Methanol blended petrol for the first time in India. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) transports fuel to Tripura via Bangladesh
by Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is conducting a trial run to transport fuel to Tripura via Bangladesh. This was stated by Indian Oil Corporation Executive Director G Ramesh at a press conference in Guwahati today. G Ramesh said regional commerce is being promoted through import of bulk LPG from Bangladesh. and permission to transport through Bangladesh, Bangladesh has entered into an MoU with the Indian Ministry of Oil and Road Transport, Government of Bangladesh. The Indian Oil Executive Director also informed that LPG bottling plants are located at 25 north-eastern locations like Guwahati, Silchar, Gopanari, Bongaigaon, Sekmai, Agartala and Deepapur, through which the state’s LPG requirement is being met. Indian Oil has 15 aviation fuel stations at Agartala, Aizawl, Along, Barapani, Chabua Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Doom Duma, Guwahati, Imphal, Jorhat, Kumbhigram, Lilabari, Naharlagun, Pasighat, Tezpur and Zero, the director said.During the trial run, IOC will deliver three LPG tankers and seven tankers of petrol and diesel from Guwahati via Bangladesh, Assam Oil Department chief Ramesh said. Each LPG tanker can carry 17 million tonnes of gas, while each oil tanker has a capacity of 12,000 litres, he said. “Ioc has already signed an agreement with Bangladeshi authorities in Dhaka on August 3. Tankers carrying fuel from Guwahati in Assam will go to Dwaki in Meghalaya, where they will enter Bangladesh. The tankers will re-enter India at Kailashahar in Tripura’s Unakoti district to reach IOC’s Dharmanagar depot in north Tripura.
“The process of trial run has been started. If the trial is successful, IOC will use the alternative road to supply fuel to Tripura in case of future unforeseen events. IOC was planning to transport fuel to Tripura via Bangladesh after floods and landslides devastated communication links in the northeastern region. After Assam’s Dima Hasao district and the only rail link connecting Barak Valley, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura with the rest of the country were washed away, IOC started all its supplies by road via Meghalaya, more than doubling the cost. Executive Director G Ramesh also informed that for the first time in India, the Mathanol blended petrol was launched from Digboi on April 28, 22. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has launched petrol ‘M15’ with a mixture of 15 per cent methanol on a pilot basis in Assam’s Tinsukia district. G Ramesh said the methanol mixture will provide relief from rising fuel prices. “The experimental release of M15 is an important step towards becoming self-sufficient in fuel, it will also reduce the burden of imports,” he said. Shri Ramesh said that investing in the Northeast by meeting the capital expenditure targets before the due date – this financial year has a capital expenditure investment of Rs 90.58 crore against the target of Rs 39.03 crore till August 2022. The increase is 23.2%.Ioc CGM K.V. Ramamurthy, CGM LPG Dinesh Prasad Vidyarthi, GM IB, K Mahan, Utpal Chowdhury, Raja Muni Tamrakar were also present at the press conference held at the Head Office in Guwahati today.
