Govt defends fuel quality, says only two contamination cases detected nationwide

The Union government on Tuesday dismissed reports of fuel quality issues at retail outlets and said oil marketing companies (OMCs) have introduced additional checks to detect contamination and adulteration.

In a post on social media platform X, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said OMCs regularly monitor fuel quality, water ingress, and contamination. It claimed that only two cases of chloride contamination have been detected across the country so far, and sales from those pumps were suspended immediately.

“In addition to the advanced and elaborate testing protocols already in place, further checks have been instituted, including water ingress testing 8-12 times a day at over 87,000 outlets. Over 2,000 samples have also been tested for chloride/sulphide. Only two cases of chloride contamination have been found in the entire country till now,” the ministry said in a series of infographics.

The ministry asserted that oil companies have been instructed to take proactive steps to detect any possible contamination across the fuel supply chain. It said strict action would be taken if contamination or adulteration is found at any retail outlet.

Reiterating that there is “zero compromise” on quality benchmarks, the ministry said 302 tankers carrying 10,500 kilolitres of ethanol were rejected between July 2024 and June 2026 for failing quality standards. It added that ethanol used for blending must comply with the BIS IS 15464 standard, have a minimum purity of 99.6%, and be accompanied by a certified quality report.

The ministry also clarified that ethanol is stored in dedicated facilities to prevent contamination, its quality is monitored regularly to ensure consistency, and every tanker is sampled from both the top and bottom before being accepted.

In a separate development, the government has so far approved Rs 4,687 crore as interest subsidy for eligible ethanol projects under its various support schemes, Minister of State for Petroleum Suresh Gopi told Parliament on Monday. Under the schemes, the government bears an interest subvention of 6% or 50% of the interest rate charged by lenders, whichever is lower, for five years on loans taken to set up new distilleries or expand existing ethanol production capacity.

The government's response comes amid media reports questioning fuel quality at certain outlets, which the ministry has dismissed as unsubstantiated. The petroleum ministry urged consumers to report any suspected fuel quality issues through established grievance channels, reiterating that the government is committed to maintaining strict quality standards across the supply chain.