Talks on Timor oil soon: UN

Talks on Timor oil soon: UN

UNITED NATIONS (AFP): Talks on sharing oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea between East Timor and Australia should open soon and wind up before the territory gains formal independence from Indonesia, the UN said Thursday.

East Timor's resistance leaders are keen to renegotiate the Timor Gap treaty between Australia and Indonesia to share the spoils of the petroleum rich sea.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN's administrator in East Timor said he was confident talks could start soon on what is a vital resource for the territory as it tries to rebuild its shattered economy.

"I'm confident that the negotiations can start soon and be successful before independence takes place," he said. De Mello said on Wednesday that he believed East Timor could advance to full independence from Indonesia by late 2001.

The 1989 Timor Gap treaty gave Australia and Indonesia exploration rights over the narrow strip of sea between the two countries.

Any new deal would give East Timor crucial fiscal gains.