1. Keynote Address
José Teixeira
Vice Minister, Natural Resources, Minerals and Energy Policy
República Democrática de Timor-Leste
2. Content
• Timor-Leste the Country
• Brief History of Timor-Leste
• Economic record
• Background to the Timor Sea Treaty
• Background on the Timor Sea Designated
Authority
• Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Sector
• Current Management for Timor-Leste’s
Petroleum Sector
6. Timor-Leste the Country
• The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is
made up of
– the eastern part of the island of Timor
– Oecussi (enclave)
– and Atauro and Jaco Islands
7. Atauro
• Dili - Capital
Oecussi
Timor-Leste
West Timor
8. Timor-Leste the Country
• Capital City - Dili
• Democratically elected constitutional
government
• Governing party (FRETILIN) elected in 2002
- 5-year term
• Parliamentary system - uni-cameral
• Population - 924,000 people
• Official languages - Portuguese & Tetum
• Major commodities – petroleum & coffee
9. Brief History of Timor-Leste
• 1515 to 1975 Portuguese colony
• 28 Nov 1975 declared independent
• 7 Dec 1975 to 1999 Indonesian occupation
• 30 Aug 1999 UN monitored referendum
East Timor votes unanimously for independence from Indonesia
• October 1999 - May 2002
United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
(UNTAET) responsible for the administration of East Timor
• 20 May 2002
East Timor celebrates the restoration of independence and
becomes the world’s newest nation
East Timor officially becomes known as the Democratic Republic
of Timor-Leste (“RDTL”)
10. Economic performance
• Embryonic economy based on open and market-based
principles, good record of management
• Inflation at 2 per cent; economic growth in 2005-06 at 6
per cent
• Budget surplus of 21 per cent of GDP in 2004-05;
forecast to average 10 per cent over next four fiscal
years
• Petroleum Fund established to receive all petroleum
revenues. A highly transparent, fully accountable model
based on principle of spending only sustainable
revenue
11. Timor Sea Treaty - Background
• 1991 to 2000 Timor Gap Treaty between Australia
and Indonesia for the Zone of
Cooperation (ZOC)
• 10 Feb 2000 Exchange of Notes between Australia
and UNTAET
– UNTAET (on behalf of East Timor) assumed role of Indonesia
in the Timor Gap Joint Authority (regulator of the ZOC A)
– East Timor begins to have an active role in the management
of petroleum in the ZOC A
• May 2002
– Timor-Leste and Australia sign the Timor Sea Treaty (TST)
which establishes the Joint Petroleum Development Area
(JPDA) and splits revenue from petroleum produced 90:10
respectively
12. Timor Sea Designated Authority
• April 2003 – Timor Sea Treaty enters into force and
Timor Sea Designated Authority (“TSDA”) is
established
• Role of the TSDA
– to regulate and monitor petroleum activities in the JPDA
and
– to collect revenue from petroleum produced in the JPDA
on behalf of Timor-Leste and Australia
• A partner in Production Sharing Contracts
• An international organisation
• TSDA has offices in Dili, Timor-Leste and Darwin,
Australia
• 2006 - TSDA will become part of the Ministry or a
statutory authority in Timor-Leste
13. Current Management for
Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Sector
Prime Minister Timor Sea
Minister for Natural Resources, Minerals and Energy Policy Treaty
Ministry for
Ministry of Timor Sea Ministerial
Natural Resources, Minerals
Planning & Finance Office (TSO) Council
and Energy Policy
Vice Minister Timor-Leste
Natural Resources, Minerals Revenue Service Joint Commission
and Energy Policy (TLRS)
Timor Sea
Oil, Gas and Energy Timor Sea
Designated Authority
Directorate (OGED) Tax Division
(TSDA)
GOVERNMENT OF TIMOR-LESTE
TSDA
PETROLEUM SECTOR
14. The Petroleum Sector
• Bayu-Undan first oil in February 2004 - most
significant component of GDP
• Critical building block for future economic
independence
– Expectations for sector more than simple “rent
collection”
– Petroleum Law, Model PSC, Petroleum Tax
Regime
– Petroleum Fund
15. 2005/2006 Offshore Acreage Release
• This bidding round perhaps like no other –
world’s newest nation offering rights in what is
probably Asia’s last hydrocarbon frontier
• Follows first-ever area-wide seismic survey in
exclusive maritime area
• In parallel, releasing acreage covering half of
JPDA
• Bidding process will be highly transparent and
accountable process in line with good
governance principles practised by RDTL and
TSDA
17. Concluding remarks
• Timor-Leste is Open for Business
• Today is an early but important step in
launching a process that will allow us to
develop our petroleum sector to its fullest
potential, together with you
• Our pledge
we will reward your interest in Timor-Leste with
openness, fairness, objectivity and professionalism
• And… we hope… with exploration success