Bhutan editor stands by E20 report after Modi govt denial
A Bhutanese newspaper had reported that Bhutan had declined an offer from Indian Oil Marketing Companies to supply E20 petrol.
Last week, Bhutanese newspaper The Bhutanese reported that Bhutan had declined an offer from Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to supply E20 petrol.
The report cited concerns over ethanol’s hygroscopic nature – its tendency to absorb water – which, combined with old and potentially leaky underground storage tanks in Bhutan’s Himalayan terrain, could contaminate the fuel and damage vehicles.
Three days later, India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas disputed the report. In a fact-check posted on its official X account, the ministry said the claims were “incorrect,” adding that no OMC had made any such offer and that no proposal to export E20 to Bhutan existed.
However, Tenzing Lamsang, the editor of The Bhutanese, stood by the paper’s report. He tried to counter the ministry with his tweet, which had a written reply from Bhutan’s Department of Trade, confirming the claim that Indian OMCs had raised E20 during technical meetings, and that the department had asked them to continue supplying normal petrol instead. He said his verbal interviews with officials corroborated this account as well.
The document does not use the words “formal offer” or “proposal,” which is the basis of the ministry’s denial. It does, however, detail Bhutan’s concerns over its storage tank infrastructure, and states that Bhutan has asked India for advance notice if the country eventually shifts to fully ethanol-blended petrol, so fuel dealers have time to upgrade their tanks.
Bhutan’s largest fuel distributor, Tashi BOD, has separately said its stations are not currently equipped to handle ethanol-blended fuel because of the seepage issue.
This comes as India’s own E20 rollout faces domestic scrutiny over reports of reduced mileage and vehicle wear.
Neither Lamsang nor the ministry uploaded the full document. So the question remains unresolved whether an offer was formally made or informally raised during discussions.
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