India Ministry Refutes Reports of Bhutan Rejecting E20 Petrol Offer

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) issued a fact‑check on 5 July 2026, stating that no Indian Oil Marketing Companies have made an offer to export E20 petrol – a blend containing 20 % ethanol – to Bhutan, and that no proposal for such an export exists. Media reports that Bhutan declined the fuel due to storage‑infrastructure concerns and the hygroscopic nature of ethanol were labelled incorrect.

The clarification follows political criticism of the government’s ethanol‑blending programme, which blends ethanol into petrol to cut crude‑oil imports, save foreign‑exchange (over ₹1.90 lakh crore to date), and reduce emissions. The programme, rolled out nationwide since April 2025, is presented as a key component of India’s energy‑transition and biofuel strategy.