SIAM Withdraws Letter Flagging Concern Over Contamination Of E20 Fuel

Auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has withdrawn a letter written to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas that had flagged concerns over contamination of E20 fuel that caused problems with vehicles citing the need for further authentication.

In a statement, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said the "communication in question" was part of routine and ongoing technical deliberations that take place between various stakeholders, including industry bodies, oil marketing companies, auto OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and testing agencies.

"Some numbers quoted in the communication need authentication through collection of elaborate data from various regions across the country followed by a comprehensive consultation with our member OEMs," the auto industry body said.

It further said, "The referred numbers reported in the media need authentication as mentioned above and therefore SIAM is withdrawing its earlier communication." According to reports, in the now withdrawn letter, SIAM had noted that investigations revealed that there was corrosion or wear caused by high chloride presence traced to the fuel used in vehicles that suffered issues with E20 fuel, while highlighting the highly detrimental effect of chloride to engine parts.

Besides, SIAM members had also flagged excessive moisture contents in E20 fuel dispensed at retail outlets stating that high moisture above 1 per cent causes separation of fuel and "paralyses the vehicle immediately after fuelling".

It had also stressed on the need for proper maintenance of storage tanks and pipelines at fuel retail outlets.

In its statement, SIAM said, "MoPNG (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas) has also instituted 3 ppm guidelines for chloride/sulphur as a precautionary measure for all ethanol being blended into the petrol supply chain. All of these steps fully meet the needs of the automobile industry.

Further, it said, "We understand from OMCs that checks have been instituted, including water ingress testing about 8-12 times a day at over 87,000 outlets & after each instance of rain near petrol pumps." Reassuring consumers and the general public that "the automobile industry has always been fully supportive of this initiative of the government of India on E20 which is important from an energy security perspective", SIAM said, adding that "There is no cause for concern arising from the matter reported as these issues have been routinely addressed over the past several decades between auto industry and OMCs."