E20 petrol
Amidst the ongoing discussions regarding E20 petrol in Delhi, the demand for premium petrol is increasing rapidly. According to sources, a large number of vehicle owners are now preferring to buy high-octane premium fuel instead of normal petrol. Its effect is clearly visible at many petrol pumps in the capital, where a significant increase has been recorded in the sales of premium fuels like IndianOil’s XP95 and XP100 and Bharat Petroleum’s Speed 97.
It is being told that the demand for premium petrol at many petrol pumps in Delhi has almost doubled as compared to before. At the same time, a jump of up to five times has been seen in its sales at some petrol pumps located in posh areas. However, no official comment has been made yet by the government or oil marketing companies on this change.
Sales increased manifold at some petrol pumps
According to sources, the daily sale of XP95 at a petrol pump in Delhi was earlier around 1,000 litres, which has now increased to between 1,500 to 1,700 litres. At the same time, the sales of XP100 have increased from around 100 liters per day to around 500 litres. Especially the owners of expensive and high-performance cars are giving preference to premium petrol.
This trend has come to light at a time when many discussions are going on on social media and other platforms regarding E20 petrol. However, vehicle manufacturing companies and oil marketing companies have consistently maintained that E20-compatible vehicles have been designed keeping this fuel in mind.
Government dismissed the rumors
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has clarified that the claims that E20 will damage the petrol engine or cause a huge drop in mileage are not true. The ministry said that before implementing the E20 program, extensive testing and consultation was conducted with vehicle companies, oil marketing companies and testing agencies.
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has also said earlier that no major negative impact has been found on engine performance or durability in E20 compatible vehicles. The government has also made it clear that at present no decision has been taken to implement ethanol blending greater than E20.
The country is getting many benefits from E20
According to the ministry, at present the production of E20 petrol is somewhat more expensive than normal petrol, because the cost of ethanol is higher. Despite this, the country has benefited greatly from the ethanol blending program. According to the government, this scheme has so far saved more than Rs 1.97 lakh crore of foreign exchange, reduced the import of 316 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil and more than Rs 1.66 lakh crore has been paid to the farmers. The government says that this program is an important step towards strengthening India’s energy security and reducing dependence on imported crude oil.
