There is no operational or logistical challenge in switching from E20 petrol to E10 if the government decides to make the change, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Khanna said on Wednesday. However, Khanna clarified that no decision has been taken to change the current fuel-blending regime. “I never said that E20 will be changed to E10,” he said during a media interaction after the company’s annual general meeting.
Khanna said there was a discussion in some circles about providing owners of older vehicles with an option of lower-ethanol blend petrol.
“That doesn't mean E20 will be out and E10 will be in,” he said.
His comments come amid a wider policy debate over whether older vehicles should have access to E10 petrol, which contains 10% ethanol, alongside E20 petrol, which contains 20% ethanol.
“As of now, various aspects are being considered, but nothing has yet got finalised. Once it will be done, we'll be definitely calling you and sharing it with you,” Khanna said.
Earlier this month, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran and Akash Poojari, a consultant in the Department of Economic Affairs, argued in an opinion piece that India should bring back a petrol variant with a lower ethanol blend to protect millions of older vehicles.
E20 petrol was rolled out across the country as the government sought to reduce India's dependence on imported crude oil, support domestic agriculture and cut emissions. Since April 1, E20 has been the only petrol variant available for sale at fuel stations across the country.
The debate over E10 has gained prominence due to concerns raised by some consumers and industry stakeholders about the impact of higher ethanol blends on older vehicles.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has previously said that requiring every petrol station to stock multiple petrol grades, including pure petrol, E10 and E20, would create substantial logistical challenges.
India has more than one lakh petrol pumps, supported by a large network of refineries, terminals, depots and pipelines. Maintaining multiple grades of petrol across this network would increase handling and transportation costs, complicate inventory management and reduce operational efficiency, the ministry has said.
