OUR CORRESPONDENT
TINSUKIA: To reduce fuel import dependency, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli launched the pilot rollout of Methanol-blended M-15 petrol at Tinsukia on Saturday.
NITI Aayog member Dr VK Saraswat, Indian Oil Chairman SM Vidya, Labour Minister Sanjoy Kishan and other distinguished personalities and officials from the Oil industry were also present.
Dr Saraswat, the architect behind developing alternative fuel, recorded his appreciation to the Government of Assam and Assam Petrochemical Limited (APL), Namrup, for the latter enhancing the production of Methanol to meet the demand of successful experimentation at the request of NITI Aayog. Dr Saraswat affirmed in the meeting that there would be a 15 per cent reduction in cost in fuel. He also said that M-15 blended fuel would make the vehicle trouble-free even after running 50,000 km. He expected that the M-15 petrol that revolutionised fuel efficiency at present would replace petrol in the next couple of years.
In this context, APL Chairman Bikul Deka said that APL would increase the production of Methanol from 100 tonnes to 500 tonnes within June this year. Dr Saraswat further stated that the pilot rollout was in Tinsukia due to the ready availability of Methanol from APL, Namrup. He also said that the new variety of fuels would strengthen India's energy needs and reduce pollution.
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