BACK
DOOR Newsletter on East Timor home
| timor oil
| search
"* Oil
and gas worth more than US $30 billion [Now worth well over US$68 billion: See 26 Mar 05 McKee: How much is Sunrise really
worth?] lie under
the Timor Sea, between
East Timor and Australia, * 68%
of the petroleum resources in the Timor Sea lie closer to East Timor
than to Australia, and are claimed by East Timor under International
Law * Under
current revenue sharing arrangements, Australia takes 72% of the
petroleum revenues in the Timor Sea, including almost 60% of the
revenues from fields closer to East Timor than to Australia. " Timor
Sea Justice Coalition,
Australia
Historical
Background
Timor Sea Justice Coalition -
a fair go for East Timor
(2004 Australia)
Home: http://www.TimorSeaJustice.org
Sources:
http://www.timorseajustice.org/about.htm
http://www.timorseajustice.org/background.htm
http://www.etan.org/lh
Contents:
Timor Sea Oil and Gas
Resources
Map of Timor Sea
showing areas in dispute
Major Petroleum Fields closer to East Timor
than to Australia
Chronology
Timor Sea Oil
and Gas Resources
Ed update: These figures
are much too low.
Now Greater Sunrise alone is valued at over $90 billion (US$68 billion):
See 26 Mar 2005 McKee: How much is Sunrise
really worth?]
* Oil and gas worth more than US
$30 billion lie under the Timor Sea, between East Timor and Australia
(the equivalent of approximately 4840 million Barrels of Oil).
*
68% of the petroleum resources
in the Timor Sea lie closer to East Timor than to Australia, and are
claimed by East Timor under International Law.
*
Under current revenue sharing
arrangements, Australia takes 72% of the petroleum revenues in the
Timor Sea, including almost 60% of the revenues from fields closer to
East Timor than to Australia.
*
If maritime boundaries were
established in accordance with current principles of international law
it is estimated that East Timor would receive around 68% of the total
petroleum revenues in the Timor Sea, including up to 100% of those
closer to East Timor than to Australia.
*
If maritime boundaries were
established in accordance with current principles of international law
it is estimated that East Timor would receive around US $12 billion,
while under current interim arrangements, East Timor expects to receive
just US $4.4 billion
*
Australia, therefore, stands to
profit to the tune of over US $7 billion at the expense of East Timor.
This amount includes an estimated US $1.5 - 2 billion already collected
by Australia since 1999.
Map of
Timor Sea showing areas in dispute
To view map go to:
http://www.timorseajustice.org/about.htm
and scroll down the page.
BD comment: This map makes it easier to visualise the theft of East
Timor's birthright.
Major Petroleum Fields closer to East Timor
than to Australia
Buffalo, Corallina and Laminaria:
Value of petroleum: 270 million Barrels of Oil Equivalent Total
Government share: US$ 2 billion Stage of production: Operated by
Woodside Petroleum. Production began in late 1999 and will be exhausted
by 2005. East Timor's share with permanent boundaries consistent with
International Law: 100% Current arrangements: Since 1999, the Australia
government has received more that USD1 billion in revenue. East Timor
will receive nil revenue from this field under current arrangements.
Bayu Undan:
Value of petroleum: US $6-7 billion Total Government share: US $3.3
billion Stage of production: Operated by ConocoPhillips and
construction is well underway. Production was due to start in early
2004. East Timor's share with permanent boundaries consistent with
International Law: 100% Current arrangements: Under the Timor Sea
Treaty, East Timor will receive 90% and Australia 10% of government
revenue.
Greater Sunrise:
Back Door Ed
update: These figures
are much too low.
Now Greater Sunrise alone is valued at over $90 billion (US$68 billion):
See 26 Mar 2005 McKee: How much is Sunrise
really worth?]
Value of petroleum: Estimated to
be between US $22-25 billion.
Government share: US $7 billion Stage of production: Woodside aims to
begin production in 2009. East Timor's share with permanent boundaries
consistent with International Law: up to 100% Current arrangements: The
Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement currently gives almost 82% of
revenue to Australia, and just over 18% to East Timor.
Chronology
In 1972 , Australia and
Indonesia signed a seabed boundary treaty based
on the now outdated continental shelf principle, establishing a seabed
boundary much closer to Indonesia than to Australia. Since Portugal
(the colonial ruler of East Timor at that time) refused to participate
in the discussions, the boundary was incomplete, resulting in the
"Timor Gap".
In 1989 Australia and
Indonesia agreed on the Timor Gap Treaty, which
divided revenue from the seabed resources in the "Gap," giving
Australia the largest share in return for Australia's recognition of
Indonesia's illegal annexation of East Timor. The Treaty defined a Zone
of Cooperation (ZOC) Central Area A, within which resources
would be
shared equally between Australia and Indonesia. Australia continued to
control areas east and west of the ZOC. When East Timor achieved
independence, the Timor Gap Treaty became invalid.
In 1997 Australia and
Indonesia signed a treaty on the water column
boundary including parts of the Timor Sea based on median line
principles. During the UN
Transitional Administration (UNTAET), action
was taken to preserve the oil companies' contracts and continue
development, so that East Timor would receive some oil revenues
quickly. The first UNTAET-Australia agreement, in 2000, continued the
terms of the 1989 Timor Gap Treaty. The 50-50 division of Zone of
Cooperation Area A was renamed the Joint Petroleum Development Area
(JPDA). The following year, UNTAET and Australia renegotiated
the
agreement to divide petroleum production in the JPDA, 90% for East
Timor and 10% for Australia, signing the Timor Sea Arrangement in July
2001.
In March 2002 , before East
Timor's independence, Australia withdrew
from the jurisdiction of the two international arbitration bodies used
to settle maritime boundary disputes, the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) and the International
Tribunal on the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS).
On 20 May 2002 , Australia and
East Timor signed the Timor Sea Treaty.
This treaty gives East Timor 90% of revenues from inside the JPDA.
Australia continues to develop and profit from larger petroleum areas
outside the JPDA, which are closer to East Timor than to Australia and
wholly claimed by East Timor. The Timor Sea Treaty would allow for the
production of the Bayu Undan area
(within the JPDA) to begin, with 90%
of the government share of revenue going to the newly independent East
Timor.
In October 2002 , East Timor
enacted a Maritime Boundaries Law,
claiming a 200 nautical mile Exclusive
Economic Zone in all directions,
based on UNCLOS principles. This claim includes all of the major
petroleum fields listed above.
In March 2003 , Australia and
East Timor signed the Greater
Sunrise
Unitisation Agreement. This is an interim arrangement between
East
Timor and Australia to put in place a legal regime necessary for the
project to progress while maritime boundaries are finalised. The
Unitisation Agreement currently allocates almost 82% of revenues from
the Greater Sunrise field to Australia, and just over 18% to East
Timor, despite the fact that the field is twice as close to East Timor
as it is to Australia. Australia refused to ratify the Timor Sea Treaty
(signed one year before) until the agreement was signed, which would
have delayed production of the Bayu Undan field and East Timor's access
to the urgently needed government revenue from this field.
On 10 March 2004 , the
Australian government introduced the Greater
Sunrise Unitisation Agreement Implementation Bill, into both
Houses of
Parliament. This Bill will implement the Unitisation Agreement. As the
Bill stands, Australia would gain almost AUD 8 billion in future
government revenue over East Timor which has little revenue independent
of foreign aid.
About The Timor Sea Justice
Campaign
http://www.timorseajustice.org/about.htm
Last updated 25 Aug 2004
The Timor Sea Justice
Campaign is an independent
campaign originating in Melbourne in January 2004. The campaign has now
extended to Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane and Alice Springs. The campaign
seeks to change Australian government policy in relation to the Timor
Sea and is made up of concerned individuals of various ages and
professions/occupations working on a voluntary basis.
The Timor Sea Justice
campaign believes that as a
sovereign nation, East Timor has the right to settle its boundaries
with neighbouring countries and to benefit from its natural resources,
particularly at the time that this new nation needs the revenue from
resources in the Timor Sea to develop and provide its citizens with
basic services such as schools and hospitals. The Timor Sea Justice
Campaign aims to lobby the Australian government to be a friendly and
cooperative neighbour to East Timor, building on the goodwill between
the two nations, and to respect the economic, social and cultural
rights of the East Timorese and East Timor's full sovereign rights
under international law.
Receive
FREE email Web-updates: email wildwood@pcug.org.au
and include the words "Subscribe BACK DOOR" in the message
header.
To add items related to Timor Oil send to BACK
DOOR's email:
wildwood@pcug.org.au
Petitions, Reports
& Position statements are especially welcomed.
Postal address: BACK DOOR PO Box 5
Lyneham
ACT 2602 AUSTRALIA
BACK
DOOR Newsletter on East Timor home
| timor oil
| search
Website: http://www.pcug.org.au/~wildwood
Email: wildwood@pcug.org.au