Jakarta: East Timor has rejected a proposal for a floating liquefied natural gas platform in a disputed Timor Sea gas field as a waste of time and money.
Australian energy firm Woodside Petroleum, which leads a consortium developing the massive Greater Sunrise gas field, announced on Thursday that its preferred option was to load tankers at sea from a world-first floating plant.
But the government of East Timor, also known by its Portuguese name Timor-Leste, said the plan was not in the best interests of the country and reiterated that it wants a pipeline to its shores. Australia has also said it would like a pipeline to its northern city of Darwin.
"The nation is firmly committed to building an onshore petroleum industry, inclusive of a pipeline to Timor-Leste from the Greater Sunrise field," Secretary of State Agio Pereira said in a statement. "Timor-Leste will not approve any development of Greater Sunrise that does not include a pipeline to Timor-Leste."
Pereira said the consortium was fully aware of East Timor's position and that its alternate plan reflected "an unacceptable level of arrogance."
"This approach has significantly compromised future relations with the government of Timor-Leste," the statement said.
The gas field — in a disputed area of sea between Australia and East Timor, is estimated to hold 240 million barrels of light oil and 5.4 trillion cubic feet (154 billion cubic metres) of natural gas worth tens of billions of dollars.
East Timor sees the resources as key to lifting its 1.1 million people out of poverty, by stimulating the local economy and creating jobs. The nation has no major industry and unemployment is more than 30 per cent.
Woodside chief executive Don Voelte said at a meeting in Perth on Friday that he would lead a delegation to East Timor and Darwin to discuss the consortium's ideas this week.
Woodside and joint venture partners Royal Dutch/Shell, Osaka Gas and ConocoPhillips are licensed to develop Greater Sunrise.
Darwin is 450 kilometres from Greater Sunrise. While impoverished East Timor is closer, Woodside argued that a deep trench off the East Timorese coast made a pipeline there technically difficult to build.
Woodside said there were several steps to go before the partners made a final investment decision on the field.
Australia has not commented on the consortium's preferred option, saying only that it looks forward to receiving Woodside's development plan.
