Motihari-Amlekhgunj Oil Pipeline

Pipelines are a very important part of the economy of any country, it is not just important for the economy but also for the people living in that country as it is a basic need. There is a requirement for an energy source for doing any kind of mechanical job one of the ways is electricity, but it is not possible to always have enough electricity, which is where the need for fossil fuels and different gases comes in.

In the following article, the first-ever cross-border pipeline between India and Nepal is being talked about. After multiple delays and after different circumstances the project was finally constructed and today it is successfully transporting different types of fuels from India to Nepal.

The Motihari-Amlekhgunj Oil Pipeline

The Motihari-Amlekhgunj Pipeline is located between the Amlekhgunj area of oil depot at a place called Parsa situated in Nepal and the Motihari is in the eastern part of Champaran in the state of Bihar in India. The major idea of the pipeline is to transport petroleum from the IOC (Indian Oil Corporation) to the NOC (Nepal Oil Corporation).

The idea behind the starting of the pipeline was proposed in the year 1996, and later the agreement was signed between the NOC (Nepal Oil Corporation) and the IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), in the year 2004.

This project was later started after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2014 in Kathmandu. The governments of both countries signed their agreement and planned to execute the project in August 2015. However, the project got delayed due to an earthquake that took place in the year 2015 in Nepal. So, the project’s construction started in April 2018 and got done by 2022 in April.

The Prime Ministers of both countries jointly came for the inauguration of this pipeline on the 10th of September in the year 2019. This project took about 15 months to construct although the actual time which was allocated for the project was 30 months. It is expected that this pipeline can save up to NPR 2 billion in transportation annually.

This pipeline is going to help the people of Nepal with the criticism in the oil storage by doing it with the convenient transportation of the products through the tankers. The government has also made necessary arrangements for the security of the pipeline by the Nepal Army.

The Key Features of the Oil Pipeline

• The 32.25 km of this pipeline lies in the territory of India, that is between (Motihari and Raxaul)
• The rest of the pipeline which is about 37.25 km falls in the territory of Nepal which is between Raxaul and Amlekhgunj. 
• This has also brought up some destruction in the vegetation of the National Park in Parsa as about 6500 larger trees were chopped down and 4000 smaller trees were chopped during the construction of this cross-border pipeline.

Conclusion

As it has been mentioned above in the article, The first cross-border oil pipeline has been started between India and Nepal which helps this landlocked nation to meet up the energy demands of the citizens of their country and also helps in the reduction of the costs of the fuel transportation. This idea was proposed in the year 1996 but due to different circumstances the project got delayed initially, it got started in the year 2018 and was completed by the year 2019. The officials of the Nepal government say that it is a 60-kilometer-long oil pipeline that supplies diesel from the Motihari city of Bihar. In the agreement, the government has made important arrangements so that the Nepali army could make sure that security has been provided to the pipeline on the border sites too.