ADNOC first company in the Middle East to receive ISCC certification to produce sustainable aviation fuel

ADNOC announced on Tuesday that its Ruwais Refinery has received International Sustainability Carbon Certification (ISCC) for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), making it the first company in the Middle East to earn the distinction. This important milestone underscores ADNOC’s commitment to collaborating with its customers to accelerate their decarbonisation journeys.

The ISCC EU/CORSIA PLUS "Co Processing" international certification enables ADNOC to supply its SAF to international airlines at Abu Dhabi Airport. It is produced from used cooking oil feedstock that is blended with jet fuel at ADNOC’s Ruwais Refinery. The first batch, enough to fuel a return 787-10 Dreamliner flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris, will be available later this month.

Sultan Al Bigishi, Acting-CEO of ADNOC Refining, said: “The development of sustainable aviation fuel is a key part of our strategy to deliver lower carbon fuels to our customers. We are committed to supporting the aviation industry’s effort to ramp-up the use of sustainable aviation fuel as one of the key pillars to decarbonize air travel.”

ADNOC Global Trading is responsible for sourcing suitable bio feedstocks from the market into refinery operations. As our face to the market, trading can ramp up these activities to supply global and domestic customers with lower-carbon and more sustainable alternative fuels, products and feedstocks.

Ahmad Bin Thalith, CEO of ADNOC Global Trading, said “This certification is an important step forward on our sustainabiility journey and will open up a whole host of new opportunities both in the UAE and beyond. Trading biofuels enables ADNOC to offer our global and domestic customers more sustainable alternatives. As first adopters in the region, we are well-placed to meet the drive in market demand for these sought-after, internationally certified products.”

SAF is produced from lower-carbon feedstocks, such as cooking oils, and is very similar in its chemical composition to conventional jet fuel, thus serving as a ‘drop-in’ fuel. It represents one of the most effective solutions to decarbonizing aviation, and ADNOC is working to include SAF in its portfolio in response to customer demand, contributing to aviation sustainability.

ADNOC continues to take transformative steps to make today’s energy cleaner while investing in the clean energies of tomorrow to strengthen its position as a reliable and responsible global energy provider. It supports the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, and has brought forward its net zero ambition by five years to 2045.