Regional Friction Over Ethanol Blending: South Indian States Challenge Oil Companies Over Excessive 31% Fuel Ratios

BENGALURU: A major regulatory dispute has broken out across southern states regarding fuel quality standards, following laboratory findings in Karnataka and Kerala showing commercial petrol samples exceeding official 20 percent blending limits to register ethanol concentrations as high as 31 percent. The discrepancy came to light after thousands of motorists reported recurring fuel-pump breakdowns, engine corrosion, and performance drops.

Prompted by the findings, regional authorities launched unannounced sampling blitzes across multi-brand fuel stations to verify consumer protection compliance. In response, the Ministry of Petroleum and central oil marketing enterprises dismissed the claims, maintaining that all retail automotive fuel conforms strictly to statutory national blending parameters and undergoes multi-tiered quality control checks.

Automobile consumer associations and technical researchers have called for an independent judicial and engineering audit of refinery despatches. Stakeholders argue that supplying excessive ethanol blends without vehicle-specific tuning causes irreversible powertrain damage, fueling contentious policy debates regarding blending targets and commercial transparency between federal oil suppliers and state governments.