, 24 October (Argus) -- Indian state-controlled refiner IOC plans to achieve at least 1pc sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in jet fuel by July-September 2025, ahead of the government's aim of 2027.

IOC also plans to set up dedicated plants for SAF, IOC's director of research and development Alok Sharma said at the India Refining Summit on 23 October.

India aims to have 1pc SAF in jet fuel for international flights by 2027, which will double to 2pc in 2028. Delhi initially targeted to have 1pc SAF blending in jet fuel by 2025, saying it would need 140mn litres/yr of SAF to achieve this as part of the country's efforts to achieve net zero by 2070.

Refinery expansions will focus on expanding production of jet fuel on expectations of higher demand, Sharma said. He added that demand for other products will plateau, but that of jet fuel will increase.

The IEA sees global oil demand -- excluding biofuels -- falling to 93.1mn b/d in 2050. This compared with 97.4mn b/d in last year's World Energy Outlook, mainly because of lower-than-previously expected oil use in transportation, particularly in shipping.

Ethanol is likely to gain importance given that there are talks of blending 5pc ethanol in diesel, Sharma said, adding that India is likely to achieve its target of blending 20pc ethanol in gasoline by 2025.

India has a set a goal to increase ethanol blending in gasoline to 20pc by 2025, as part of efforts to reduce its dependence on crude imports. Ethanol blending in gasoline was 13.8pc during November 2023-September 2024 and 15.9pc during September 2024, oil ministry data show.

Most of the ethanol comes from first-generation plants, while second-generation plants are facing issues with feed handling which they hope to sort out soon, Sharma said. Second-generation bioethanol refers to ethanol made from non-edible resources such as biomass, while first-generation bioethanol is made from food resources such as sugarcane and corn.