India seals cooking gas supply deal with Nepal

For this security measure against China’s entry into India’s neighbourhood, IOC also conceded marginally on marketing charges and waived the interest levied on NOC for delay in payment. It has also agreed to compensate NOC if it failed to supply products as per the demand, said sources.

After gifting fuel during the alleged sixmonth economic blockade against Nepal by India that began in September 2015, China was attempting to gain a toehold by offering to become an alternate supplier.

The KPS Oli government even signed a commercial pact with China to supply petroleum products during his visit to Beijing in March 2016. However, that MOU collapsed after Oli resigned as prime minister following a no-confidence motion three months later.

India on Monday also agreed to extend the proposed Raxaul-amlekhganj product pipeline to Chitwan with the promise to start work on the pipeline in 2017-18. The project has been hanging fire since 2006 with Nepal willing to bear the expenses and IOC providing technical help.

New Delhi also announced forming a high-level official committee to look into Nepal’s demand for a LPG pipeline from Motihari to Amlekhganj as well as extending the natural gas pipeline from Gorakhpur into Nepal. Another promise is to explore the possibility of forming an IOC-NOC joint venture for creating marketing infrastructure in Nepal that would include retail infrastructure as well as storage facilities for petrol, diesel, LPG and aviation turbine fuel in remote areas.