IOCL, BPCL, HPCL dispute Karnataka's claim of excess ethanol in petrol, seek fresh tests

Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) have disputed the Karnataka government's claim that petrol sold at some retail outlets in the state contained 26-31% ethanol, saying tests conducted by the public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) show that supplies conform to the prescribed E20 standard.

The three companies have questioned the sampling and testing methodology adopted by the Karnataka government, arguing that the reported findings cannot be independently verified without access to the samples, laboratory reports and details of the testing procedures.

In a joint statement on Friday, the OMCs said 893 samples tested across 27 states and Union Territories, including 56 from Karnataka, contained ethanol within the prescribed range of 19-21% under the Bureau of Indian Standards specification IS 17021. The Karnataka samples recorded ethanol content of 19-20%, with an average of 19.30%, they said.


The clarification follows a press release by Karnataka's Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology, which claimed that petrol at certain retail outlets contained ethanol levels of 26-31%.

The OMCs said the October sampling exercise was conducted without the participation of their representatives and that they had not received the corresponding retention samples, outlet-wise details or laboratory reports despite seeking them through the State Level Coordinator.

They also questioned the use of third-party laboratory certificates that, according to them, did not specify the complete technical details required to validate the reported ethanol content under the prescribed standards.

Under the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Control Order, 2005, read with the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) 2024, six one-litre samples are required to be drawn during sampling. Two samples are to be handed over to the dealer, two retained by the oil company or department, and two sent to a designated laboratory. The labels are also required to be jointly signed, with test results communicated to the dealer and oil company.

The companies said the certificates cited by Karnataka merely mentioned ethanol testing through Gas Chromatography without specifying the applicable standard method, prescribed dilution procedure or reference material used for correction.

They said IS 17021 provides for testing ethanol content through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, water extraction or Gas Chromatography using specified procedures. In the case of Gas Chromatography, the sample must be diluted in a 1:1 ratio with oxygenate-free petrol and the result corrected against an E10 certified reference material.

The OMCs also flagged discrepancies in the density readings reported in the Karnataka certificates. These indicated densities of 0.742-0.749 grams per cubic centimetre for samples allegedly containing 26-31% ethanol, compared with 0.752-0.760 grams per cubic centimetre recorded in their own E20 quality surveys.

The companies said the discrepancy warranted further examination, as ethanol has a higher density than petrol and a higher ethanol proportion would ordinarily be expected to increase the density of the blend.

The 893 samples tested under the OMC-Centre for High Technology Quality Coordination Cell exercise comprised 330 samples from IOCL, 280 from BPCL and 283 from HPCL. The testing was conducted at refinery and OMC quality-control laboratories using the water extraction method prescribed under Annex C of IS 17021.

The companies said ethanol blending at refineries and depots is carried out through calibrated and automated proportioning systems, rather than through manual or arbitrary addition of ethanol.

They also disputed estimates cited in the Karnataka government's assessment of annual consumer mileage losses of about ₹62,000 crore and vehicle repair costs of ₹39,000 crore, taking the estimated impact to around ₹1.01 lakh crore.

The OMCs said the estimates appeared to rely on a blanket assumption of 10% mileage loss across the vehicle population, which they said was not supported by technical studies. According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, vehicles calibrated for E20 could experience mileage reductions of around 1-2%, while certain other vehicles could see reductions of 3-6%, depending on vehicle category and calibration.

The companies also cited the widespread use of E20 fuel, saying more than 30 crore two-wheelers and four crore four-wheelers had been running on the fuel for over three years. They said there had been no reported widespread incidence of vehicle breakdowns attributable to E20 fuel quality.

The OMCs said the ethanol blending programme had delivered significant economic and environmental benefits since the 2014-15 ethanol supply year, including foreign exchange savings of more than ₹1.97 lakh crore, substitution of around 316 lakh tonnes of crude oil, reduction of 952 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and payments of more than ₹1.66 lakh crore to farmers.

During the ethanol supply year 2025-26, which ended on October 31, the three companies procured 1,089 crore litres of ethanol and blended 1,134 crore litres against petrol sales of around 5,673 crore litres, in pursuit of the national 20% blending target.

The companies said they had no commercial incentive to blend ethanol beyond the prescribed proportion, as additional procurement would increase their costs.

They have asked the Karnataka government to share complete sampling documentation, outlet-wise laboratory reports and details of the testing methodology. They have also sought access to counterpart samples for independent testing at an authorised laboratory in the presence of state government and OMC representatives.

The companies said they were willing to cooperate with the state government in conducting joint sampling and testing in accordance with the prescribed regulatory procedures.