E. Timor wants more than 85% of revenue from oil

E. Timor wants more than 85% of revenue from oil

DARWIN, Australia (AP): East Timor said Friday it wants more
than 85 percent of the revenue from lucrative oil fields under
the sea separating it from Australia.

The fledgling nation also wants jobs in Australia's most
northern port city, Darwin, that flow from a A$1.5 billion
pipeline to gas fields below the Timor Sea, East Timor economic
affairs representative Mari Alkatiri said.

Alkatiri said negotiations this week with Australian Foreign
Affairs Minister Alexander Downer over a new Timor Gap Treaty
between the two nations had been very positive.

The Timor Sea petroleum and gas reserves were originally
carved up 50-50 under a treaty Canberra negotiated with Indonesia
in the 1980s and early 1990s. Indonesia gave up its place in the
treaty after East Timor voted for independence in 1999.

The U.N. Transitional Authority in East Timor is negotiating a
new treaty with Australia.

Alkatiri said Australia is prepared to give away 85% of the
revenue from the oil fields to cement a new deal.

"Everybody knows that Australia has already offered 85-15,"
Alkatiri told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Friday. "But we
still think that Australia (should give) much more."

He confirmed that a 90-10 split had been discussed in the
course of negotiations.

"That's one option, but there are still others," he said.

Alkatiri said Australia stood to gain much more from the gas
and oil fields below the Timor Sea, with two companies flagging
plans to build a plant in Darwin to take gas from the area.

The plant is expected to create between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs,
and East Timor wants some of them reserved for its nationals,
Alkatiri said.