Woodside, Partners to Pick Plan for Timor Sea Sunrise Gas Project Soon

Sonali Paul
Monday, February 6, 2023

Woodside Energy Group and its partners on Monday formally committed to working rapidly to pick the best option for developing the Greater Sunrise natural gas field, factoring in for the first time the potential benefits for East Timor. 

The Sunrise Joint Venture, which includes majority owner Timor Gap, operator Woodside and the Australian arm of Osaka Gas 9532.T, said they would move ahead "expeditiously" with a program to select where to send the gas for processing. 

Development of the Sunrise fields has been stalled for decades amid disputes over whether the gas should be processed for export at an liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia or East Timor or on a floating LNG platform in the Timor Sea. 

No deadline was given for selecting the best option, but the joint venture said they aimed to complete the concept selection quickly to ensure the benefits from developing the Sunrise fields would flow. For the first time, global energy security issues and the rapid development of East Timor are now being factored in, beyond just capital and operating costs, as Timor's main source of income, the Bayu Undan field in the Timor Sea, has dried up. 

"The studies will include evaluation of which option provides the most meaningful benefit for the people of Timor-Leste," the joint venture said in a statement. Woodside Chief Executive Meg O'Neill reiterated that the joint venture would look at new technologies, such a modular LNG, which did not exist when the project partners previously concluded that the best option was to process the gas in Darwin. 

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta last year stepped up calls for the Australian government to back a gas pipeline from the Sunrise fields to East Timor to help bring the country $50 billion in revenue and $50 billion in development benefits. 

(Reuters - Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)


Categories: Energy Engineering Industry News Activity Production Asia Gas Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Sapura Energy Rebrands to Vantris Energy

CNOOC Brings New Offshore Gas Field On Stream

Sapura Scoops Over $118M for Chevron, PTTEP Subsea Ops off Thailand

Dutch Contractor Completes Malaysia’s Largest 'Rig-to-Reef' Decom Project

EnQuest Picks Up Offshore Oil and Gas Block in Brunei

Baker Hughes, Petronas Team Up for Asia-Pacific Energy Resilience

BP Expands Oil and Gas Scope in Azerbaijan with New Projects and Exploration Rights

Indonesia's Medco Starts Production at Natuna Sea Fields

Pakistan’s OGDC to Start Production at ADNOC’s Offshore Block by 2027

Petrovietnam, Petronas Extend PSC for Offshore Block

Current News

Sapura Energy Rebrands to Vantris Energy

BP, ONGC, Reliance Industries Ink Deal for Offshore Exploration in India

Allseas-Boskalis Consortium Bags $1.4B Offshore Gas Pipeline Job in Taiwan

CNOOC Brings New Offshore Gas Field On Stream

Yinson, PTSC Get $600M Contract for Vietnam-Bound FSO

PTTEP Buys Chevron's Hess Unit Share of Southeast Asia’s Offshore Block for $450M

Valeura Energy, PTTEP Partner Up on Gulf of Thailand Blocks

Sapura Scoops Over $118M for Chevron, PTTEP Subsea Ops off Thailand

Pandion Energy Divests Interests in Three Norwegian Assets to Inpex

China Starts Production at Major Oil Field in Bohai Sea

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com