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Woodside seeks to progress Sunrise gas project

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Australian Associated Press - April 19, 2023

Paul Osborne – Woodside's boss says the energy company is committed to finding a path forward on the multibillion dollar Sunrise gas project.

The development, about 450km northwest of Darwin and 150km south of East Timor, comprises the Sunrise and Troubadour gas and condensate fields.

The fields contain an estimated 5.3 trillion cubic feet of dry gas and 226 million barrels of condensate.

Woodside chief executive Meg O'Neill said she was approaching the project on the basis of an "open, honest and trusting conversation".

"We have committed to revisiting the concept select study – we'll look at all dimensions, the economics, the cost, but also the social impact," she told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

"And then we'll work as a joint venture with the two governments involved to figure out the best path forward.

"It's not going to be an easy path. It's a complex development, it's quite costly. The solution will be quite complex."

She described the project as a "medium to large field" which had a bright future.

"Its development has been slowed down by the complicated position it has, straddling the border between Australia and East Timor," she said.

"But we're pleased to see the Albanese government's really keen desire to progress this by appointing Steve Bracks as a special envoy to figure out how we sort this development."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his East Timor counterpart Taur Matan Ruak discussed the project in Canberra in February.

The Timorese government wants the gas piped to a site on its southern coast, while Woodside, which controls a third of the project, wants it sent to an established hub in Darwin.

Getting the project up and running is considered critical to East Timor's development and its resilience in the face of increasing tensions in the Pacific.

Source: https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/woodside-seeks-to-progress-sunrise-gas-project-c-1039184

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