Indian Oil rolls out Methanol-blended petrol on pilot basis in Assam

With eyes on reducing the country's energy imports and pollution, Indian Oil, the leading oil PSU rolled out M15 petrol (15% blend of Methanol with petrol) on pilot basis in Assam as part of the Methanol Economy envisaged by the NITI Aayog.

Rolling out the pilot on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli at M/S Assam Agencies in Tinsukia in Assam, said that M15 fuel was launched as part of the ministry's efforts on cutting energy imports. "The use of M15 fuel is expected to have a positive impact on import substitution and is expected to save billions of dollars in fuel import bills. This new variety of fuel will strengthen India's energy Aatmanirbharta and reduce pollution," Teli said.

According to a document on "Methanol Economy" prepared by NITI Aayog, Methanol is a low carbon, hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas.

"Although slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace both the fuels in the transport sector (road, rail and marine), energy sector (comprising DG sets, boilers, process heating modules, tractors and commercial vehicles) and retail cooking (replacing LPG partially, kerosene and wood charcoal). Blending of 15% methanol in gasoline can result in at least 15% reduction in the import of gasoline/crude oil," said the document.

The NITI Aayog's 'Methanol Economy' programme is aimed at reducing India's oil import bill, greenhouse gas emissions, and converting coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.

The pilot rollout has been done in Assam's Tinsukia due to the ready availability of Methanol which is being manufactured by the state public sector enterprise - M/s Assam Petrochemical Ltd, Namrup in the vicinity of oil town Digboi. Asia's first oil well was dug in Digboi in 1886.

The concept of the Methanol economy is currently being actively pursued by countries like China, Japan, Italy, Sweden, the US, Australia, Israel, and many other European countries. Methanol has become the choice of fuel in marine sector worldwide, and countries like Sweden are at the forefront of usage, said a statement issued by petroleum ministry.

The Chairman of India Oil, S M Vaidya said the pilot roll-out of M15 is a stepping stone towards achieving fuel independence and reducing import burden.

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