Govt to push isobutanol blending with diesel after ethanol trials fail
Diesel in India will soon be blended with isobutanol instead of ethanol after initial trials with ethanol did not deliver the expected results, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. Speaking at the India Sugar and Bio-Energy Conference, the minister said that the government is committed to expanding biofuel use as part of its clean energy and farm income strategy. Gadkari acknowledged that ethanol–diesel blending trials had failed. “We tried ethanol with diesel but the results were not satisfactory. Now isobutanol will be blended with diesel,” he said. Trials with isobutanol are in progress and according to him, blending levels will be increased in the coming months.
EU-US policy divide on Russian oil sales to India to hit October trade
The growing policy divide between the United States and the European Union on Russian oil exports to India is likely to play out in a small reduction in crude flows in October, analysts and trade sources with knowledge of loading plans said. The U.S., EU and G7 allies sanctioned Russian imports after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and prohibited insurers and maritime service providers from facilitating exports to third countries unless they were below a price cap. The purpose of the cap was to limit the price that importers could pay for Russian oil while keeping shipments flowing, thereby reducing Russian oil revenue and preventing a supply crunch that would push up oil prices. The scheme effectively encouraged India and China to buy the oil at discounted prices. U.S. President Donald Trump has, however, changed policy on Russian exports to India. He has demanded India stop buying Russian oil completely and then doubled tariffs to as much as 50% on Indian exports to the United States when New Delhi refused to halt the oil imports.