Overview
- The Union petroleum ministry opened early-stage talks on Thursday, August 27, 2026, with state OMCs Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL to assess whether branded 95-octane fuels can be sold with 10% ethanol.
- The ministry has long warned that asking every pump to stock multiple ethanol blends is logistically impractical, and officials say using existing premium‑95 infrastructure could avoid creating a separate nationwide fuel stream.
- Retailers and pump owners say converting the existing Octane‑95 chamber to E10 would be technically simple and would not require new tanks or dispensers, a point industry spokespeople have stressed to officials.
- Demand shifts are driving the review: sales of premium 95 variants reportedly jumped to about 15% of OMC petrol sales from roughly 4% in March as motorists sought alternatives to standard E20 petrol.
- The talks remain exploratory with no decision taken and key questions on price positioning, clear labelling, national availability and technical validation left to resolve before any rollout.