Public-sector oil marketers IOCL, BPCL and HPCL on 6 November rejected the Karnataka government's claim that petrol at some outlets contained up to 31.2 percent ethanol. The companies said the tests cited by the state did not follow prescribed procedures.
The state government had said 11 of 14 samples taken from seven districts, including Mangaluru, exceeded the 20 percent E20 limit. The highest ethanol content claimed was 31.2 percent in an IOCL sample and 30.5 percent in HPCL Power petrol.
What the state claimed
Karnataka's claim was based on samples collected from outlets in seven districts. Of the 14 samples tested, 11 were said to have ethanol content above the 20 percent limit set under the E20 blending programme.
The state pointed to two specific figures: 31.2 percent ethanol in a sample from an IOCL outlet and 30.5 percent in HPCL Power petrol. Mangaluru was among the districts where the samples were taken.
What the oil companies said
The three oil companies countered that their own testing showed no such problem. They said 893 samples tested across the country, including 56 from Karnataka, were within 19 to 21 percent ethanol content.
The companies said the state's tests did not follow the prescribed procedure for measuring ethanol in petrol. On that ground, they rejected the claim that outlets were selling petrol with ethanol far above the limit.
Joint re-testing sought
The oil companies have sought joint re-testing of the samples along with the state. They want the re-testing done with retained samples, so that both sides can verify the results together.
The proposal is meant to settle the dispute over the numbers. If the joint re-testing confirms the companies' figures, the state's claim will not stand. If it confirms the state's figures, the companies will have to answer for the excess blending.
Why the numbers matter
The E20 programme sets the ethanol blending limit at 20 percent. Petrol with ethanol content well above that limit raises questions about fuel quality and about whether vehicles and equipment built for E20 can handle it.
The dispute also matters for consumers in Mangaluru and the other districts named by the state. The re-testing will decide whether the fuel sold at those outlets was within the limit or not.
What happens next
The state government and the oil companies will now have to agree on the joint re-testing. The retained samples are the key evidence, and both sides have said they want the matter settled by testing.
Until the re-testing is done, the two versions of the figures stand against each other: the state's claim of up to 31.2 percent, and the companies' counter that samples across the country, including Karnataka, were within 19 to 21 percent.
