PERTH, Australia, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Disputes continue over the best means to begin production at the Greater Sunrise natural gas field in the Timor Sea.
Australia's Woodside has proposed supplying a limited amount of gas for Timor-Leste's domestic consumption but Dili remains adamant that Woodside abandon its plan to build one of the world's first floating liquefied natural gas platforms at the field and instead transport all of the gas to a processing plant in Timor-Leste, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Monday.
Under agreements signed in April 2007, Timor-Leste and Australia would equally share profits from the Greater Sunrise natural gas field.
A Woodside spokesman denied that the company offered to build a domestic gas pipeline to Timor-Leste, asserting: "The floating LNG option maximizes total petroleum revenue to Timor-Leste and Australia. The joint venture is committed to redelivering sustainable benefits to the people of Timor-Leste."
Experts estimate that the Greater Sunrise field's reserves are 8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 300 million barrels of condensate, which could generate $40 billion in revenue over the field's projected 30-year lifetime.
