BPCL bullish on ATF, surpasses pre-Covid sales in FY25

Expanding aviation infrastructure and rising passenger traffic boosted jet fuel consumption aiding state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) to not just surpass pre-covid sales in FY25, but also regain its lost market share during the recently-concluded April-June 2025 quarter.

The oil marketing company (OMC) is bullish on the growth in the aviation sector as more aspirational Indians take up air travel, both domestic and international. Besides, government’s efforts to add more airports is also fuelling demand.

At the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), BPCL CMD Sanjay Khanna said: “With India emerging as the third-largest domestic aviation market and aiming to be amongst the top globally, our Aviation SBU (strategic business unit) has been right at the forefront.”

Rising consumption

Rising consumption of jet fuel aided the OMC in on-boarding new clients. For instance, Khanna said that BPCL served leading international and domestic airlines, added 16 new international airline contracts and expanded its network with 10 new aviation fuelling stations, bringing the total to 77 (in FY25).

“In 2024-25, we not only crossed pre-pandemic ATF sales levels but also strengthened our position in a rapidly growing market. We achieved ATF sales of 1,968 TT (thousand tonne), and market share of 24.7 per cent with a growth of 3.6 per cent”, he added.

BPCL also upped its performance in the aviation fuel vertical in Q1FY26.

Earlier this month, BPCL Director (Finance) VRK Gupta said in a results conference call, “In terms of aviation, our market share during this quarter (Q1FY26) is 26.51 per cent. Last quarter (Q4FY25), it was 21.78. But we have come back, and we have taken back our own volumes from other customers and we are back to 26.51 per cent.”

Its jet fuel sales declined to 0.45 million tonne (mt) in Q4FY25, which reflected a fall in market share to 21.78 per cent. However, it upped its performance in Q1FY26 with sales hitting around 0.54 mt (Q1FY25: 0.53 mt) building up its market share.

Growth drivers

BPCL’s optimism on the growth in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in India also is backed by forecasts of stellar performance by not just ATF, but also transport fuels as the country’s industrial and commercial base expands.

For instance, International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected India’s oil demand to increase by 1 million barrels per day (mb/d) over 2024-2030, more than any other country, in the wake of stellar GDP expansion, at an average annual rate of 2.8 per cent.

The agency also noted that transport fuels will lead the gains, particularly jet/kerosene (in relative terms) will rise the fastest, at almost 6 per cent annually.

Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) expects jet fuel consumption to grow at almost 11 per cent annually in FY26 — the highest among all refined petroleum products — reflecting on the rising spending power in the world’s fastest growing emerging economy.

Similarly, OPEC expects India’s transportation fuel requirements to remain healthy in 2026 (CY), supporting jet/kerosene demand to expand by 35,000 b/d on an annual basis.

In Q1FY26, jet fuel demand grew by 3.9 per cent Y-o-Y on an industry basis, as per PPAC.

Published on August 26, 2025