Last week, the East Timor Parliament ratified a treaty in which the two countries agreed to split royalties from the $A6.6 billion project on a 50:50 basis.
The Greater Sunrise fields, estimated to contain 8 trillion cubic feet of gas and up to 300 million barrels of condensate, encompass the Sunrise, Troubadour, Sunset and Loxton Shoals found between 1974 and 1995.
Minister for Industry and Resources Ian Macfarlane said the Bill provided for the commercialisation of the Sunrise and Troubadour fields as a single unit.
“The development of the Greater Sunrise field further enhances the cooperative relationship between Australia and [East Timor],” he said.
“The Bayu-Undan field, within the joint petroleum development area, is generating revenue for both [East Timor] and Australia, piping gas to a liquefied natural gas plant near Darwin.”
But which country gets to process the gas is the next issue that needs to be addressed.
While the Northern Territory Government wants Greater Sunrise gas to drive expansion at its Wickham Point plant, East Timor’s Parliament is about to commission a study into whether gas processing in their country is feasible.
NT Chief Minister Clare Martin told ABC News that she “fought hard” for the 50:50 revenue split.
“Certainly I recognise the aspirations of Timor, but importantly for the Territory, we would like to see the gas come onshore here,” she was quoted as saying.
Greater Sunrise would be operated by Woodside, a 33.44% stakeholder in the project. Other interest holders are ConocoPhillips (30%), Shell (26.56%) and Osaka Gas (10%).
