British oil and gas firm Cairn Energy Plc has entered into an agreement with the government of Nepal to explore five new areas along the Himalayan kingdom’s border with India, it said.

Cairn, which has ridden a wave of investor enthusiasm after a series of successful strikes in northwestern India, said it would now start initial data gathering operations.
The first exploration phase is for four years.
“We believe Nepal has many of the fundamental geological elements required for future exploration success,” chief executive Bill Gammell said.
Only limited seismic surveys have been carried out so far in the area, located within Nepal’s Terai plains, about 300 km from Delhi. No wells have been drilled.
Cairn said it had relinquished over 2,700 km of designated national park and wildlife areas as part of the deal.