Timor Gap gas deal signed

Timor Gap gas deal signed

DILI (AFP): Australia and East Timor have signed a development contract to jointly exploit oil and gas from the Timor Gap offshore area between the two states, the United Nations said here Monday.

The contract to develop the Bayu-Undan field was signed in the Australian city of Perth, said UN transitional Authority in East Timor spokesman, Manoel de Almeida e Silva.

The project is expected to yield millions of dollars in revenue by 2003.

The spokesman said the agreement provided for an investment of US$1.4 billion, which investors believe will lead to the recovery of some 400 million barrels of liqufied petroleum gas (LPG).

Indonesia yielded its share of the Timor Gap to East Timor last month in the wake of the territory's vote for independence in August.

The Bayu-Undan field is located some 500 kilometres (310 miles) northwest of Darwin and 250 kilometers south of Suai in East Timor.