Karnataka challenges oil marketing companies over E20 petrol ethanol blending

How much ethanol is actually going into the petrol that consumers buy at fuel stations? This is the question the Karnataka government asked the three major oil marketing companies (OMCs) as they challenge the state’s findings on E20 fuel.

Rejecting the joint statement issued by Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), the Karnataka government on Monday reiterated that it stood by its test results and held the companies responsible for discrepancies in ethanol blending.

In a press conference on Monday, Karnataka Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology minister Rizwan Arshad said the oil companies’ response was long on technical explanations but silent on the actual ethanol content in petrol sold at retail outlets.

The state government also rejected allegations that its sampling and testing procedures violated the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005. It maintained that authorised officers had collected all samples under the prescribed provisions, with labels jointly signed by the officers and dealers or their representatives. Density readings were also recorded at the time of collection.

The minister questioned why the oil companies’ own laboratories failed to mention the ethanol percentage when the initial 63 samples were sent to them. It said the samples were subsequently tested at laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and certified under ISO standards.

Rizwan Arshad argued that the absence of ethanol-content figures in the OMCs’ reports raised questions about their testing process and that findings from NABL-accredited laboratories could not simply be dismissed.

Countering the companies’ claim that their internal quality-monitoring systems confirmed compliance, Karnataka said testing fuel in their own laboratories amounted to self-monitoring. It insisted that compliance must be established through independent third-party testing.

The state also sought to shift the focus of accountability from fuel dealers to oil companies. Citing the OMCs’ own statement that ethanol blending is a controlled and automated process carried out at refineries and depots, the government argued that the responsibility for maintaining the correct blend rested with the companies. Dealers, it said, merely sold the fuel delivered to them through tankers.

The minister further alleged that concerns raised earlier by automobile manufacturers, insurance companies and industry bodies over E20 fuel had been subsequently softened or withdrawn under pressure.

Minister Rizwan Arshad is expected to convene a meeting with representatives of all oil marketing companies to discuss the findings and measures to protect consumers.

The government has also demanded that fuel testing be taken out of the hands of oil companies and entrusted to an independent, transparent mechanism.