British oil and gas company BP aims to start producing renewable fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) after converting its oil refinery near Peth in Australia. The company hopes to start production of SAF in the country by 2025.
Speaking to Reuters on July 14, 2022, vice president of low-carbon solutions at BP Asia Pacific, Lucy Nation, said that the company aims to start SAF production at its Kwinana plant, located in Western Australia.
BP did not disclose what volume it plans to produce, but Nation said it would depend on demand. Nation also said that the converted plant would be capable of switching day-to-day production between sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel.
“We’re lucky at Kwinana in that we’re able to reutilize some of the processing equipment, the utilities and we have tanks ready to go. […] That helps us speed up and be somewhat less capital intensive. But it is still a very expensive investment,” Nation told Reuters.
However, BP is not the only company to recognize the need for more green fuel development in Australia, whose government has not yet mandated any processes related to SAF, unlike the European Union, which recently said it plans to require suppliers to blend a minimum of 2% of SAF into their jet fuel from 2025.
In June 2022, Australia’s flag carrier Qantas and European plane manufacturer Airbus announced its joint investment of around $200 million to accelerate the development of SAF production in the country.
The partnership was signed for a period of five years with an option to extend if required. The investment is expected to help both Qantas and Airbus to kickstart a local biofuels industry in Australia and encourage additional investment from governments and other businesses.