U.S. refiner Phillips 66 has begun supplying British Airways with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its flights out of California, with 5 million U.S. gallons already delivered in recent months. The fuel, produced at Phillips 66’s renewable fuels facility in Rodeo, California, has been sent monthly to Los Angeles International Airport since December, reports Argus.
The agreement strengthens British Airways’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions from aviation, although the deal’s pricing and future volumes remain undisclosed. Phillips 66 confirmed the ongoing monthly deliveries but did not elaborate further.
This deal follows a similar agreement announced last December, under which Phillips 66 began supplying SAF to United Airlines at airports in California and Illinois. The Rodeo refinery, which was converted primarily to renewable diesel production in early 2024, has since expanded its SAF output.
While the U.S. currently lacks mandates requiring the use of SAF—unlike the UK and European Union—it offers several financial incentives that support production. SAF producers in California can benefit from the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and a new federal clean fuel tax credit launched this year provides higher rewards for fuels that deliver greater emission reductions.
Phillips 66 produces SAF from a variety of domestic and international feedstocks, including vegetable oils, waste animal fats, and used cooking oil. The company is also exploring co-processing renewable feedstocks at its U.S. refineries, in addition to existing operations at its 221,000 b/d Humber refinery in the UK, where it has previously supplied SAF to British Airways.
Despite record SAF production in the U.S. this year, output of other biofuels like biodiesel and renewable diesel has declined. This drop is largely due to uncertainty surrounding future blending mandates and changes to the clean fuel tax credit.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration proposed record biofuel blend mandates but also suggested cutting credits for fuels made from imported feedstocks—common inputs at major coastal refineries. In Congress, both House and Senate Republicans have floated changes to the SAF tax credit, with a draft Senate bill proposing a future reduction in the extra incentive SAF receives compared to road fuels.
“Policy has been moving around, and that’s the real struggle,” said Brian Mandell, executive vice president of marketing and commercial at Phillips 66, speaking at the Reuters Global Energy Transition 2025 conference in New York.
Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier echoed the sentiment at another event this week. “Policy is getting clearer, but there’s still a lot of elements out there that we’re watching very carefully,” he said at the JP Morgan 2025 Energy, Power, Renewables, and Mining Conference.
