Overview
- State oil firms and the Petroleum Ministry held early-stage discussions on Thursday about whether branded 95‑octane products such as XP95, Speed and Power95 can be reformulated as E10, and no policy change has been approved.
- The ministry has warned that requiring petrol stations to stock multiple nationwide ethanol blends would create major handling, inventory and cost problems and could threaten large ethanol-sector investments.
- Bharat Petroleum’s chief said there is no plan to replace E20 and that offering E10 would be operationally feasible if required, while BPCL later clarified his remarks were misread.
- Fuel retailers and dealers say using existing Octane‑95 storage and dispensing points would let companies supply E10 without new tanks or delivery units, and demand for 95‑octane fuels has risen sharply recently.
- The debate reflects a clash of priorities: motorists and the CEA pressing for a lower‑ethanol option to ease mileage and compatibility worries for older cars, and the government defending E20 as a policy to cut imports and support ethanol industry investment.