Australia pledges continued cooperation on Greater Sunrise
Richard Marles said technical agreements were nearly complete, while joint-venture partners must determine the project's commercial approach.
Australia will maintain close cooperation with Timor-Leste on developing Greater Sunrise, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said in Dili on 22 October 2026. He said technical agreements were nearing completion, with work under way to finalise and implement them.
Speaking after meeting President Jose Ramos-Horta at the presidential palace, Marles said the joint-venture partners now needed to determine an appropriate commercial approach for the project. Australia was awaiting the outcome of that work, he added.
On 28 August 2026, Timor-Leste's Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Francisco Monteiro said the two governments had completed negotiations on three documents governing Greater Sunrise's development: the Petroleum Mining Code, Production Sharing Contract and Fiscal Regime.
According to Monteiro, the mining code was completed in March, while negotiations on the other two documents took place in Australia. He said the next stage concerned the field's development plan, which required government approval. Two development concepts were being considered, one involving Australia and the other Timor-Leste, with a single option still to be finalised.
