The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has said that E20 petrol supplied by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) across the country, including Karnataka, conforms to prescribed quality standards, rejecting claims that fuel sold at certain retail outlets in the state contains 26-31 per cent ethanol.
The ministry said Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) had raised concerns over the sampling procedures and testing methodology adopted during an October 2026 exercise conducted by the Karnataka government.
The clarification follows a press release issued by Karnataka’s Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology, which claimed that petrol samples collected from certain retail outlets contained ethanol levels ranging from 26 per cent to 31 per cent.
The three OMCs said the reported findings were not supported by testing conducted in accordance with the prescribed statutory and technical procedures. They maintained that E20 petrol supplied by them complies with IS 17021, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification for ethanol-blended motor gasoline.
Concerns over sampling and testing procedures
The OMCs said the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005, issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, along with the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) 2024, prescribes a standard procedure for sampling, retention, testing and communication of results.
Under the prescribed procedure, six one-litre samples must be collected, with two handed over to the dealer, two retained by the oil company or department and two sent to an authorised laboratory. The sample labels must be jointly signed, while test results must be communicated to the dealer and oil company within the stipulated timeframe.
According to the OMCs, samples collected during the September 2026 exercise were routed through the State Level Coordinator to designated OMC laboratories. However, samples collected during the subsequent October exercise were reportedly drawn without the participation of OMC representatives.
The companies said they had not received the corresponding retention samples, complete outlet-wise details or laboratory reports despite seeking the information through the State Level Coordinator.
They also questioned the use of certificates issued by a third-party laboratory instead of testing at a laboratory specified under the Control Order. The certificates, they said, did not contain sufficient technical details to independently verify the reported ethanol content.
OMCs question ethanol testing methodology
A preliminary technical assessment by the OMCs also raised concerns over the testing methodology cited in the certificates.
Under IS 17021:2018 (Amendment No. 3, August 2025), ethanol content in E20 fuel must be determined using prescribed methods, including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) under ASTM D5845, water extraction under Annex C, or Gas Chromatography under ASTM D4815/D6839.
The companies said that when Gas Chromatography is used, the sample must first be diluted in a 1:1 ratio with oxygenate-free petrol, and the result corrected against an E10 certified reference material.
However, the certificates referred to in the Karnataka government’s release only mentioned “Ethanol % by Gas Chromatography” without specifying the applicable standard, dilution procedure or reference material used for correction.
The OMCs said the absence of these details made it difficult to independently validate the reported ethanol levels of 26-31 per cent against the prescribed BIS methodology.
They also questioned the density readings in the certificates, which ranged from 0.742 to 0.749 g/cc for samples claimed to contain 26-31 per cent ethanol. This was lower than the 0.752-0.760 g/cc recorded in E20 samples tested by the companies under their QCC-1 and QCC-2 surveys.
Since ethanol has a higher density than petrol, a higher ethanol proportion would ordinarily be expected to increase the density of the blend, the OMCs said, adding that the discrepancy warranted further examination through standardised testing.
893 samples across 27 states and UTs found compliant
The Ministry said the Centre for High Technology (CHT), under its administrative control, has been continuously monitoring ethanol blending and fuel quality at OMC retail outlets.
As part of the OMC/CHT Quality Coordination Cell (QCC) exercise, 893 E20 samples collected from depots and retail outlets across 27 states and Union Territories were tested in refinery and OMC quality-control laboratories in accordance with IS 17021, Annex C.
Of these, 330 samples were from IOCL, 280 from BPCL and 283 from HPCL. All 893 samples recorded ethanol content within the prescribed range of 19-21 per cent.
In Karnataka, all 56 samples tested from different locations and across the three OMCs also met the prescribed specifications, recording ethanol content between 19 per cent and 20 per cent, with an average of 19.30 per cent.
The ministry said the findings demonstrated that ethanol blending at OMC retail outlets was being monitored and maintained within prescribed limits. It also called for a transparent and jointly verifiable testing exercise to address the discrepancy between the findings.
Ethanol blending follows automated quality-control systems
The OMCs said ethanol blending at refineries and depots is carried out through calibrated and automated systems involving controlled proportioning arrangements.
The process is governed by prescribed specifications and quality-control protocols and does not involve manual or arbitrary addition of ethanol to petrol, they said.
The companies added that established quality-assurance mechanisms were in place across their supply and distribution networks to ensure compliance with BIS standards before fuel reached consumers.
Claims of consumer losses need scientific assessment
The ministry also questioned claims of annual consumer mileage losses of approximately Rs 62,000 crore and vehicle repair costs of around Rs 39,000 crore, taking the estimated total impact to nearly Rs 1.01 lakh crore.
It said more than 30 crore two-wheelers and four crore four-wheelers had been running on E20 fuel for over three years, while more than six crore people visit petrol pumps daily to refuel their vehicles. The ministry said no widespread incidence of vehicle breakdowns attributable to E20 fuel had been reported.
The performance and mileage implications of E20 have been examined by an Inter-Ministerial Committee and through studies involving IOCL, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
According to the ministry’s response, “Response to Concerns on Blending of Ethanol in Petrol and Beyond”, published by the Press Information Bureau on August 12, 2025, vehicles calibrated for E20 may experience a mileage reduction of around 1-2 per cent. Certain other vehicles may record reductions of approximately 3-6 per cent, depending on their category and calibration.
The ministry said applying a blanket assumption of 10 per cent mileage loss across the entire vehicle population to arrive at an estimated consumer loss of Rs 62,000 crore was not scientifically established.
It added that the estimated Rs 39,000 crore in vehicle repair costs needed to be supported by actual vehicle-performance data, material compatibility studies and documented repair expenses.
Programme has generated economic and environmental benefits
India’s ethanol-blending programme began with a pilot initiative in 2001 and subsequently expanded through policy measures, including the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, and the NITI Aayog Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025.
The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme is aimed at reducing dependence on imported crude oil, strengthening domestic agricultural value chains and enhancing energy security.
Since Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2014-15, the programme has resulted in foreign exchange savings of more than Rs 1.97 lakh crore, substitution of approximately 316 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil, reduction of around 952 lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and transfer of more than Rs 1.66 lakh crore to farmers.
During ESY 2025-26, ending October 31, 2026, public sector OMCs procured 1,089 crore litres of ethanol and blended 1,134 crore litres against petrol sales of approximately 5,673 crore litres, in pursuit of the national 20 per cent blending target.
The ministry said blending levels and fuel quality parameters were monitored across the supply chain under a defined national framework.
It also rejected suggestions that OMCs had a commercial incentive to blend ethanol beyond prescribed levels, arguing that additional procurement would increase their costs.
OMCs seek independent verification
The three OMCs have asked the Karnataka government to share complete sampling documentation, outlet-wise laboratory reports and details of the testing methodology used to arrive at the reported findings.
They have also sought access to counterpart samples for independent testing at an authorised laboratory using the prescribed referee method, in the presence of representatives of the state government and the companies.
The OMCs said they were willing to cooperate with the Karnataka government and other competent authorities in conducting joint sampling and testing in accordance with the Control Order and MDG 2024. Any deviation established through the prescribed procedure would be addressed under applicable guidelines.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas reiterated its commitment to maintaining fuel quality, regulatory compliance and consumer protection through established quality-assurance and monitoring mechanisms across the country.
-PIB
