Timor Sea boundary negotiations to continue<\/p>\n
Road McGuirk, Associated Press, Canberra<\/p>\n
The latest round of negotiations between Australia and East
\nTimor on how to divide billions of dollars in revenues from sea
\nbed oil and gas ended on Wednesday with an agreement to hold more
\ntalks soon, a negotiator said.<\/p>\n
East Timor's head negotiator, Jose Teixeira, declined to
\ncomment on how the negotiations in the Australian capital,
\nCanberra, had progressed over the past three days.<\/p>\n
\"We've agreed to further talks soon,\" Teixeira told The
\nAssociated Press.<\/p>\n
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his East Timorese
\ncounterpart, Mari Alkatiri, exchanged letters to ensure the
\nnegotiations could proceed, Teixeira said. He did not describe
\nthe details of the letters.<\/p>\n
The agreement to continue talks on how to share energy
\nresources in the Timor Sea, which separates one of the region's
\nrichest nations from one of its poorest, appears to be a positive
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
The negotiations broke down acrimoniously last October, with
\neach side accusing the other of derailing a solution to the
\ndispute over where their maritime boundary should lie.<\/p>\n
At stake is an estimated US$30 billion in seabed oil and gas
\nroyalties.<\/p>\n
East Timor wants the border to lie in the middle of the 600
\nkilometers (370 miles) of sea separating the two countries.<\/p>\n
However, Australia wants the same boundary it set with
\nIndonesia, which occupied East Timor in 1975-1999. In some
\nplaces, that boundary is just 150 kilometers (90 miles) from East
\nTimor's coast.<\/p>\n
Australian officials said before the most recent talks that
\nthey would seek a \"creative solution\" that would enable the $5
\nbillion Greater Sunrise gas field - the largest in the Timor Sea
\n- to be tapped without the permanent boundary question being
\nsettled.<\/p>\n
Woodside Petroleum Ltd., one of the companies hoping to pump
\noil and gas out of the region, shelved the Greater Sunrise
\nproject last year because the two countries had failed to broker
\na revenue-sharing deal.<\/p>\n
Australia insists that any solution must provide Woodside and
\nits partners with legal certainty to proceed and must postpone
\nany agreement on a permanent maritime boundary for at least 50
\nyears.<\/p>\n
Postponing the boundary agreement is aimed at ensuring that it
\nremains in place until the seabed energy reserves are exhausted.
\nAustralia would pay East Timor compensation for accepting those
\nterms.<\/p>\n
If East Timor wants to first settle the boundary, Australia
\nhas warned the negotiations will drag on for decades.<\/p>\n
Teixeira declined to say whether negotiations were continuing
\ntoward a \"creative solution.\"<\/p>\n
\"While negotiations are on going, I don't think I should
\ncreate any further speculation about the talks,\" he said. \"We're
\nworking through details in respect to each party's position.\"<\/p>\n
Australia's agreement to continue negotiations soon suggests a
\ncreative solution remains on the table. Before the prospect of
\nsuch a solution was raised, Canberra would only agree to hold
\nnegotiations every six months, while Dili wanted the rounds to be
\nmonthly.<\/p>",
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