Australia appoints envoy for Sunrise gas project

The Australian federal government has appointed special representative Steve Bracks to oversee the development of the Sunrise gas project in the Timor Sea, which is located in a maritime jurisdiction jointly administered by Australia and East Timor.

Bracks will represent the Australian government and consult with the East Timor government and other key stakeholders, including the Sunrise joint venture that is operated by Australian independent Woodside Energy. East Timor has a controlling 56.56pc interest in Sunrise after buying the stakes of Shell and ConocoPhillips for $650mn in 2018. Woodside has a 33.44pc stake, while the remainder is owned by Japanese utility Osaka Gas.

Bracks was the former premier of the state of Victoria between 1999 and 2007, and has previously worked in roles advising the East Timor government. His appointment of Bracks follows the visit to Australia last month by East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta, who urged Australia to support Dili's preference for the Sunrise gas project to pipe gas to a liquefaction plant onshore East Timor instead of to Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. Australian foreign minister Penny Wong visited Dili earlier in September.

The 5.1 trillion ft³ (144bn m³) Sunrise gas field project has stalled with the failure of Canberra and Dili to agree on details of a production-sharing contract to allow any gas extraction from Sunrise.

The development of Sunrise is one of the greatest challenges for East Timor, Ramos Horta said during his Australian visit. East Timor and Australia worked together in the development of the Bayu-Undan gas field in the Timor Sea, which provides feedstock for the 3.7mn t/yr Darwin LNG.

But Bayu-Undan is expected to halt output by the end of the year, according to its operator Australian independent Santos. This will consequently halt contributions from East Timor's largest revenue earner, with the country having built up $18bn in savings in its sovereign wealth fund mainly from taxes and royalties from Bayu-Undan.

By Kevin Morrison