With China in mind, India has agreed to deepen energy ties with Nepal by renewing its fuel sale deal with the Himalayan country by another five years.

New Delhi has also offered expertise for implementing a proposed pro-poor cooking gas scheme in Nepal.

Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation signed an agreement in New Delhi on Monday in the presence of Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Nepal's Minister for Supplies Deepak Bohara.

Under the deal, state-owned Indian Oil will supply about 1.3 million tonnes of fuel every year for the next five years.

India has been supplying fuel to Nepal since 1974 under contracts that have been renewed from time to time.

Indian Oil Chairman B Ashok, who was present on the occasion, said the renewed deal is for the period from April 2017 to March 2022 covering petrol, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Pradhan said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in 2014 that India would build the Raxaul-Amlekhganj petroleum product pipeline, for which work is expected to start in 2017-18. Nepal wants the pipeline to be extended closer to its capital Kathmandu.

The Indian minister said investments for the pipeline will be made by Nepal while Indian Oil will provide technical assistance.

Pradhan and Bohara also discussed on construction of a similar pipeline for supply of LPG between India and Nepal.

Fuel supplies from India witnessed temporary disruption in 2015 when protestors had blocked the main transit point on the India-Nepal border. Indian Oil then used alternative entry points to supply fuel to Nepal.

The renewal of the fuel deal with Nepal indicates India's attempt to check China's growing influence in the Himalayan nation which had seen a rise in anti-Indian sentiment during the blockade.

Nepal has signed a fuel purchase deal with China but the route between the nations presents logistic challenges.

During the blockade, China had offered to supply LPG to Nepal after gifting fuel to ease the crisis in the country.

According to Nepal's Ambassador to China, Mahesh Maskey, China has expressed its willingness to supply cooking gas bullets directly to Kathmandu by establishing a joint customs point at Panchkhal of Kavrepalanchowk district, situated 75 km east of Kathmandu.

But logistical difficulties and costs involved in bringing fuel from China through the high mountain passes made that option economically unviable.

Pradhan suggested Nepal implement the Indian prime minister's flagship scheme, under which cooking gas is supplied to the poor in Uttar Pradesh free of cost. He said India would assist in implementation of the scheme by sharing its experience and expertise.