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The controversy has intensified with both sides standing by their positions -- the newspaper citing Bhutan's official correspondence and India's Petroleum Ministry insisting no formal proposal to export E20 petrol to Bhutan has ever been made
A LocalCircles survey claims 53% of petrol vehicle owners rate the E20 rollout as ineffective or disastrous, citing lower mileage and higher maintenance costs.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 6, 2026 08:00 IST
A newspaper report that triggered a row in India by claiming that the Bhutanese government refused to import E20 fuel from New Delhi has now doubled down on its claims.
Shortly after India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas fact-checked the report published by The Bhutanese, clarifying that New Delhi had made no such offer to export E20 fuel to Bhutan, the newspaper's editor, Tenzing Lamsang, defended the report published last week.
Lamsang took to X and shared a written response from Bhutan's Department of Trade stating that the country is not importing E20 petrol from India.
In its response, the department said that because of the fuel's hygroscopic nature -- its ability to attract and absorb water molecules from the surrounding environment -- the risk of water contamination is high, which could adversely affect fuel quality.
The Bhutanese government further stated that it had requested Indian oil marketing companies during technical meetings to continue supplying conventional petrol, noting that it's existing underground storage tanks are not suitable for handling ethanol-blended fuel.
At a time when India's own E20 ethanol-blending programme is facing public scrutiny, the controversy shows no signs of dying down, with the latest back-and-forth between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and The Bhutanese newspaper.
The ministry on Sunday rejected reports that Bhutan had declined a proposal to import E20 fuel from India, describing those claims as “incorrect.”
It said no such offer had been made by India’s Oil Marketing Companies and added that no proposal to export E20 petrol to Bhutan had been formalised so far.
In a press note, the government said, “Please rely only on official information from the ministry and the OMCs.”
Hours after the Union ministry issued the note, Lamsang posted on X the official exchange between him and the Bhutanese government that he said formed the basis of the report.
He wrote, “Since people have tagged me to this tweet, please find the written response by the Department of Trade of the Bhutanese Govt confirming to me an offer was made by Indian OMCs & the Department requested the OMCs to supply normal petrol.”
The exchange comes at a time when the rollout of E20 petrol in India has drawn strong criticism, especially from owners of petrol vehicles made before 2023. They have reported lower fuel efficiency, higher maintenance problems, and greater wear and tear.
The government has said that E20 leads to a slight drop in mileage, but has maintained that this is offset by improved acceleration and better engine performance.
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Published By:
Sayan Ganguly
Published On:
Jul 6, 2026 08:00 IST
