The last obstacle has been cleared for the start of development of the Phillips group's Bayu-Undan gas-condensate field in the Timor Gap Zone of Cooperation with the signing of the Timor Gap treaty by the UN on behalf of the newly independent state of East Timor. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Australia looks forward to a close collaboration with the UN acting on behalf of East Timor during the transition period to self-government.
Both Australia and the UN are confident that the arrangements now in place will continue to provide a sound basis for Timor Gap operations.
The $ 2.2 billion (Aus.) Phase 1 Bayu-Undan project involves a condensate stripping operation that will tap the field's estimated 400 million bbl of liquids. It is expected to come on stream in 2003. The dry gas produced with the liquids will be reinjected for recovery in Phase 2 of the project.