Australia and Timor-Leste have issued a joint declaration calling for faster development of the long-delayed Greater Sunrise offshore gas fields, citing economic benefits for both countries and Australia’s domestic gas needs.
The Greater Sunrise fields are operated by Australian energy company Woodside Energy and lie in the Timor Sea north west of Darwin but closer to Timor-Leste’s southern coast. Discovered in 1974, the fields contain an estimated 5.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 226 million barrels of condensate, making them one of the region’s largest undeveloped gas resources.
Progress on the project has stalled for decades due to commercial disagreements, shifting development proposals, and geopolitical issues. These obstacles eased in 2019 when Australia and Timor-Leste signed a maritime boundary treaty that resolved long-standing disputes and enabled negotiations on a new Greater Sunrise production sharing contract.
In their joint declaration issued on Wednesday, the two governments described a “new partnership for a new era” and committed to working closely with the Sunrise Joint Venture in good faith. They said they would pursue an ambitious timetable to finalise the Petroleum Mining Code, the Greater Sunrise Production Sharing Contract, and the associated fiscal framework required under the treaty.
Australia also pledged to establish an Infrastructure Fund in Timor-Leste, transferring at least one third of its revenue from the project to support infrastructure and development initiatives.
The governments encouraged the Sunrise Joint Venture to draw on a 2024 independent study and submit a Development Concept proposal as soon as possible, in line with treaty requirements. “We also commit to supporting the Sunrise Joint Venture to progress the project swiftly upon the States’ approval of a single Development Concept,” the declaration said.
The Sunrise Joint Venture consists of TIMOR GAP with 56.56%, Woodside Energy with 33.44%, and Osaka Gas Australia with 10%.
Momentum has recently focused on a Timor-Leste based LNG development option. Late last year, Woodside signed a cooperation agreement with Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to advance studies for a greenfield LNG project in the country. The concept includes a 5 million tonne per annum LNG facility, a domestic gas plant, and a helium extraction facility.
These studies run alongside ongoing negotiations over fiscal, regulatory, and legal frameworks for the upstream development.
Timor-Leste has committed nearly US$20m to early technical work, funding a US$5.6m geotechnical survey and a US$13m metocean survey. The surveys aim to reduce technical risk and inform engineering design and offshore planning.
A Woodside spokesperson said the tenders form part of the broader maturation work under the cooperation agreement and will contribute to any future recommendation on concept selection. No final development option has yet been approved.
Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta said he expected the joint venture partners to confirm by mid 2026 that LNG processing facilities would be built in Timor-Leste, at Natarbora on the country’s south coast.
He described the project as potentially “transformative” for Timor-Leste, which is classified by the United Nations as a Least Developed Country. He said development of the south coast could create a new economic centre spanning agriculture, industry, and fertiliser production.
“The south coast is one of the least populated areas of the entire country. Traditionally, Timorese live in the northern coast. The south coast is actually fertile and could be a whole new economic hub for Timor-Leste, including agriculture and industries of all sorts,” he said.
President Ramos-Horta argued that routing the pipeline to Timor-Leste made economic sense due to lower labour costs, proximity to Asian gas markets, and fewer environmental regulatory constraints than Australia.
“Even a small shopkeeper owner would look at it and see the advantage of bringing the pipeline to Timor-Leste. It’s a bit like you’re trying to compare the cost of taxes and labour between the United States and Mexico. Our labour cost is very low, we don’t have any dispute or conflict with any of our neighbours, and with the plant in Timor-Leste also, we are already several hundred kilometres closer to the gas energy market,” he said.
He contrasted this with potential challenges for an Australian onshore option, citing Australia’s clean energy commitments and its access to alternative resource developments.
Woodside executive vice president for technical and energy development Julie Fallon has previously highlighted the project’s long-term value. “The successful development of these fields offers both Australia and Timor-Leste an opportunity to generate stable and significant cash flow over a period of potentially 30 years, providing the Greater Sunrise joint venture with the potential shareholder value and growth,” she said.
Formal negotiations on the project resumed in October, followed by the November cooperation agreement that set mid 2026 as the target for development concept selection. Subject to approvals and final investment decisions, initial LNG production could begin between 2032 and 2035.
About the Author
