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.