Nepal and India set to discuss aviation fuel supply via pipeline

Kathmandu, Dec 3 Nepal is set to hold discussions with India on supplying aviation fuel through the cross-border petroleum pipeline to Nepal, as officials from the two countries are scheduled to meet next week in New Delhi, a senior Nepali official said on Wednesday.

Nepal began transporting diesel via pipeline for the first time in September 2019 following the completion of the Motihari–Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum pipeline. The country also began importing petrol and kerosene through the pipeline in early 2025.

The fifth meeting of the Nepal–India Joint Working Group on Petroleum and Gas is scheduled for December 8, where Nepal plans to discuss the supply of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), used in aircraft, through the cross-border pipeline. A Cabinet meeting on Monday approved the delegation to be sent to New Delhi for the talks.

“We are going to propose ATF supply to Nepal through the pipeline once the ongoing construction of the petroleum pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Lothar in Chitwan district is completed,” said Shivaram Pokharel, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, who is leading the Nepali delegation.

The project is being undertaken with Indian assistance, while Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) plans to develop an ATF depot at Lothar with its own resources.

Currently, NOC is implementing the pipeline extension project with Indian assistance. Under this phase, which began in early August this year, the Motihari–Amlekhgunj pipeline is being extended to Lothar.

Pokharel said that once the extended pipeline and ATF depot are completed, Nepal aims to transport ATF via pipeline to Lothar. “We will initiate discussion on this matter at the upcoming meeting,” he said. Due to inadequate space at the Amlekhgunj depot in Bara district, the ATF depot has been planned for Lothar, he added.

According to him, the same pipeline can be used to transport diesel, petrol, kerosene, and ATF. To prevent adulteration among different petroleum products, a necessary scientific process has been adopted to ensure that one type of fuel does not contaminate another when supplied sequentially.

During the former Nepali Prime Minister’s visit to India in May–June 2023, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on constructing petroleum supply infrastructure between Siliguri and Jhapa, extending the existing pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Lothar, and constructing two greenfield terminals in Chitwan and Jhapa.

When the cross-border pipeline was completed in 2019, it became the first of its kind in South Asia.

Meanwhile, a private company in Nepal started importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the country just over a week ago.

Yogya Holding, a subsidiary of SG Group, which has been bottling and supplying liquefied petroleum gas, started importing LNG, a first-ever import of such gas from the Indian Oil Corporation. The two sides had signed an agreement for the supply of LNG early this year.

In a recent social media post, Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri termed the first ever supply of LNG to Nepal as a "milestone operation", adding that it reflects India's unwavering commitment to advancing regional energy security.

He said Indian Oil Corporation’s commencement of the first-ever export of LNG to Nepal marked a significant step in driving cleaner energy and deepening regional partnership.

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