NEW DELHI: India will lay two pipelines for supplying petroleum products to distribution centres in upcountry Nepal in an affordable and environment friendly mode, a move that will raise the entry barrier for China in the Himalayan country’s oil market.
State-run IndianOil and Nepal Oil Corporation on Thursday signed the framework agreement, paving the way for work on the pipelines to start. One pipeline will carry products from Siliguri in West Bengal to Jhapa in Nepal, covering a distance of 50 km. The other pipeline will be laid inside Nepal for pushing products upcountry from Amlekhgunj across Bihar’s Raxaul town to Lothar in Chitwan area, 62 kms away. Building two terminals are also part of the agreement.
India currently meets Nepal’s fuel needs, estimated at about 1.5 million tonnes per annum. IndianOil supplies products to Amlekhganj through a pipeline from its Motihari depot in Bihar. Extension of this pipeline to Lothar will reduce the cost of transporting fuel across the country and the resultant pollution from tankers. The pipeline from Siliguri will open a second supply route and improve availability in eastern Nepal.
The agreement follows a 2023 MoU between India’s oil ministry and Nepal’s ministry of industry, commerce and supplies. Both the pipelines have been under discussion since 2019, when peeved by India’s economic blockade a year earlier, Kathmandu had signed a trade and fuel supply pact with China. But the Himalayan logistics involved in carting fuel from China has made the option economically unviable.
The pipelines and terminals will bind the two countries tighter by making Indian fuel more attractive for Nepal. "Another milestone in #IndiaNepalFriendship! Strengthening petroleum infrastructure, reducing costs, and bolstering supply security for Nepal citizens and the economy under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji and his vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," India’s petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri posted on microblogging site ‘X’.
Petroleum secretary Pankaj Jain, who oversaw the signing of the agreement by the two companies, stressed upon timely execution of the pipelines for strengthening energy co-operation between the two countries.
IndianOil chairman V Satish Kumar said this "collaboration builds on the success of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline and paves the way for seamless energy connectivity, enhancing energy security for both nations".
“We are proud to strengthen the India-Nepal energy partnership through this B2B framework between IndianOil and Nepal Oil Corporation. This collaboration builds upon the success of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline and paves the way for seamless energy connectivity, enhancing energy security for both nations. IndianOil remains committed to timely execution of these projects and fostering a stronger bilateral relationship,” he said.
State-run IndianOil and Nepal Oil Corporation on Thursday signed the framework agreement, paving the way for work on the pipelines to start. One pipeline will carry products from Siliguri in West Bengal to Jhapa in Nepal, covering a distance of 50 km. The other pipeline will be laid inside Nepal for pushing products upcountry from Amlekhgunj across Bihar’s Raxaul town to Lothar in Chitwan area, 62 kms away. Building two terminals are also part of the agreement.
India currently meets Nepal’s fuel needs, estimated at about 1.5 million tonnes per annum. IndianOil supplies products to Amlekhganj through a pipeline from its Motihari depot in Bihar. Extension of this pipeline to Lothar will reduce the cost of transporting fuel across the country and the resultant pollution from tankers. The pipeline from Siliguri will open a second supply route and improve availability in eastern Nepal.
The agreement follows a 2023 MoU between India’s oil ministry and Nepal’s ministry of industry, commerce and supplies. Both the pipelines have been under discussion since 2019, when peeved by India’s economic blockade a year earlier, Kathmandu had signed a trade and fuel supply pact with China. But the Himalayan logistics involved in carting fuel from China has made the option economically unviable.
The pipelines and terminals will bind the two countries tighter by making Indian fuel more attractive for Nepal. "Another milestone in #IndiaNepalFriendship! Strengthening petroleum infrastructure, reducing costs, and bolstering supply security for Nepal citizens and the economy under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji and his vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," India’s petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri posted on microblogging site ‘X’.
Petroleum secretary Pankaj Jain, who oversaw the signing of the agreement by the two companies, stressed upon timely execution of the pipelines for strengthening energy co-operation between the two countries.
IndianOil chairman V Satish Kumar said this "collaboration builds on the success of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline and paves the way for seamless energy connectivity, enhancing energy security for both nations".
“We are proud to strengthen the India-Nepal energy partnership through this B2B framework between IndianOil and Nepal Oil Corporation. This collaboration builds upon the success of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline and paves the way for seamless energy connectivity, enhancing energy security for both nations. IndianOil remains committed to timely execution of these projects and fostering a stronger bilateral relationship,” he said.
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