Timor-Leste is racing against the clock to develop newly unlocked Timor Sea wealth before its coffers empty. We look at the different roads that could lead the country to prosperity
This month marks the first anniversary of Timor-Leste’s surprise purchase of a majority stake in multi-billion-dollar Greater Sunrise oil and gas fields – the first step in an ambitious plan to unlock their wealth before existing fields run dry.
And an August 30 exchange of diplomatic letters with Australia officially ratified a treaty delineating a permanent maritime boundary in the Timor Sea between the two states, paving the way for the fields’ long-delayed development.
With Greater Sunrise still years off from being profitable and the resources it relies on close to decommission, is it already too late?
Sovereign wealth
The Greater Sunrise fields were discovered in 1974 – just months before Indonesia invaded Timor-Leste, beginning a 24-year-long occupation.
Greater Sunrise development goes ahead
Timor-Leste is gambling on a straightforward solution to its future financial woes: it will successfully find the estimated $16 billion needed to finance the Greater Sunrise onshore development plan, including a pipeline across the Timor Sea, and that oil will start flowing before Bayu-Undan stops producing.
This article was written by Sophie Raynor
To read the full article, please click on the following link: https://southeastasiaglobe.com/how-timor-leste-can-make-the-most-of-its-oil/
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