Dili, March 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Timor-Leste's minister of petroleum and mineral resources, Francisco Monteiro, said on Monday that an international tender will be launched in March to build the infrastructure for the petroleum complex project on the country's southern coast.
The project, called Tasi Mane, envisages the construction of infrastructure to develop the country's petroleum industry.
"Next week or the week after, an international tender will be launched to find companies for the construction,’ said the minister, at the end of the presentation of a report by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
On 7 March, the cabinet approved expenditure of $40.5 million (€37.2 million) for the implementation of the Tasi Mane project.
According to the minister, this amount will be allocated to two major projects, namely the Suai supply base and the motorway between Zumalai and Natarbora, which will be built in three phases.
"The first will run from Zumalai to Betano, the second from Betano to Wedaberek and the third from Wedaberek to Natarbora,’ explained Francisco Monteiro.
The motorway and the Suai supply base will be essential for extracting hydrocarbons from Greater Sunrise to Natarbora, on the country's southern coast.
When asked about the Greater Sunrise process, Francisco Monteiro said he was confident. He recalls that since 2007, the Timorese authorities have advocated exploiting the gas field via a pipeline to Timor-Leste.
Located 150 kilometres from Timor-Leste and 450 kilometres from Darwin, in northern Australia, 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 an existing unit in Darwin.
The consortium consists of Timorese state oil company Timor Gap (56.56%), Australian operator Woodside Energy (33.44%), and Japan's Osaka Gas (10.00%).
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 the revenue going to Timor-Leste in the case of a pipeline to the country, or 80% if processing is in Darwin.
The Timorese authorities consider the pipeline connection to the south of Timor-Leste strategic for the country's economic growth.
The impasse led the joint venture to request a conceptual study by British company Wood, which confirmed the feasibility of developing Greater Sunrise in Timor-Leste.
The British company studied four main options: the development of Greater Sunrise for Timor-Leste, Darwin, in the Ichthys gas field, also in Australia and operated by Japan's INPEX, and a new Liquefied Natural Gas facility, also in Australia.
"The Timor-Leste Liquefied Natural Gas option stands out for its lower operating costs and, by enabling better overall direct and indirect returns for Timor-Leste, it will create a major socio-economic impact in the country,’ the Timorese government says.
According to the study, the government also emphasises that Greater Sunrise in Timor-Leste could have a "greater positive impact on Gross Domestic Product and job creation, and presents the greatest returns for the development consortium’ of that gas field.
DPYF/ADB // ADB.
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