Oil firms float tender for 97 crore litres of ethanol.

Close on the heels of government raising price of ethanol, state-owned oil firms today floated a tender to buy 97 crore litres of ethanol for doping in petrol.

The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) sought bids from ethanol manufacturers by January 12 to procure 97 crore litres of sugarcane extract for mixing in petrol.

Sugar millers have been asked to quote quantities they can offer, according to the tender document.

The tender follows the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs' (CCEA) decision on December 10 on fixing the delivered price of ethanol in the range of Rs 48.50 per litre to Rs. 49.50 per litre, depending upon the distance of sugar mill from the depot/installation of the oil firms.

This rate was higher than Rs. 44 to 48 per litre price quoted in a July tender seeking ethanol supplies for the period from November 2014 to October 2015, industry sources said.


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