DILI, 18 january 2023 (TATOLI) – The Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Victor da Conceição Soares acknowledged that the negotiations of the Greater Sunrise Development have been halted due to disagreement between joint venture partners (Woodside, Osaka Gas, and Timor Gap).
“The negotiations on the development of greater sunrise in Timor-Leste’s onshore have been halted since november 2022 due to disagreement between the joint venture partners. Therefore, the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals (MPM) has contacted all relevant parties to restart the negotiations on the Sunrise development,” Minister Soares told TATOLI, at the Governmental Palace, in Dili, today.
He said that the disagreement occurred because the joint venture partners wanted the Greater Sunrise Legal Framework to be finalized as soon as possible: “There was a misunderstanding between the joint venture partners. Therefore, negotiations have been suspended, and hoping that we can resume the negotiations again.”
Soares said that future negotiations can be done through videoconference or going to Australia: “Last year, we went to Australia for the negotiation. So, regarding the place for the future negotiation depends on Australia.”
He said that the visit of Australia’s Special Representative for the Greater Sunrise project, Steve Bracks, to Timor-Leste had improved communication to restart the negotiations.
The Sunrise project is operated by Joint Venture between TIMOR GAP (56.56%), Woodside Petroleum (33.44%), and Osaka Gas (10%).
The Sunrise field is estimated to contain 5.13 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas and 226 million barrels of condensate (oil), which could give Timor-Leste US$50 billion in revenues.
On march 6, 2018, Australia and Timor-Leste signed the Treaty establishing Maritime Boundaries between the two countries in the Timor Sea to resolve a long-running dispute over the maritime border and set a deal on how to share revenue from the offshore Greater Sunrise gas field.
Timor-Leste will receive 80% of the revenue if the gas is developed in Australia, or 70% if the gas is piped to Timor-Leste for processing.
Journalist: Antónia Gusmão
Editor: Maria Auxiliadora
Translation: Filomeno Martins/ Editor: Nelia Borges
