Beaço Gas Pipeline
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Beaço Gas Pipeline is a shelved natural gas pipeline.[1]
Location
The pipeline was proposed to run from the Greater Sunrise Area of East Timor's and Australia's Joint Petroleum Development Area to Beaço, East Timor.
Project details
- Operator: TIMOR GAP
- Owner: TIMOR GAP 56.56%; Woodside 33.44%; Osaka Gas 10%[2]
- Parent company:
- Capacity:
- Length: 150 kilometers[1]
- Diameter:
- Status: Shelved
- Start year: 2027[2]
- Cost:
- Financing:
- Associated infrastructure:
Background
In 2002, the year East Timor became independent, a new treaty called Timor Sea Treaty was negotiated between East Timor and Australia which provided for the sharing of the proceeds of petroleum found in the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), an agreed area of seabed, by which East Timor would get 90% and Australia 10% of the revenue derived from the area. The agreement, however, decided that around 80% of the Greater Sunrise field, estimated to contain 5.1 trillion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 226 million barrels of condensate, lie in Australian jurisdiction and only 20% in the JPDA.[3]
In October 2018, the East Timorese national oil company TIMOR GAP paid US$484 million for ConocoPhillips' 30% share in the Greater Sunrise Consortium that owns drilling rights to the Greater Sunrise field.[1] TIMOR GAP proposed a 150-km pipeline that would run from the field to a proposed LNG facility at Beaço, East Timor.[1]
The original ownership included TIMOR GAP (30%), Woodside Energy (33.44%), Royal Dutch Shell (26.64%), and Osaka Gas (10%). In April 2019, TIMOR GAP paid US$300 million for Shell's stake in the Sunrise field, securing for them a majority share (56.64%).[4]
On 29 July 2019, the governments of Australia and Timor-Leste ratified the Maritime Boundary Agreement detailing revenue-sharing arrangements and delimiting the maritime boundary of the Greater Sunrise hydrocarbon reserve.[5] However, the revenue-sharing framework comes with potential issues, and Timor-Leste is now reportedly considering buying out Woodside's partners to gain a sufficient majority share to develop the project itself, though this would likely require substantial outside funding, potentially from China.[5]
As of September 2023, there was not evidence for pipeline development for over four years, so the project is considered Shelved.
Financing
In August 2019 it was reported that TIMOR GAP was considering a US$16 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of China to develop the Sunrise field.[6] In September 2019, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) was in talks with the project's sponsors to provide US$350 million in financing.[7]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Timor-Leste buys $484 million stake in Greater Sunrise fields and pushes for LNG pipeline, ABC News, Oct. 2, 2018, accessed Aug. 9 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 China Enlisted for Stranded Gas Venture Ditched by Global Majors, Bloomberg, May 15, 2019, accessed Aug. 9 2021.
- ↑ Territorial tensions in offshore waters – global flashpoints in the quest for oil, Offshore Technology, Jul. 29, 2014, accessed Aug. 9 2021.
- ↑ East Timor secures majority stake in Woodside’s Sunrise, Apr. 16, 2019, accessed Aug. 9, 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Vivian Louis Forbes, Timor-Leste Pipe Dreams: After Compulsory Conciliation, What Comes Next?, Jan. 28, 2021, accessed Aug. 9 2021.
- ↑ East Timor wants to tap oil and gas near Australia, so why is it courting China?, South China Morning Post, Aug. 3, 2019, accessed Aug. 9 2021.
- ↑ Australia helps Timor Leste build gas pipeline, Asia Pacific Solidarity Network, Sep. 19, 2019, accessed Aug. 9, 2021.
