Published Nov 07, 2026 | 11:33 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 07, 2026 | 11:36 AM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) refuted Karnataka Government’s claims that they found petrol sold by major OMCs in the State contained ethanol in excess of the Union government-mandated E20 blend.
The laboratory tests conducted by Congress government in the state recorded concentrations as high as 31.2 percent in samples collected from different locations across the State.
Responding to the claims, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), in a joint statement with BPCL and HPCL said, “Recent claims of excessive ethanol blending at certain retail outlets in Karnataka are not supported by testing conducted through prescribed procedures.”
“All 893 samples tested across 27 States and UTs, including 56 from Karnataka, were found to be within the prescribed 19–21% ethanol range.”
The public sector OMCs further sought joint, transparent testing with the State Government to establish the facts.
Recent claims of excessive ethanol blending at certain retail outlets in Karnataka are not supported by testing conducted through prescribed procedures.
All 893 samples tested across 27 States and UTs, including 56 from Karnataka, were found to be within the prescribed 19–21% ethanol range.
IndianOil, along with BPCL and HPCL, has sought joint, transparent testing with the State Government to establish the facts.
IndianOil remains steadfast in its commitment to fuel quality, transparency and customer trust.
We urge customers to rely on verified information from official sources.
#IndianOil #E20
@HardeepSPuri @PetroleumMin @Secretary_MoPNG @neerajmittalias @ChairmanIOCL @sahneyas
— Indian Oil Corp Ltd (@IndianOilcl) November 6, 2026
Refuting the claim that petrol at some Karnataka outlets contains 26-31 percent ethanol, the Bharat Petroleum said, “These findings are not based on the prescribed sampling procedure or BIS-prescribed test methods.”
Clarification on E20 petrol: claims of 26–31% ethanol at some Karnataka outlets are not based on prescribed testing. All 893 samples tested across 27 States & UTs, including 56 from Karnataka, were within the 19–21% range. Rely only on official sources.
BPCL, IOCL and HPCL have sought joint, transparent testing with the State Government. We remain committed to quality you can trust.
Please do not believe unverified claims. Rely only on official sources.
#BPCL #E20
@HardeepSPuri @PetroleumMin @Secretary_MoPNG— Bharat Petroleum (@BPCLimited) November 6, 2026
According to a PTI report, the joint statement by IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL, noted that, “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.”
“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.
“The reported findings rely on certificates issued by a third-party laboratory rather than testing conducted at a laboratory specified under the Control Order. The certificates do not provide the complete technical details necessary to independently verify the reported ethanol content,” the statement said.
The tests were conducted on petrol samples collected from seven districts: Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru, on the directions of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology Minister Rizwan Arshad.
Test results attached to a statement issued by the Department of Legal Metrology on Friday, 6 November showed ethanol content above 20 percent in 11 of the 14 samples tested.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) recorded the highest concentration at 31.2 percent, followed by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) at 30.5 percent. The remaining samples included concentrations of 27 percent in HPCL petrol, 26.5 percent in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) petrol and 26.1 percent in Nayara petrol.
The results also recorded 25.5 percent in a Shell sample, 24.2 percent and 22.6 percent in two BPCL samples, 22.4 percent in an HPCL sample, 20.8 percent in an IOCL sample and 20.6 percent in a Nayara sample.
Three samples recorded ethanol concentrations below 20 percent: 19.9 percent in BPCL petrol, 19.2 percent in Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) petrol and 13.5 percent in Shell petrol.
Karnataka Minister Rizwan Arshad addressing the press on Friday, said the government had initially trusted the Union government’s assurance that petrol contained the mandated E20 blend and would not cause problems for consumers.
“If a government makes a statement, it must stand by that statement. If the prescribed blend is E20, then it should be E20. We believed that there would be no adverse consequences for consumers,” he said.
The Civil Supplies Department collected 63 samples from major oil marketing companies at different locations “in good faith.”
The samples were sent to the oil marketing companies’ own laboratories, along with specific questionnaires seeking details of their ethanol content, but the reports issued by these laboratories did not disclose the ethanol content.
This raised suspicions, Arshad said, particularly against the backdrop of complaints from motorists about falling mileage, frequent vehicle repairs and rising expenses.
He said there was a prescribed procedure for collecting and sharing fuel samples, under which one portion was given to the concerned oil marketing company and another retained by the government. The samples were therefore shared with both parties rather than independently collected and tested by the government.
The Department subsequently sent the samples to laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and certified under ISO standards.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
