Next stop: Nepal

A similar view - from a rather different perspective - is expressed by India's former Energy Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

"As Mahatma Gandhi said - nature has given enough to meet man's need but not enough to meet man's greed. So unless the West curbs its greed we will stay in an era of high prices," says Mr Aiyar.

Meanwhile the hunt for new oil goes on.

Mike Watts, the exploration director of Cairn Energy has earned the nickname "sniffer" for his ability to find black gold.

He's now convinced that he will find worthwhile amounts of oil in the unlikely surroundings of Nepal.