All fuel stations of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) in Karnataka are now BS VI compliant, ahead of the Petroleum Ministry’s mandatory fuel quality migration deadline of April 1, said D.L. Pramodh, the oil company’s executive director and head for Karnataka.
Karnataka has more than 4,000 fuel stations, of which 1,900 are of IOCL. In fact, IOCL will be investing ₹17,000 crore towards the upgrade of its refineries, pipelines, storage terminals and retail outlets across the country as part of its BS VI preparedness. This includes changing quality standards, implementing new technologies, systems and processes, and installing de-sulphurisation facilities.
“By complying with BS VI, India will leapfrog from BS IV without having gone into BS V. With this, the country is joining the lowest fuel sulphur club, the highest international standard for fuel quality as of now,” he told The Hindu. BS VI will have sulphur content of 10 ppm (parts per million), a reduction from 50 ppm sulphur content under the BS IV specification.
Commenting on the liquefied petroleum gas scenario in Karnataka, he said, “The LPG penetration in the State is absolutely 100% thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. In 2014 it was only 68%, but things have changed in the last five years,” he said.
Karnataka currently has some 1.6 crore LPG connections, and 30% of them came through PMUY. Interestingly, each family gets 3.4 cylinders a year in the State, as against the national average of 2.88.
On the electric vehicle front, the company said it would be installing EV-charging infrastructure at 500 of its retail outlets. Some 50 fuel stations situated in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi, Bengaluru-Chennai highway, and Bengaluru-Mysuru highway will be part of this EV drive. “We have already entered into MoUs... for setting up electric vehicle charging service at Indian Oil ROs,” he said.
