Nepal PM welcomes 'good news' gas discovery

KATHMANDU, June 20 (AFP): Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli welcomed as "good news" on Friday the discovery of large methane gas reserves in the Himalayan nation in a joint study with China.

"The news that there are 112 billion cubic metres of gas... is good news," Oli said in a Facebook post.

The Department of Mines and Geology said the gas was discovered in the western district of Dailekh.

"This is an initial estimate. Lab tests of the samples will give more information on the characteristics of the reserve," Prakash Luitel, a geologist at the department, told AFP.

The study was conducted with the government-run China Geological Survey.