A report in Bhutanese newspaper The Bhutanese says Bhutan declined an offer by Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) to supply E20 petrol, citing concerns about ethanol’s water-absorbing properties and the risk of contamination due to Bhutan’s old or leaky underground storage tank infrastructure. The paper’s editor, Tenzing Lamsang, says he stands by the account and points to a written response from Bhutan’s Department of Trade. He argues the document shows that Indian OMCs raised the matter of E20 during technical meetings and that Bhutan asked them to continue supplying normal petrol instead. Lamsang also says his interviews with officials corroborate the same version.
India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas disputes the report. In an official fact-check, the ministry says the claims are incorrect, adding that no OMC has made such an offer and that there is no proposal to export E20 petrol to Bhutan. According to the reporting, the Bhutan document does not explicitly use terms like “formal offer” or “proposal,” but it discusses Bhutan’s storage-tank concerns and requests advance notice if Bhutan moves toward fully ethanol-blended fuel.
Separately, Bhutan’s major fuel distributor Tashi BOD says its stations are not equipped to handle ethanol-blended fuel due to seepage-related issues. The disagreement centers on whether discussions amounted to an offer or proposal.
