Díli, Sept. 11, 2024 (Lusa) - The President of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, announced on Wednesday that an agreement with Australia on the Greater Sunrise natural gas exploration project, crucial for the country's economic future, should be signed in November.
"We will soon sign an agreement with Australia on the development of Greater Sunrise (...) to develop the large gas field," said the President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, in an interview with the French news agency, France-Presse (AFP), at his residence in the capital, Dili.
"The agreement should be signed in November at the latest, probably; it will be signed this year," he said.
Located 150 kilometres from Timor-Leste and 450 kilometres from Darwin, the Greater Sunrise project has been at an impasse, with Dili advocating the construction of a pipeline to the south of the country and Woodside, the consortium's second largest partner, leaning towards a connection to the existing plant in Darwin, Australia.
The consortium is made up of Timorese company Timor Gap (56.56%), operator Woodside Energy (33.44%) and Osaca Gás Australia (10%).
The development of this gas field, rich in billions of cubic metres, located in the Timor Sea between the two countries, has been blocked for years due to disputes over maritime borders and whether the gas should be refined in Australia or Timor-Leste, something that Ramos-Horta did not clarify in his interview with AFP.
"Because it's not entirely ours, we can't make decisions as we like, as we please. We are in discussions, the two sides, our side and the other side are the companies and Australia itself," explained Timor-Leste's prime minister, Xanana Gusmão, in a recent interview with Lusa.
In that interview, he said that the agreement expected "a favourable decision" for Timor-Leste on the joint petroleum project with Australia by the end of the year and added that the talks are currently more "technical and legalistic".
Timor-Leste, Australia and the consortium have been holding negotiations on the Mining Code for Petroleum Exploration, Production Sharing Contract and Fiscal Regime, key documents to establish the legal and regulatory framework to support the development of Greater Sunrise to ensure its commercial viability, as stipulated in the Maritime Boundary Treaty.
The permanent maritime boundary agreement between Timor-Leste and Australia determines that Greater Sunrise, a shared resource, will have to be divided, with 70% of revenues going to Timor-Leste in the case of a pipeline to the country, or 80% if processing is in Darwin.
The selection of the concept - a pipeline to Darwin or to Timor-Leste - is the subject of a study commissioned by the consortium, which should be known in the last quarter of the year.
MBA/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
