China helps Nepal look for oil, vying with India for influence in Himalayan nation
- Beijing funds first oil and gas search in the country since efforts nearly 40 years ago yielded no results
- Observers say if the project is successful, it could help Kathmandu strike better balance in ties with neighbouring giants China and India
A team of about 20 Chinese engineers and 45 Nepali technicians began a six-month drilling campaign in Dailekh, Nepal earlier this month, according to the Nepali-language newspaper Kantipur.
Financed by the Chinese government, which also provided technical help, the campaign is part of an agreement between China and Nepal signed in 2007. Drilling is expected to reach as deep as 4km (2.5 miles) below ground to determine oil and gas reserves.
It will be the first oil and gas exploration in the Himalayan country since 1985 when a similar mission in southern Nepal yielded no results.
Observers see the latest project as an attempt by Nepal to reduce its reliance on India for the fossil fuel.
“Nepal’s dependence on India for oil has long been a strategic vulnerability, often subject to political and logistical challenges,” said Narayani Sritharan, a research fellow at the Global Research Institute at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.
