Nationwide tests find E20 petrol meets quality norms, say oil companies rejecting contamination claims

COIMBATORE: The State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) said on Friday that additional nationwide testing of E20 petrol found no evidence to support claims of high moisture or chloride contamination, with fuel quality remaining within prescribed limits across the supply chain.

The intensified testing followed recent media reports alleging the presence of moisture and chloride in E20 (20% ethanol blended petrol).

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) in a joint statement said, “The exercise covered the entire supply chain and the fuel quality has remained consistently well within prescribed limits. Contrary to certain assertions being made, there is no evidence of any alarm on account of fuel contamination validated by extensive and scientifically designed tests.”

The three OMCs said that the government has prescribed stringent chloride specifications for ethanol used in petrol blending and has put in place high-frequency monitoring at refineries, distilleries, depots, terminals and retail outlets to ensure compliance. They have also strengthened quality surveillance by conducting water-ingress and density tests 8-12 times a day at every retail outlet, said the companies, while deploying mobile fuel quality testing laboratories and independently validating results through fuel laboratories.

“More than 100 additional petrol samples collected from refineries showed chloride levels at or below 1 part per million (ppm), while ethanol samples from 80 distilleries tested over the past 10 days recorded chloride content below 3 ppm,” OMCs said. “More than 80 samples collected from depots and terminals across the country also showed chloride content below 3 ppm. At retail outlets, more than 160 E20 samples tested over the past few days recorded chloride levels in the 0-3 ppm range, contrary to the claims of several hundred ppm.”

The surveillance identified two isolated instances of elevated chloride levels, where supplies were immediately suspended pending root-cause analysis and corrective action before restoration. The companies said that around 90,000 retail outlets had begun mandatory inspections of underground storage tanks, with checks conducted 8-12 times daily. No water ingress had been detected so far.

Speaking at a CII event earlier on Friday, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri dismissed concerns over E20 fuel quality, saying, “Attempts are being made to create some controversy around the country’s ethanol blending programme. The ministry intensified testing around 2 weeks before a letter dated July 28 raised concerns over fuel quality.”

He pointed to the dedicated teams that conducted extensive checks across fuel retail outlets. “What did they find? They found 4 cases out of over 1 lakh petrol pumps. So obviously, someone out there is trying to place some things out of context,” Puri added. “These fuel outlets are serving an estimated 6-7 crore customers a day. Contamination, if it occurs, can affect any product and isolated cases should not be viewed as evidence of a systemic problem.”

OMCs said that tabulated results of the tests were available on the website of the Centre for High Technology (CHT) and would be updated as more results become available. “Consumers should continue to use E20 petrol with confidence, as the fuel supplied through the OMC network conforms to the prescribed quality specifications and is backed by robust quality assurance and monitoring systems designed to safeguard consumer interests at every stage of the supply chain,” the companies said.