Kathmandu, June 24 -- The commercial production of methane gas in western Nepal is expected to begin next fiscal year, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced, with further study still pending in the region for the gas production.

The announcement made by Nepal's Prime Minister on Tuesday came ahead of a detailed report on the site of the gas production, which is expected to be published by the end of the year.

Last week, a preliminary study in the area estimated 1.12 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Dailekh district of Western Nepal, which is yet to be studied in detail.

The Department of Mines and Geology of Nepal made the announcement last week based on a geological survey conducted by the China Geological Survey and ...