Several factors are being considered for bringing back E10 petrol, and no separate infrastructure may be required for dispensing it, said Sanjay Khanna, chairman and managing director of state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd on Thursday. However, no final decision has been taken yet.
He further said that oil marketing companies (OMCs) are prepared to supply petrol containing ethanol up to 10%, as the existing network can be used to dispense it.
Mint reported on Thursday that the Centre and OMCs were considering introducing E10 petrol through the existing Octane 95 network by reducing the ethanol blend in the premium variant, avoiding the need for additional infrastructure.
“As of now, various aspects are being considered, but nothing has yet been finalized,” he said. On the need for changing and adding infrastructure for E10 dispensation, he said: “No changes (are required). We are already dispensing E20; it's only a matter of switching from E20 to E10 if necessary. On that account, for the company, we don't see any challenge.”
This new plan comes against the backdrop of chief economic adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran pitching for a lower-ethanol option. “Restoring a lower blend at the pumps, say, E10, alongside the option to buy E20, would calm most public concern,” he wrote in a recent column in The Indian Express.
Khanna further said that there would be no reversal to 10% blending under the ambitious ethanol blending roadmap, and that discussions were currently focused on offering E10 petrol alongside E20 fuel.
“One of the options being explored is whether we can have E10 fuel for the older vehicles, which is what is being pursued right now. What are the challenges related to the supply? Can we handle another MS grade simultaneously? Those challenges are there, and they are being debated. But definitely, this was one of the options which was being pursued. In what form it will come, to what extent it will come, those details are being worked out at this juncture at different levels,” he said.
Ethanol blending is being promoted to reduce dependence on crude oil imports. India's annual import bill generally stands at over $120 billion. In India, the ethanol blending programme commenced with a pilot in 2001; E5 was introduced in 2006. Although blending remained at around 1.53% in 2013-14, it has since risen progressively.
Further, speaking on the oil supply scenario amid the ongoing war in West Asia and the US's plans to impose additional tariffs on countries importing Russian energy, the CMD said that although the situation remains volatile due to diversification of sources, currently India's supplies are “safe”. Earlier this month, the US Senate passed a bill to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including India. The bill will be taken up by the House of Representatives in September.
Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, director (finance) of BPCL, said the OMC has made crude arrangements for September and is procuring supplies for October.
Gupta said that the company will receive its first Iraqi oil cargo of this fiscal year in the next few days and is willing to lift more oil from suppliers in the Gulf on a free-on-board basis, subject to the availability of ships.
“Fortunately, we got the vessel. One vessel owner was ready to take the product and move to Fujairah and do the STS (ship-to-ship) transfer,” Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told a news conference after the company's annual general meeting.
Iraq has traditionally been among the top suppliers to India, and supplies from the country have been severely hit due to the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The director (finance) said that the company is willing to lift cargoes from inside the Strait of Hormuz if insurance costs are reasonable and the ship owner is willing to take the risk.
Rituraj Baruah is a special correspondent covering energy, housing, urban affairs, heavy industries and small businesses at Mint. He has reported on diverse sectors over the last eight years including, commodities and stocks market, insolvency and real estate; with previous stints at Cogencis Information Services, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) and Inc42.
