OMCs issue tender for 88 crore liters of ethanol

As the Central Government is bullish on scaling up the ethanol blending to ultimately reach 20% in petrol in the coming year, the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have floated tender for about 88 crore liters of Denatured Anhydrous Ethanol for the fourth quarter of the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2024-25.

According to the tender notification, the eligible bidders are required to specify ethanol quantities in kiloliters (KL) based on feedstock type and quarter for the supply period from August 1, 2025, to October 31, 2025.

The deadline for bid submission is December 13, 2024. The bids will remain valid until July 31, 2025.

The document specifies that ethanol could be produced from various feedstocks, including sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup, B Heavy Molasses, C Heavy Molasses, damaged food grains, or maize.

The notification says that eligible bidders must declare the total quantities they can supply for each feedstock during the specified period, ensuring that their combined offers do not exceed their licensed production capacity for the year. Dedicated Ethanol Plants (DEPs) are restricted to quoting quantities only for feedstocks listed in their Long-Term Offtake Agreement (LTOA).

Bidders can choose to quote quantities for one or more feedstocks. This tender is in line with the long-term ethanol procurement policy, and the allocated quantities under this bid will be purchased at prevailing ethanol rates for ESY 2024-25, as declared by OMCs or the Government of India.

In the previous cycle of ESY 2024-25, OMCs allocated around 837 crore liters of ethanol out of 970 crore liters offered by manufacturers nationwide. The initial tender for that cycle had invited bids for 916 crore liters of ethanol.

Recently, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated that India will achieve the 20% ethanol blending in petrol target in 2025. As of today, the ethanol blending is more than 15% in the country.