A preliminary report submitted by the China Geological Survey to the Government of Nepal has confirmed a significant methane gas reserve in the Jaljale area of Dailekh district, Karnali Province.
The first drilling operation, launched in May 2021, reached a depth of 4,013 meters. Laboratory tests on samples collected from the site confirmed the presence of 112.1 billion cubic meters of methane gas.
This finding stems from just one of four exploratory wells. Initial projections suggest the entire Jaljale region could hold as much as 430 billion cubic meters of the gas—potentially enough to meet Nepal’s domestic gas demand for the next 50 years, reported the state-owned RSS news agency.
Dinesh Kumar Napit, Deputy Director General at the Department of Mines and Geology and head of the Petroleum Exploration Project, said the exploration followed a government-to-government (G2G) agreement signed between Nepal and China in 2019. “The government allocated 45 ropanis [approximately 2.28 hectares] of public land in Jaljale for the project,” Napit said. “This remains the deepest and most scientifically advanced exploration effort ever conducted in Nepal.”
Further analysis is ongoing to evaluate the quality of the gas, the feasibility of commercial production, and potential economic returns.
The Chinese survey team is expected to submit its final report by December 2025. The Government of Nepal also plans to initiate commercial production testing within the same period.
Though scientific attempts to confirm the resources date back more than 45 years, government interest in domestic fuel exploration intensified only after the severe fuel crisis triggered by the 2015 Indian economic blockade, following the promulgation of Nepal’s Constitution.
Experts believe additional petroleum and gas deposits may exist in at least half a dozen other locations across the district.
The current exploration is part of a fully grant-funded pilot initiative supported by the Chinese government under its geological survey program. Initially estimated to cost Rs 2.5 billion, the project faced delays and cost overruns, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RSS report added.
Nepal’s Department of Mines and Geology facilitated the necessary groundwork—land acquisition, road and electricity access, and administrative coordination—through its "Petroleum Exploration Promotion Project."
Narendra Thapa, president of the Dailekh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the discovery is expected to generate local employment through involvement in extraction, processing, logistics, and technical operations.
The first drilling operation, launched in May 2021, reached a depth of 4,013 meters. According to a report by the state-owned RSS news agency, laboratory tests on samples collected from the site confirmed the presence of 112.1 billion cubic meters of methane gas.
This news has been updated to correct that laboratory tests on samples collected from the current site confirmed the presence of 112.1 billion cubic meters of methane gas.
(With inputs from RSS)
