First Production from Timor-Leste's Greater Sunrise Gas Project Delayed to 2034 at the Earliest

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 14, Francisco da Costa Monteiro, Timor-Leste's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, said that the earliest production date for the Greater Sunrise gas project has been postponed from the previously expected 2032 to 2034, and the project is now expected to begin production between 2034 and 2035. Timor-Leste also plans to push for a final investment decision on the project around 2029.

In November 2025, Timor-Leste's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Woodside Energy signed a cooperation agreement to launch deeper work on an LNG development plan with Timor-Leste as the landing site. The high-level timetable announced at the time showed that, subject to completion of option selection and investment decisions, the first LNG could be produced as early as 2032 to 2035. After this adjustment, the earliest production window of 2032 no longer applies.

The current development plan centers on building a new LNG facility in Timor-Leste with a capacity of about 5 million tonnes per year, while also planning domestic gas facilities and a helium extraction unit. Related technical and commercial studies still need to determine the downstream commercial structure, financing plan, and the preferred route for a natural gas pipeline from the offshore gas fields to Timor-Leste's south coast. The project has not yet entered the final investment decision or main construction phase.

Greater Sunrise consists of two gas-condensate fields, Sunrise and Troubadour, located in waters about 150 kilometers south of Timor-Leste. Information published by Woodside Energy shows that the project is being advanced by the Sunrise joint venture, with TIMOR GAP holding 56.56%, Woodside Energy holding 33.44% and serving as operator, and Osaka Gas holding 10%. The project's resources are approximately 5.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 226 million barrels of condensate.

Before the project enters the investment decision stage, key legal and commercial frameworks still need to be completed. The governments of Timor-Leste and Australia and the Sunrise joint venture are negotiating the petroleum mining code, a new production sharing contract, and tax arrangements. These documents will determine the regulatory, fiscal, and legal conditions for upstream development of Greater Sunrise. The parties resumed relevant negotiations in October 2023 and have continued to push for finalization of the framework documents.

Monteiro said that the latest round of Greater Sunrise negotiations ended in early September, and Timor-Leste is now aiming for a final investment decision in 2029. Under the current timetable, there is about a five-year construction and implementation window from the final investment decision to earliest production, but the specific development plan, financing structure, and engineering execution schedule still depend on the completion of subsequent commercial and regulatory documents.