Oil companies reject Karnataka’s claim of 26-31% ethanol in petrol, seek test reports

State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Saturday rejected the Karnataka government’s claim that petrol sold at some retail outlets in the state contained 26-31% ethanol, exceeding the prescribed 20% limit for E20 fuel, and challenged the testing methodology used to arrive at the findings. The companies sought sampling records and laboratory reports from the state government, calling for independent verification.

According to a state government statement, petrol sold in seven Karnataka districts contained ethanol concentrations as high as 31.2%, with eleven of 14 samples exceeding the 20% blend specified under the E20 standard. The samples were collected from fuel stations in Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru, covering IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, Nayara Energy, Shell and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited

In a joint statement, the three OMCs -- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- on Saturday said, “The OMCs would like to clarify that the claims, as reported, are not supported by testing conducted in accordance with the prescribed statutory and technical procedures.”

They said E20 petrol supplied by them across the country, including Karnataka, conforms to IS 17021, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification for ethanol-blended motor gasoline.

According to them, sampling and testing of petrol (also called motor spirit or MS) and diesel (also called high speed diesel or HSD) are regulated under the Essential Commodities Act and specified by the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG).

Outlining the prescribed procedures for sampling and testing fuel quality, they said the samples reportedly drawn by the Karnataka government were collected without the participation of OMC representatives.

“The OMCs have also not received the corresponding retention samples, complete outlet-wise details or laboratory reports, despite seeking these through the State Level Coordinator,” they said in their joint statement.

Further, the reported findings rely on certificates issued by a third-party laboratory rather than testing conducted at a laboratory specified under the control order, the statement said. The certificates do not provide the complete technical details necessary to independently verify the reported ethanol content, it said. “The absence of counterpart samples and the prescribed documentation has also denied the OMCs and concerned dealers an opportunity to seek verification or retesting,” it added.

According to the statement, the testing methodology must conform to IS 17021. In the absence of details of the specified procedure, the reported ethanol figures of 26-31% cannot be independently validated against the methodology prescribed under IS 17021.

The three public sector OMCs said the Centre for High Technology (CHT), an arm of the petroleum ministry, has been continuously monitoring ethanol blending and fuel quality across retail outlets. Citing 893 samples of E20 fuel drawn from IOC (330), BPCL (280) and HPCL (283) depots and retail outlets across 27 states and Union Territories, the statement said all 893 samples were found “within the prescribed ethanol content range of 19-21%”.

“Significantly, all 56 samples tested in Karnataka, comprising samples from different locations and all three OMCs, also conformed to the prescribed specifications, recording ethanol content between 19% and 20%, with an average of 19.30%,” it said.

These results demonstrate that ethanol blending at OMC retail outlets is monitored and controlled within the prescribed specifications, it said. “The findings are inconsistent with the substantially higher ethanol levels reported in the Karnataka press release and reinforce the need for a transparent, technically sound and jointly verifiable testing exercise,” it added.

The three OMCs sought transparency and independent verification of the Karnataka government’s charge and requested the state government to share the complete sampling documentation, outlet-wise laboratory reports and details of the test methodology adopted for the reported findings.

They have also sought access to the counterpart samples for independent testing at an authorised laboratory using the prescribed referee method, in the presence of representatives of the state government and OMCs.