Don’t want E20, go for pure petrol, says Gadkari: What drivers in India can actually buy at the pump

Union minister Gadkari said motorists can opt for 100% petrol. In practice, that route is priced and stocked in a way that leaves most with little choice.

Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, defending the government's ethanol-blending programme, said in an interview that motorists who dislike the blended fuel had another route open to them. “People who do not want ethanol-blended fuel can go for 100% petrol, but they will have to pay more,” he said.

The remark lands in the middle of concerns about the nationwide rollout of E20 petrol — a blend of 20% ethanol with petrol — with some motorists complaining of lower mileage and accelerated wear on older engines.

The government has maintained that some vehicles may see mileage drop up to few percentage points on E20 but assert that the blend is a cleaner fuel, offers India some energy security by minimising the amount of crude oil import, and there is no proof of engine damage.

For consumers hunting for near-pure petrol, though, the choice is not straightforward. Here’s what is actually on offer:\

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The closest option to pure petrol at Indian fuel stations is the small family of 100-octane fuels.

Indian Oil Corporation’s XP100, launched in December 2020, is one such example. According to Indian Oil, XP100 is manufactured at the company’s Mathura refinery using an indigenous refining process it calls OCTAMAX.

At the time of the launch, the government noted how 100-octane fuel was part of “a niche market for luxury vehicles that demand high performance”.

XP100 has trace amounts or effectively no ethanol content, estimates suggest.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) sells the other 100-octane brand, Power100. In a response on X to a customer query in August last year, HPCL said ethanol content in its variants was up to 4.5% in Power100.

Separately, Bharat Petroleum sells Speed100.

The basis for low ethanol content in Octane-100 fuels is the target customer: typically high-performance vehicles such as luxury, sports cars or classics rely on full-petrol fuels because they need to maximise energy output and offer stability that old or high-compression engines require. Ethanol, per unit of volume, packs lower energy than pure petrol.

Another aspect, car enthusiasts have said, is that 100-octane petrol moves slowly through the retail chain because it is a niche product. That means the fuel often sits for extended periods in underground storage tanks at petrol stations. If blended with ethanol, the risk of water contamination and fuel degradation may increase because ethanol is hygroscopic and can absorb moisture from the air. Refiners sidestep that potential problem by keeping the blends at low levels or by opting for near-pure petrol.

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Refiners say octane-100 petrol, although developed for high-performance engines that need a more knock-resistant fuel, can be used for standard cars.

Indian Oil said on its website that the use of XP100 for standard cars “will offer smooth engine operation with improved performance in terms of fuel economy, emissions and acceleration” though “the complete benefits” are “enhanced when used in matching engine configuration”. Put plainly, the fuel will run in a regular sedan or hatchback, and may deliver a smoother drive, but a mass-market engine may not fully draw the full advantage of 100-octane.

The instrumental catch that stands in the way of widespread adoption of 100-octane petrol is their price. At the moment, these fuels cost ₹167- ₹170 per litre in Delhi, about 60% more than regular petrol.

Availability is the second barrier. These are mostly available in cities, and that too at select pumps. For consumers outside the metros, 100-octane — or ethanol-free — petrol remains largely inaccessible.

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Some premium petrol on the market — HPCL’s Power99, Bharat Petroleum’s Speed97, Shell’s V-Power — are sometimes assumed to carry less ethanol than regular E20.

That assumption conflates two separate characteristics.

The octane rating measures a fuel’s stability under compression. The higher the number, the more the fuel resists auto-ignition, which the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) defines as the situation “when rising temperature and pressure from the primary combustion causes unburned fuel to ignite”. That secondary, uncontrolled burn is what drivers hear as engine knock, which can over time damage pistons.