DILI, 06 july 2022 (TATOLI) – The President of the National Petroleum and Minerals Authority (ANPM), Florentino Soares Ferreira has determinedly insisted that Greater Sunrise should be developed in onshore Timor-Leste.
“I would like to reassure Government’s position that piping the Sunrise gas to Timor-Leste for processing is visible. So, the economics of greenfield development in Timor-Leste is viable,” Ferreira said in a press conference, held at the ANPM office, at the Ministry of Finance, today.
Ferreira made the comments in response to Woodside’s statement released previously that the economics of greenfield development in Timor-Leste will not work and that reusing existing infrastructure in northern Australia is the only viable route to monetize Sunrise.
Ferreira emphasized that Timor-Leste and Santos have agreed to utilize the Darwin LNG for the Carbon Storage Project, saying, therefore, reusing existing infrastructure in northern Australia is not the preferred option for Timor-Leste.
He said Timor-Leste bought out Shell and ConocoPhillips in 2018 with US$650 million to build a greenfield onshore LNG export facility in Timor-Leste.
“Therefore, I would like to reiterate the government’s position that the Sunrise gas must be piped to Timor-Leste. We are in a different situation compared to 20 years ago. Now, Timor-Leste national oil company Timor GAP holds 56.56% after buying out Shell and ConocoPhillips in 2018, Japan’s Osaka Gas holds the balance of 10% and Woodside has a 33.44% stake in Greater Sunrise,” he said.
Timor-Leste’s national oil company TIMOR GAP, E.P. which is the major shareholder of the project has secured some potential buyers in the region and beyond – hence, Timor-Leste sees that Greater Sunrise Development in Timor-Leste is a viable option and that is the sole position of Timor-Leste to proceed with the project.
Ferreira stressed that the authorities are currently working on regulatory frameworks, including the Greater Sunrise Special Regime, and the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) term, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2022: “We have established the definitive maritime borders with Australia, that’s why we need to develop a single PSC.”
Earlier this week, in a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Timorese Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Víctor da Conceição Soares reaffirmed the government’s position to develop the Greater Sunrise onshore Timor-Leste.
He revealed that Timor-Leste has access to international financial agencies that are willing to finance the Sunrise onshore project.
“There are a number of multilateral finance agencies who expressed interest to invest in the development of Sunrise gas projects,” Ferreira reiterated.
It is estimated that the field contains 5.13 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas and 226 million barrels of condensate (oil), which some analysts believe will sell for about US$50 billion. After paying for capital investment, operating costs, and company profit, this might generate US$5-20 billion in tax and royalty revenue for Timor-Leste. If Timor-Leste becomes a part-owner of the project, it will share in the profits, as well as in the responsibility for investment. It is not clear that the benefits to Timor-Leste will be more than the costs, said Timor-Gap.
Ferreira concluded that despite Woodside’s statement, Timor-Leste maintained its position to pipe the Sunrise gas to onshore Timor-Leste.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
