East Timor spoke with Sinopec and other Chinese companies about a stalled multibillion dollar gas project, President says

After a disagreement with Australia about the future of the joint field, East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta announced on Wednesday that it had spoken with Chinese companies, including the state-owned Sinopec, to develop the Greater Sunrise gasfield.

The field's revenues, estimated at $65billion in 2018, are vital to the economy. However, the development of the project has been held up for years due to disagreements between Australia, who shares the field with the country, and Woodside Energy.

In 2018, a bitter dispute over maritime boundaries was settled. The main obstacle is now the disagreement about whether the gas should be piped to a new LNG plant in East Timor, or to an established LNG hub in Darwin.

Ramos Horta suggested that East Timor might attract new partners, such as China, if the agreement is not reached on their terms. This raised concerns in Australia over the growing influence and power of China in the Pacific region.

Ramos Horta said that East Timor has spoken with several private and state-owned Chinese companies and that some of them have visited recently as part of a Chinese business delegation.

Ramos-Horta responded that "Sinopec had been in contact".

Sinopec (officially known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp) did not respond immediately to a comment request.

Ramos Horta spoke after delivering an address in Canberra where he stated: "We are looking for partners." It's totally understandable if Australia does not want to do it. "Then we can either talk to the Chinese or Kuwaitis."

During a trip by East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Guismao, who met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing last year, the bilateral ties between East Timor and China were upgraded.

The agreement was signed to enhance their cooperation in agriculture and infrastructure. The agreement also included scope for Chinese commercial and government loans.

East Timor's main revenue source, the Bayu Undan gas and oil field, has been exhausted and stopped exporting last year. Reporting by Peter Hobson, Lewis Jackson and Colleen Waye in Beijing. Editing by Michael Perry.

(source: Reuters)