Woodside threatens to scrap Timor gas deal<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n
Energy giant Woodside warned on Tuesday it will scrap a multi-
\nbillion dollar oil and gas development in the Timor Sea unless
\nEast Timor ratifies a controversial border treaty with Australia.<\/p>\n
East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has accused Prime
\nMinister John Howard's government of bad faith toward its
\nimpoverished neighbor in the long-running dispute over maritime
\nboundaries in the resource-rich Timor Sea.<\/p>\n
Alkatiri says Dili is unlikely to ratify an interim deal,
\ncalled the International Unitization Agreement (IUA), because it
\ngives East Timor only 18 percent of revenues from the Greater
\nSunrise oil field while handing Canberra 82 percent.<\/p>\n
\"I always considered the Howard Government as good partners
\nbut suddenly I realized that when billions of dollars are
\ninvolved they became really bad partners,\" Alkatiri told ABC
\ntelevision.<\/p>\n
Alkatiri doubted his parliamentary colleagues would ratify the
\nIUA, which was signed late last year.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't make sense now ... to table the IUA (in)
\nparliament for ratification,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Alkatiri said the prime minister still
\nintended to submit the IUA although he did not know when.<\/p>\n
\"The process of ratification would be made easier if Australia
\nceased its unilateral exploitation of the disputed area and
\nentered into good-faith negotiations to secure a permanent
\nmaritime boundary in the Timor Sea,\" the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Woodside Petroleum, the lead company in a joint venture
\npreparing to spend seven billion Australian dollars (US$5.32
\nbillion) developing Greater Sunrise, said the IUA was needed for
\nthe project to go ahead.<\/p>\n
\"It provides us with the legal and fiscal certainty we need to
\nproceed,\" a Woodside spokesman said. \"Without it the development
\ncannot proceed and will not go ahead.\"<\/p>\n
Greater Sunrise is expected to generate at least $10 billion
\nin all and East Timor regards it as a lifeline that can end the
\nnation's dependence on international aid.<\/p>\n
Australia wants to keep the maritime border agreed with
\nJakarta after Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, which would
\ngive it the lion's share of the reserves.<\/p>\n
But Dili argues that Jakarta only agreed to that deal in
\nexchange for Canberra's recognition of its illegal annexation of
\nEast Timor and the border should lie at the mid-point between the
\ntwo countries, in line with standard international practice.<\/p>\n
In March 2002, Australia withdrew from the International
\nTribunal for the Law of the Sea before the dispute reached the
\narbiter, in what Alkatiri described as \"a hostile act\".<\/p>\n
The IUA attempts to find a temporary solution to the dispute,
\nallowing development to go ahead as Dili and Canberra attempt to
\nthrash out a final agreement.<\/p>\n
East Timor has accused Australia of breaking the IUA by
\nissuing exploration licenses in the disputed area and referring
\nto it as its territory.<\/p>\n
Talks on the hotly-contested maritime border are due to resume
\nin Dili next week, with East Timor pushing Canberra to agree on a
\ntimetable for the dispute's resolution.<\/p>\n
Dili fears Canberra will drag out the negotiations over years
\nor even decades so it benefits from the favorable interim IUA
\narrangements and hands over seriously-depleted resource fields
\nwhen the border is finally settled.<\/p>\n
Alkatiri said he would consider asking the U.S. government to
\nact as an independent arbiter in the dispute to ensure East Timor
\nreceived a fair deal.<\/p>\n
\"Only a third party can really help us to get together and
\nresolve the problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Woodside said Alkatiri had not directly told the company his
\ngovernment would not ratify the IUA and the joint venture
\npartners would act as if it were going ahead unless officially
\ninformed otherwise.<\/p>\n
The other joint venture partners are ConocoPhillips, Shell and
\nOsaka Gas.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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