Vinod Bhat
New Delhi, August 7: Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have found no evidence of excessive chloride levels or water contamination in E20 petrol following an intensive nationwide testing exercise across the entire fuel supply chain.
The testing was conducted amid recent media reports alleging the presence of moisture and chloride in E20 petrol. According to the OMCs, extensive random testing showed that fuel quality remained within the prescribed limits and that there was no cause for alarm over fuel contamination.
The Government of India has prescribed stringent chloride specifications for ethanol used in petrol blending, with monitoring being carried out at multiple stages, including refineries, distilleries, depots, terminals and retail outlets.
As part of the intensified quality surveillance, OMCs have also increased water-ingress and density testing at retail outlets to between eight and 12 times a day. Mobile fuel-quality testing laboratories have been deployed at various locations, while results are being independently validated through fuel laboratories.
More than 100 additional petrol samples collected randomly from various refineries showed chloride levels at or below one part per million (ppm), according to the companies.
Testing of ethanol supplied by distilleries also found chloride levels below the prescribed limits. A dedicated task force comprising members of OMCs and the Centre for High Technology (CHT) tested ethanol samples from 80 distilleries across the country over the past 10 days, with all samples recording chloride levels below 3 ppm.
At depots and terminals, more than 80 samples of ethanol and E20 petrol were tested, with chloride levels found below 3 ppm.
At retail outlets, more than 1,000 samples have been collected under the intensified monitoring programme. Of the 160 test reports analysed so far, chloride levels were found to be between 0 and 3 ppm, contrary to claims of levels running into several hundred ppm.
The surveillance programme identified four isolated instances of elevated chloride levels. The supplies from these locations were suspended immediately, followed by root-cause analysis and corrective measures before supplies were restored.
Meanwhile, around 90,000 retail outlets have begun mandatory inspection and monitoring of underground storage tanks. The tanks are being checked eight to 12 times daily for water ingress, with the OMCs saying that no water ingress has been detected so far.
The OMCs said fuel-quality surveillance would continue across the supply chain and that corrective action would be taken wherever deviations are detected.
They reassured consumers that E20 petrol supplied through the OMC network conforms to prescribed quality specifications and urged them to continue using the fuel with confidence.
