How Phillips 66 Aviation turns nearly a century of expertise into proven, scalable SAF solutions
For nearly 100 years, Phillips 66 Aviation has been an industry leader, today supplying about 10% of U.S. jet fuel.
That experience reflects a deep understanding of what it takes to keep aircraft moving safely and reliably, whether serving fixed-base operators (FBOs), major commercial carriers, logistics companies or government fleets.
Building on this legacy, the team is shaping the sector’s next chapter: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Leading lower-carbon capabilities
Leveraging its existing global commercial operations, connected assets and logistics capabilities, Phillips 66 Aviation is turning decades of operational excellence into real momentum for sustainable flight.
Those capabilities are anchored by the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex in California, one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities:
- ~50,000 barrels per day of renewable fuels production.
- ~800 million gallons per year of renewable feedstock processing.
- ~150 million gallons per year of neat SAF production.
- 600+ family-waged jobs.
Together with the Humber Refinery in the U.K. — the country’s only commercial-scale SAF producer — and our Commercial team trading ~80,000 barrels of renewable feedstock and product daily, Phillips 66 is building a global SAF platform.
What is SAF and why it matters
Sustainable aviation fuel is one of the most impactful levers to help decarbonize aviation because it’s a lower-carbon alternative to conventional jet fuel that can be used in existing aircraft and fueling infrastructure without modifications.
Made from waste-based feedstocks — such as used cooking oil, fats and greases — SAF is refined to meet the same technical and safety specifications as conventional jet fuel. Pure, 100% renewable jet fuel is known as neat SAF. In practice, airlines use blended SAF, a mix of neat SAF and conventional jet fuel, to power their aircraft.
At Phillips 66, SAF is a solution available today with a measurable impact — up to 80% fewer life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional jet fuel on a neat basis. These reductions are measured, certified and converted into environmental attributes that SAF customers can use in their emissions reporting, including Scope 1 and Scope 3.
SAF can also offer environmental benefits beyond lifecycle GHG emissions reductions. A third-party study* found that airports that use commercially available quantities of blended SAF can reduce sulfur oxides by up to 38%, reduce carbon monoxide by up to 11% and reduce particulate matter by up to 62%, contributing to improvements in local air quality.
Delivering both the molecule and the math
What differentiates Phillips 66 Aviation is its ability to produce and deliver physical fuel and carbon accounting that helps customers meet their environmental commitments.
As one of the largest-scale SAF producers, the team operates on both sides of the equation:
- Producing and delivering physical SAF, enabling airlines to directly reduce their Scope 1 emissions.
- Structuring and supplying environmental attributes, enabling airlines, corporate customers, logistics providers and shippers to address their Scope 3 emissions.
This capability offers Phillips 66 Aviation the flexibility to work with airlines or directly with corporate and logistics customers.
In 2025, for example, Phillips 66 and DHL Express announced one of the largest U.S. air cargo SAF agreements, in which Phillips 66 will supply the logistics company with more than 240,000 metric tons of SAF over three years. The SAF in that agreement is expected to reduce life-cycle GHG emissions by approximately 737,000 metric tons compared with conventional jet fuel.
That combination of physical supply and trusted carbon accounting is also reflected in the SAFc Registry, an independent platform that recently surpassed 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent abated, of which Phillips 66 accounts for about one-third.
Cross-industry leadership
At the Smart Freight Week 2026 conference, Ronald Sanchez, vice president of Phillips 66 Aviation, joined leaders from United Airlines, Microsoft and DSV to highlight a cross-industry approach to reducing life-cycle GHG emissions by about 100,000 metric tons compared with conventional jet fuel through Phillips 66 Aviation’s recent agreement to supply United Airlines with 11 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel.
Sanchez emphasized that this is the type of leadership needed to further SAF adoption.
“Phillips 66 has built many of the capabilities needed to overcome SAF’s structural adoption barriers — domestic and global feedstock reach, integrated logistics, leading SAF facilities like Rodeo and credible attribute management.
But operations and capabilities are only part of the story, and aviation decarbonization requires alignment across airlines, shippers, corporates, policymakers and fuel producers.”
Ronald Sanchez
Vice president, aviation, Phillips 66
Resiliency supported by policy
SAF is more than an environmental solution; it is an investment in energy resilience, allowing customers to decarbonize while strengthening the fuel strategies long-term in alignment with evolving policy and customer demand.
However, to make this work, the policy framework must incentivize and sustain participants who are investing in SAF infrastructure and technology.
During the panel, Sanchez reiterated that Phillips 66 is committed to meeting global energy demands with scalable, proven solutions.
“SAF is one of the most impactful lower-carbon solutions available today to help meet global energy demand, but its potential depends on policies that support sustained investment and long-term participation across the value chain,” he said.