Convenience store operators Mapco Express, Inc., will begin offering the E-15 ethanol blend at select locations with a goal of adding 100 locations for flex-fuel vehicles, the company announced today.

Mapco, which is owned by Israeli energy company Delek Group, operates dozens of convenience stores with fueling infrastructure mostly in Tennessee, as well as Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia.

The retailer will add the blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline starting this year. E-15 was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January 2011 for use in 2001 and newer vehicles.

"Based on the performance of this product, our goal will be to add the E-15 fuel option to our mega stores as we continue to increase the number of these locations in the future. Assuming a successful program, our goal is to have 100 stores offering E-15," said Dan Gordon, Mapco's vice president of business development. "We continue to lead by offering alternative fuels like E-85, bio-diesel and soon E-15 to our customers."