Nepal is a sovereign Himalayan country located between China and India occupying an area of 147,516 Sq. Km. It is a landlocked country inhabited by a population of approximately 30035979 (Central Bureau of Statistics, dated 2020/07/30). Kathmandu is the national capital and largest metropolis. Systematic Petroleum exploration activities in Nepal began in 1979. The Department of Mines and Geology (DMG) has conducted Airborne Magnetic Survey in 1978-79 over the Terai (Indo-Gangetic Plain) and Siwalik (Sub-Himalaya) belt of the country covering an area of about 48,000 Sq. Km. with the help of IDA/World Bank (Figure 4). The survey has shown encouraging results. Government of Nepal has established a separate unit "Petroleum Exploration Promotion Project" (PEPP) in 1982 to promote and monitor the exploration works in the country.

DMG/ PEEP has divided the area into 10 prospecting blocks for petroleum exploration in southern part of the country covering the whole Terai plane and major parts of Sub-Himalaya (Siwalik foot hills). The Government of Nepal invited foreign oil companies by opening for bidding exploration acreage in 1985 for the first time to explore petroleum in Nepal. Petroleum Exploration Promotion Project (PEPP) has conducted a series of geological, geophysical, and geochemical surveys in the southern part of Nepal with bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the last 30 years. Five foreign companies showed their interest and signed agreement with GON in different years (time) but except Shell Nepal BV none of them did extensive exploration work to find out the petroleum reserve in Nepal. All of them left Nepal when GON cancelled their petroleum agreements. Now the GON should understand the importance of the minerals and petroleum resources and give high priority in exploration, evaluation and sustainable development of industrial minerals, high price metals, base metals, precious and semiprecious stones, fuel minerals and petroleum and natural gas and mine/ exploit them at the earliest. GON must invite potential national and international investors/ companies to invest in mineral and mining sector as well as petroleum sector to establish mineral and petroleum industries by giving more incentives to attract them in the initial 3 to 5 years.

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