East Timor Update  

The Age is reporting that the never ending negotiations over revenue from the oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea may soon come to a close (ie. nothing's changed). This report also says that Jose Ramos Horta is still pushing for the LNG plant to be built in east timor, the opposite of the Rigzone report last week.

East Timor will get billions of dollars more revenue under the renegotiated agreement sharing royalties from the Timor Gap oil and gas fields, Prime Minister John Howard says. Mr Howard met President Xanana Gusmao yesterday in Sydney, but declined to give details of the deal that is nearing fruition after a year of sometimes tense negotiations. The oil and gas deposits are worth an estimated $41 billion.

East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said the agreement was likely to be signed next month, when details would be released. Dr Ramos Horta said East Timor would seek an assurance from Australian energy company Woodside, the lead partner in the Greater Sunrise venture, that it would seriously examine whether gas from the field could be piped to Dili rather than Darwin. That would allow processing plants to be located in East Timor, creating local jobs.