India to raise ethanol content in blended petrol
Date: 16-Aug-02
Country: INDIA
From January, it will be compulsory for petrol stations in nine Indian states to sell petrol with five percent ethanol. This will be extended to the rest of the country in the second phase of the plan.
Naik told a business seminar that ethanol content will be raised in a phased manner. He did not say by when this would be done.
He said the introduction of ethanol-blended petrol in nine states in January will require 320 million litres of ethanol a year, which was about 25 percent of the country's capacity.
The government was also funding research to find out if ethanol could be blended with diesel, which accounts for more than 40 percent of India's demand for oil products.
Energy-deficient India is keen to reduce its dependence on imported crude oil. It imports more than two-thirds of the crude oil needs for its refineries that can process 2.3 million barrels a day.
India's leading industry body, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the government's move to promote ethanol and said the use of the biofuel would help utilise molasses, which is a waste by-product of the sugar industry.
"Its use improves demand for agricultural crops and contributes to rural economic development," the chamber said in a statement.