Oil companies reject E20 fuel contamination claims, say nationwide tests found no quality issues

State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Friday dismissed concerns over the quality of E20 petrol, saying extensive nationwide testing found no evidence to support claims of excessive moisture or chloride contamination, with fuel quality remaining within prescribed standards across the supply chain.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) said the intensified testing exercise was launched following recent media reports alleging the presence of moisture and chloride in E20 petrol, which contains 20% ethanol.

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The three companies, in a joint statement, said the exercise covered the entire fuel supply chain and reaffirmed that fuel quality 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 companies said.

The OMCs said the government has prescribed stringent chloride specifications for ethanol used in petrol blending and has established high-frequency monitoring at refineries, distilleries, depots, terminals and retail outlets to ensure compliance.

They added that quality surveillance has been further strengthened through water-ingress and density tests conducted 8-12 times a day at every retail outlet, deployment of mobile fuel quality testing laboratories and independent validation of results through accredited fuel laboratories.

According to the companies, more than 100 petrol samples collected from refineries recorded chloride levels at or below 1 part per million (ppm), while ethanol samples from 80 distilleries tested over the past 10 days showed chloride content below 3 ppm.

More than 80 samples collected from depots and terminals across the country also recorded chloride levels below 3 ppm.

At the retail level, over 160 E20 petrol samples tested in recent days showed chloride content in the 0-3 ppm range, "contrary to the claims of several hundred ppm," the companies said.

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The surveillance exercise identified two isolated instances of elevated chloride levels, following which fuel supplies were immediately suspended until root-cause analysis and corrective measures were completed before resuming operations.

The companies also said mandatory inspections of underground storage tanks have begun at around 90,000 retail outlets, with water-ingress checks carried out 8-12 times daily. No instances of water ingress have been detected so far.

Earlier in the day, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also dismissed concerns over E20 fuel quality, saying attempts were being made to "create some controversy" around India's ethanol blending programme.

Speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event, Puri said the ministry had initiated intensified testing nearly two weeks before a July 28 letter raised concerns over fuel quality, with dedicated teams carrying out extensive inspections across fuel retail outlets.

"They formed crack teams... What did they find? They found four cases out of 107,000 petrol pumps... So obviously, someone out there is trying to place some things out of context," Puri said.

The minister said India has around 107,000 fuel retail outlets serving an estimated 6-7 crore customers every day, adding that while contamination can occur in any product, isolated cases should not be interpreted as evidence of a systemic problem.

The OMCs said detailed test results have been uploaded on the website of the Centre for High Technology (CHT) and will be updated as additional 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.