Nepal and India are holding a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Petroleum and Gas Cooperation in New Delhi on Monday.
Joint Secretary Shiva Ram Pokharel of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies will lead the Nepali delegation in the meeting, while a Joint Secretary from the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will lead the Indian delegation.
The JWG was set up in 2017 to strengthen cooperation between the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and to widen collaboration in the petroleum and gas sector.
The meeting comes at a time when Nepal is seeking progress on multiple cross-border energy projects, including the handover of the second phase of the Motihari–Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline and new initiatives to expand bilateral petroleum infrastructure.
Ministry officials say Nepal will push for the formal handover of the second phase of Motihari–Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline, which was completed in October last year but has yet to be transferred to Nepal.
The first phase of the pipeline, handed over in 2018, currently supplies diesel, petrol and kerosene to Amlekhgunj, from where fuel is distributed to major hubs including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar and Bhairahawa. The pipeline now accounts for nearly 70% of Nepal’s nationwide fuel imports.
The meeting is also expected to review the status of several projects, including the proposed Siliguri–Charali pipeline, the Charali storage facility and the planned Amlekhgunj–Chitwan pipeline. The storage facility in Chitwan will be built with Nepali investment and Indian technical cooperation.
Officials say Nepal will also push for the Motihari-Sarlahi gas pipeline. It will also brief India on new domestic storage projects under development, including depots being built on NOC land in Rupandehi.
Nepal is additionally exploring the possibility of receiving aviation turbine fuel (ATF) through the cross-border pipeline, according to Indian media reports.
India is the sole supplier of petroleum products for Nepal. NOC currently imports diesel, petrol, kerosene, ATF and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the India Oil Corporation (IOC).
