Indian Oil Company Limited or IOCL has launched a special winter-grade diesel that is suitable for the Ladakh region. The new type of diesel received the certification a few days ago in order to tackle the issues regarding loss of fluidity in fuel during extreme winter conditions. The winter-grade diesel has been developed by the IOCL’s Panipat-based refinery.
Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, said – “Today is an important day for the people of Ladakh region as they will now get uninterrupted supply of special winter-grade diesel, which will help reduce the hardships faced by the local people for transportation and mobility during the harsh winter months. This will further facilitate the local economy as well as tourism of the region.”
The aforementioned fuel has been developed by the company so that it is in accordance with the BS6 emission norms and also the fuel is able to withstand the extreme temperatures of Ladakh. Nothing has yet been disclosed about the pricing of the fuel.
On trying to fetch some details about the composition of the new grade of fuel, we found out that it has been created with a small mix of biodiesel (which is around 5 per cent) that enables an improved performance even in low temperatures of Ladakh.
In the state, it is a common sight to see freezing of diesel as it freezes at -30 degree hence the company took the initiative to engineer a fuel that remains in its liquid state at such low temperatures. This benefits the vehicle as it does not face a fuel shortage due to frozen diesel.
In an official statement, a company’s personnel said – “Using the normal grade of diesel fuel becomes an arduous task for the people in the winter months where temperatures fall to sub-zero temperatures of nearly -30 degree Celsius.”
He added to his statement by saying – “However, the winter grade diesel produced by Panipat Refinery for the first time has a pour point of -33 degree Celcius and does not lose its fluidity function even in the extreme winter weather of the region unlike the normal grade of diesel which becomes exceedingly difficult to utilise.”
