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Informist, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026

 

MUMBAI – State-owned oil marketing companies carried out intensive testing of ethanol-blended motor spirit, or E20 fuel, across India and found no cause for any alarm related to fuel contamination. "The findings reaffirm that fuel quality remains consistently well within prescribed limits," Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd., and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. said in a press release late Friday.

 

This week, social media was ridden with concerns about contaminated ethanol-blended petrol, which is now the standard across the country. The three oil companies said the claims of the presence of chloride and moisture in E20 fuel were not validated based on their random testing. "Chloride monitoring is being done at multiple point of supply chain including refineries, distilleries, depots/terminals and retail outlets nationwide, confirming that quality is being consistently maintained throughout the supply chain," the companies said.

 

The companies have strengthened their surveillance by conducting water-ingress and density tests 8-12 times a day at every retail outlet. It has also deployed mobile fuel quality testing laboratories across locations to ensure quality assurance. "Over 100 additional randomly selected petrol samples tested across various refineries confirm that chloride content remains consistently low, with all samples reported at or below the 1 ppm (part per million)," the companies said. The ethanol supplied by distilleries have also recorded chloride levels which are "significantly" lower than the prescribed specification. 

 

The Centre swung into action to clarify reports on fuel contamination following a letter from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas that alleged potential contamination of fuel at some retail outlets. The ministry has now made public the results of its randomised tests in a bid to assuage consumers who have alleged damage to their vehicles because of E20--a claim that the government has consistently denied.  End

 

Reported by Anand JC

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

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