Public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) have dismissed Karnataka’s assertion that petrol at specific outlets contains up to 31% ethanol, claiming the tests were improperly conducted.
Public sector OMCs, on Friday, rejected Karnataka’s claim that petrol sold at some retail outlets in the state contained up to 31 per cent ethanol, saying the findings were not based on testing carried out under the prescribed procedures. The Karnataka government alleged that major oil marketing companies were supplying petrol with ethanol content above the prescribed 20 per cent limit, with tests recording levels as high as 31.2 per cent, and sought action against the companies.
Addressing a press conference, Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology Minister Rizwan Arshad said the allegations were based on tests on petrol samples collected from Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru.
In a joint statement, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) said they had taken note of a release by the state’s Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology claiming that petrol at certain retail outlets contained between 26 per cent and 31 per cent ethanol.
“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,” the statement said.
The companies said E20 petrol supplied by them across the country, including Karnataka, conformed to IS 17021, the Bureau of Indian Standards specification for ethanol-blended motor gasoline.
They said they had concerns about the sampling procedure and methodology used in the October 2026 exercise.
The Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005 (the Control Order), issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, read with the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) 2024, prescribes a defined procedure for sampling, retention, testing and communication of results, they said.
Under that procedure, six one-litre samples must be drawn: two handed over to the dealer against acknowledgement, two retained by the oil company or the department, and two sent to a laboratory specified under Schedule III of the Control Order or notified in the Official Gazette.
The sample labels must be jointly signed, and the results communicated to the dealer and the oil company within the prescribed time, the OMCs said.
They said samples drawn in the September 2026 exercise were routed through the State Level Coordinator to designated OMC laboratories and tested for the quality parameters sought under the MDG 2024. The October exercise, however, reportedly involved samples drawn without the participation of OMC representatives, they said.
The OMCs said they had not received the corresponding retention samples, complete outlet-wise details or laboratory reports, despite seeking them through the State Level Coordinator.
