Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and BP’s mobility joint venture Jio-BP, on Wednesday, announced the rollout of E20 blended petrol, which is a 20 percent blend of ethanol and 80 percent of fossil-based fuel. The joint venture said fuel will be available at select Jio-bp outlets.

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Jio-BP, in a statement, said, “In line with the roadmap set by the Government, Jio-bp has become one of the first fuel retailers in India to make E20 blended petrol available. Customers with E20 petrol compatible vehicles will be able to opt for this fuel at select Jio-bp outlets, and the offering will soon be expanded across the network.”

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out petrol blended with 20 percent ethanol across 11 states and Union territories in India. Jio-BP’s move comes as part of the government’s programme to increase the use of biofuel, lower emissions and cut down on oil imports. The government has set a target of E20 fuel from 2030 to 2025.

E20 blending in petrol is being introduced in India by the central government to reduce the country’s oil import cost, energy security, better air quality, self-reliance, use of damaged food grains, increase farmers' incomes, employment generation, and greater investment opportunities, the statement added.

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India's market for fuels and mobility is rapidly growing and is expected to be the fastest-growing fuel market in the world over the next 20 years. Jio-bp claims that its Mobility Stations are designed to meet this growing demand and are located to suit customer convenience.

“They bring together a range of services for consumers on the move – including additivised fuels, EV charging, refreshments & food, and plan to offer more low carbon solutions over time,” it added.

Meanwhile, RIL and BP are nearing the start of production from their giant MJ deep-water project in the KG-D6 block, which will significantly boost gas output from the prized east coast asset, said Sashi Mukundan, Regional President and Head of Country, India, BP Group, at India Energy Week in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The MJ field will come on stream this quarter, Mukundan added.

Reliance and BP are spending about $5 billion on further developing KG-D6 through three different projects, aimed at rejuvenating gas production from the offshore asset. While the first two developments — R-cluster and Satellite Cluster -- have started gas production, MJ is now nearing completion.

The two fields are currently producing around 20 million standard cubic meters per day of gas and MJ would help raise the output to 30 mmscmd, meeting up to 15 per cent of India's gas demand.

The two partners plan to use a floating production system at high-sea in the Bay of Bengal to bring to production the deepest gas discovery in the KG-D6 block.

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