The Maritime Boundary Treaty has been ratified by Australia and Timor-Leste governments, meaning the permanent delimited boundaries now give sole jurisdiction over, ownership and management of certain petroleum fields in the Timor Sea, including in the Bayu-Undan Field to Timor-Leste.

Discovered in 1995, Bayu-Undan is a gas-condensate field which is located 250 kilometres south-west of Suai in Timor-Leste and 500 kilometres north-west of the Northern Territory in Australia.

The Bayu-Undan field includes a Central Production and Processing complex (CPP) consisting of two platforms – Drilling, Production and Processing; and Compression, Utilities and Quarters.

The field also includes a Floating, Storage and Offloading facility two kilometres from the CPP and an un-manned wellhead platform seven kilometres east of the CPP.

The new PSCs provides regulatory, fiscal and legal stability under terms equivalent for the Bayu-Undan field.

ConocoPhillips Australia-West President, Chris Wilson, said the ratification of the Maritime Boundary Treaty is a significant milestone for Timor-Leste in their journey to sovereignty in the Timor Sea.

“We congratulate Timor-Leste Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak and his government, particularly the Autoridade Nacional do Petróleo e Minerais, for their role in developing the complex regulatory framework that will provide continued stability for Bayu-Undan,” he said.

Pursuant to the ratification of the Maritime Boundary Treat, ConocoPhillips has entered into new production sharing contracts (PSC) for the Bayu-Undan Field with the government of Timor-Leste.

“The Bayu-Undan Joint Venture partners have had the privilege of developing the Bayu-Undan project together with Timor-Leste and are proud of the benefits the project has delivered to the people of Timor-Leste over the past 15 years.”

“Our journey has been rewarding as we have worked with the government, our Timorese workforce and local community, to contribute to a brighter future for their country,” Mr Wilson added.

The Bayu-Undan upstream facilities and contract area now fall entirely within Timor-Leste’s jurisdiction, whilst the Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline will be subject to Australia’s jurisdiction.

The Bayu-Undan Joint Venture comprises ConocoPhillips (56.9 per cent and operator), Santos (11.5 per cent), INPEX (11.4 per cent), Eni (11.0 per cent), Tokyo Timor Sea Resources (9.2 per cent), a consortium of Tokyo Gas and JERA (a joint venture between Tokyo Electric and Chibu Electric).