Timor Sea

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Timor Sea
The Timor Sea is located in the eastern Indian Ocean
Map
Coordinates	10°S 127°ECoordinates: 10°S 127°E
Type	Sea
Catchment area	East Timor, Australia, Indonesia
Surface area	610,000 km2 (240,000 sq mi)
Average depth	406 m (1,332 ft)
Max. depth	3,200 m (10,500 ft)
Islands	Tiwi Islands, Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Trenches	Timor Trough
Settlements	Darwin, Northern Territory

The Timor Sea (Indonesian: Laut Timor; Portuguese: Mar de Timor) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean.

The sea contains a number of reefs, uninhabited islands and

significant hydrocarbonreserves. International disputes emerged after the reserves were discovered resulting in the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty.

The Timor Sea was hit by the worst oil spill for 25 years in 2009.^[1]

It is possible that Australia's first inhabitants crossed the Timor Sea from Indonesia at a time when sea levels were lower.^{[citation needed]}

Contents

  [hide] 

·         1 Geography

o    1.1 Extent

o    1.2 Meteorology

o    1.3 Reefs and islands

·         2 The Timor Current

·         3 Hydrocarbon reserves

o    3.1 Bayu-Undan project

o    3.2 Other projects

·         4 Territorial dispute

·         5 Timor Sea Treaty

·         6 World War II

·         7 See also

·         8 References

·         9 External links

Geography[edit]

The waters to the east are known as the Arafura Sea. The Timor Sea is adjacent to three substantial inlets on the north Australian coast, the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Beagle Gulfand the Van Diemen Gulf. The Australian city of Darwin is the only large city to adjoin the sea. The small town of Wyndham is located on the west arm of Cambridge Gulf, an inlet of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.

Rivers that enter the Timor Sea from the Northern Territory include Fish River, King River,Dry River, Victoria River and the Alligator Rivers. Rivers in the Kimberley region that flow into the Timor Sea include the Ord River,Forrest River, Pentecost River and Durack River.

The sea is about 480 km (300 statute miles) wide, covering an area of about 610,000 km². (235,000 square miles). Its deepest point is the Timor Trough (which some geologists consider is the south-eastern extension of the Java Trench, but others view as a foreland trough to the Timor Island "mountain range"), located in the northern part of the sea, which reaches a depth of 3,300 m (10,800 ft). The remainder of the sea is much shallower, much of it averaging less than 200 m (650 ft) deep, as it overlies the Sahul Shelf, part of the Australian continental shelf.

The Big Bank Shoals is an area on the sloping seabed between the continental shelf and the Timor Trough where a number of submerged banks are located.^[2] The ecosystem of the shoals is significantly different to the deeper waters surrounding them. In May 2010, it was announced that a crater about 50 km wide has been discovered on the seabed of the Timor Sea.^[3]

Extent

Tropical cyclone Floyd over the Timor Sea, 2006

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Timor Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:^[4]

On the North The Southeastern limit of the Savu Sea [By a line from the Southwest point of Timor to the Northeast point of Roti, through this island to its Southwest point] the Southeastern coast of Timor and the Southern limit of the Banda Sea [A line from Tanjong Aro Oesoe, through Sermata to Tanjong Njadora the Southeast point of Lakov (8°16′S 128°14′E) along the South coasts of Lakov, Moa and Leti Islands to Tanjong Toet Pateh, the West point of Leti, thence a line to Tanjong Sewirawa the Eastern extremity of Timor].

On the East. The Western [limit] of the Arafura Sea [A line from Cape Don to Tanjong Aro Oesoe, the Southern point of Selaroe (Tanimbar Islands)].

On the South. The North coast of Australia from Cape Don to Cape Londonderry (13°47′S 126°55′E).

On the West. A line from Cape Londonderry to the Southwest point of Roti Island (10°56′S 122°48′E).

Meteorology

Many tropical storms and cyclones originate or pass through the Timor Sea. In February 2005, Tropical Cyclone Vivienne disrupted oil and gas production facilities in the area, and the next month, Severe Tropical Cyclone Willy interrupted production.^{[citation needed]}. The petroleum production facilities are designed to withstand the effects of cyclones, although as a safety precaution production is usually reduced or temporarily halted and workers evacuated by helicopter to the mainland - usually to Darwin or Dili.

Reefs and islands

Rowley Shoals, 2005

A number of significant islands are located in the sea, notably Melville Island, part of the Tiwi Islands, off Australia and the Australian-governed Ashmore and Cartier Islands. It is thought that early humans reached Australia by "island-hopping" across the Timor Sea.

Scott and Seringapatam Reefs formed in the area and to the west on the same underwater platform is the Rowley Shoals.

The Timor Current

The Timor Current is an oceanic current that runs south-west in the Timor Sea between the Indonesia archipelago and Australia. It is a major contributor to the Indonesian Throughflowthat transports water from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

Hydrocarbon reserves

Oil slick from the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea September, 2009.

Beneath the Timor Sea lie considerable reserves of oil and gas. A number of offshore petroleum projects are in operation and there is considerable exploration activity either underway and numerous proposed projects. A gas pipeline crosses the Timor Sea from the Joint Petroleum Development Area to Wickham Point near Darwin.^[5]

The Timor Sea was the location for Australia's largest oil spill when the Montara oil field leaked oil, natural gas and condensate from 21 August to 3 November 2009.^[6] During the spill 400 barrels of oil leaked each day. The Montara Commission of Inquiry placed blame on the Thai company PTTEP, owner of the wells.^[1]

Bayu-Undan project

The largest petroleum project in operation in the Timor Sea is the Bayu-Undan project operated by ConocoPhillips. The Bayu-Undan field is located approximately 500 km north-west of Darwin. Production commenced in 2004 as a gas recycle project - with liquids (condensate, propane and butane) being stripped from the raw production stream and exported. Gas was pumped back down into the reservoir. At around the same time, construction commenced on a 500 km subsea natural gas pipeline connecting the Bayu-Undan processing facility to a liquefied natural gas plant situated at Wickham Point in Darwin harbour. Since the completion of the pipeline and the Darwin LNG plant in 2006, gas produced offshore at Bayu-Undan is now transported to the Darwin plant where it is converted into a liquid and transported to Japan under long-term sales contracts.^[7]

Other projects

AED Oil owns the large oil project at Puffin oilfield and Woodside Petroleum is producing oil at the Laminaria oilfield. The Greater Sunrise gas field, discovered in 1974, is one of the largest in the area and is expected to earn East Timor several billion dollars in royalty revenues. Woodside Petroleum plans to process gas from Greater Sunrise via a floating platform, however Xanana Gusmão, East Timor's Prime Minister opposes this plan and instead wants the gas to go to Dili via a pipeline for processing.^[8]

Territorial dispute

Since discovery of petroleum in the Timor Sea in the 1970s, there have been disputes surrounding rights to ownership and exploitation of the resources situated in a part of the Timor Sea known as the Timor Gap, which is the area of the Timor Sea which lies outside the territorial boundaries of the nations to the north and south of the Timor Sea.^[9] These disagreements initially involved Australia and Indonesia, although a resolution was eventually reached in the form of the Timor Gap Treaty. After declaration of East Timor's nationhood in 1999, the terms of the Timor Gap Treaty were abandoned and negotiations commenced between Australia and East Timor, culminating in the Timor Sea Treaty.

Australia's territorial claim extends to the bathymetric axis (the line of greatest sea-bed depth) at the Timor Trough. It overlaps East Timor's own territorial claim, which follows the former colonial power Portugal in claiming that the dividing line should be midway between the two countries.

Timor Sea Treaty

The Timor Sea Treaty, which was signed on the 20 May 2002, led to the establishment of the Timor Sea Designated Authority (TSDA). This organisation is responsible for the administration of all petroleum-related activities in a part of the Timor Sea known as the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA). The treaty was ratified in February 2007.^[9]

Under the terms of the treaty, royalties on petroleum production in the JPDA are split in a 90:10 ratio between East Timor andAustralia.^[10] It has been criticised because the treaty did not finalise the maritime boundary between East Timor and Australia.^[9]

World War II

Main article: Battle of Timor (1942–43)

During the 1940s the Japanese navy conducted air raids on Australia from ships in the Timor Sea. On the 19 February 1942 theJapanese aircraft carrier Kaga with other vessels, launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia, sinking nine ships, including the USS Peary. This bombing marked the beginning of the Battle of Timor in the Pacific theatre of World War II.

See also

	Australia portal
	East Timor portal
	Indonesia portal

·         Banda Sea

·         The great Jukung race

References

1.    ^ Jump up to:^a b Andrew Burrell (29 April 2011). "Montara oil spill firm seeks permission for more drills".The Australian (News Limited). Retrieved 22 May 2011.

2.    Jump up^ "Big Bank Shoals of the Timor Sea". Australian Institute of Marine Science. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 4 June 2010.

3.    Jump up^ Jess Teideman (21 May 2010). "Vast asteroid crater found in Timor Sea". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 31 May 2010.

4.    Jump up^ "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition". International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Retrieved 7 February 2010.

5.    Jump up^ "Santos - Our Activities - Timor Sea". Santos. Retrieved 23 October 2010.

6.    Jump up^ "Huge oil spill plugged at last - rig owner".The Australian. News Limited. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-03.

7.    Jump up^ Darwin LNG

8.    Jump up^ "East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão accuses Woodside of lying". news.com.au(News Limited). 27 May 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.

9.    ^ Jump up to:^a b c Richard Baker (21 April 2007). "New Timor treaty 'a failure'". Theage.com.au. The Age Company Ltd. Retrieved 3 January 2010.

10. Jump up^ "Joint Petroleum Development Area Fact sheet" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-01-29.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Timor Sea.

·         Khamsi, Kathryn (2005). "A Settlement to the Timor Sea Dispute?". Harvard Asia Quarterly 9 (1) 6-23.

·         East Timor is protective of oil, gas industry

·         Arrecifes e islas australianas en el Mar de Timor (spanish)

Subject: AP: E. Timor protective of oil, gas industry

E. Timor protective of oil, gas industry

JIM GOMEZ Associated Press

DILI, East Timor - East Timor's ramshackle capital is dotted with rundown buildings, old cars and squalid camps packed with thousands of people waiting to return home after months of violence. But billions of dollars in largely untapped oil and gas reserves lie just off the coast of Asia's newest and poorest nation.

East Timor is zealously guarding its nascent oil and gas industry, seen as a potential lifeline following centuries of colonial rule and foreign occupation that crippled it politically and economically. It is determined not to follow the path of several other mineral-rich countries that failed to prosper.

The tiny country created a petroleum fund last year to protect its mineral wealth for future generations, which was lauded by the World Bank and other international institutions. The government has vowed not to spend the money, which so far pools income from two offshore fields, on golden palaces and limousines but on roads, schools and health.

Rules that govern the fund - currently $600 million and growing - limit how much the government can withdraw, and theoretically ensure a sustainable annual income for the nation of less than 1 million inhabitants for decades to come.

"It's the absolute best way of preserving the nation's wealth," said Roger White, a British expert advising East Timorese energy officials under an eight-year consultancy program funded by a grant from Norway.

"It is to prevent the difficulties that many oil rich nations have had - either that their money is spent badly or when the oil and gas resources are gone, there is nothing left," he said.

East Timor was plunged to the brink of civil war in May when then-prime minister Mari Alkatiri - the fund's architect - dismissed 600 soldiers, sparking clashes between rival security factions that spilled into gang warfare, looting and arson attacks. Alkatiri was forced to resign as prime minister in July amid allegations that he helped fuel the unrest, something he denies.

At least 30 people were killed and another 150,000 fled homes in the capital, Dili, highlighting the country's continued political instability seven years after it voted for independence from Indonesia.

East Timor survived largely on international aid when it first became a new nation in 2002, following two years of U.N. administration, earning almost nothing from its nascent petroleum industry.

Australia has been drilling for oil and gas for several years in an offshore field that includes Bayo Undang, located on contested waters between the two nations. After East Timor became independent, it was able to negotiate a considerably higher share in oil and gas revenues.

Twenty million dollars in royalties from the Bayo Undang field were rolled into the petroleum fund. Today it's worth more than $600 million, thanks to production at the Bayo Undang and Elenka Katua fields, soaring oil prices and interest payments, 

Alkatiri said in an interview with The Associated Press.

With an estimated 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath the Timor Sea - slightly smaller than the reserves found under Brunei - the fund is expected to keep growing.

A treaty signed with Australia in January to develop the Greater Sunrise gas field - the largest in the Timor Sea - is expected to earn East Timor $4 billion over the expected 30-year life of the project.

Abraao de Vasconselos, general manager)of the Banking and Payments Authority, which manages the petroleum fund, said the money is invested in U.S. Treasuries and each government withdrawal requires parliamentary approval.

"The idea is to protect the fund for future generations," he said.

But others noted that East Timor's ability to hold on to oil and gas as a lifeline depends largely on the ability of the government - which is for the first time trying to tap into the resource fund to pay for the 2006-2007 budget - to effectively manage the revenues.

That means building an effective government and private work force by improving health and education, and investing in agriculture, infrastructure and rural development, said Jose Teixeira, Minister for Natural Resources, Minerals and Energy.

"Nothing will replace prudent economic and financial management," he said.

It also means avoiding pitfalls of other oil-rich developing nations like Chad, which saw a similar petroleum fund collapse after the government eased restrictions on spending of the oil money.

The World Bank responded by suspending $124 million to the Central African country, though the two sides have since signed an interim agreement restoring the loans.

Some critics at home wonder why East Timor is not taking advantage of its oil and gas reserves more quickly to rev up its economy and get people - who earn an average of less than a dollar a month - back to their homes.

"If we have the money, let's use it and not beg" from other countries, said Mario Carrascalao, a former East Timor governor. "It's not the way, we have to be responsible."

But White noted that East Timor, which was colonized for centuries by Portugal before coming under Indonesian occupation in 1975, needs to build an efficient bureaucracy before it can exploit the economic potential of its petroleum resources.

"There are very few experienced bureaucrats," he said. The country has had to start from scratch building all apparatus of government and does not necessarily know how to spend the money wisely, he added.

"It's the birth pains of a new nation," White said.

The recent instability also highlighted the risks of doing business in East Timor.

The government was forced to postpone signing oil and gas exploration contracts in other offshore areas with Italian oil and gas giant Eni SpA and India's Reliance Petroleum Ltd., said White. Gangs barged into a building that contains the offices of several senior energy officials and looted computers and supplies, he said. Several local staffers have yet to return to work, he added.

The deals are still on, Teixeira said, and they may be signed in the next few weeks.

"We were just within three weeks of signing these big contracts and having enormous work for the good of the country and now it's just waiting," White said. "It's an absolute tragedy."

---------

Dear Friends,

Please note the following errors in this article by Jim Gomez:

- Para 1: East Timor has not experienced 'months' of violence.

- Para 3: (I assume) The word 'not' is missing prior to 'on golden palaces and limousines'

- Para 4: There are no RULES that govern the withdrawal of revenue from the Petroleum Fund. The value of Estimated Sustainable Income is only a GUIDE. If Parliament wishes, it may withdraw greater than the value of ESI and the Petroleum Fund Act can not prevent this.

- Throughout: The petroleum field names are spelled incorrectly.

In response to the 'critics at home (who wonder why East Timor is not taking advantage of its oil and gas reserves more quickly)' Gomez refers to, the following should be noted:

- East Timor's Petroleum Fund Act was established in August last year. Since a Government budget has not been passed until now, there has not been until now an opportunity to withdraw from the Petroleum Fund via this mechanism.

- Prior to the establishment of the Petroleum Fund Act only FTP was saved and taxes from petroleum exploitation were spent. In that regard it could be argued that East Timor has already 'spent' some of its 'petroleum revenue'.

However, (Gomez quotes) Adviser Mr White is correct in explaining that an efficient bureaucracy must be built before much greater amounts of revenue (petroleum of otherwise) are committed to budget expenditure. It is noted that budget execution to date has been relatively poor so there is no point increasing sectoral budgets until they have the capacity to spend them wisely.

Finally, Mr Gomez neglected to mention that East Timor's oil and gas exploration bidding process was highly transparent; the Evaluation Commission reports of the Bid Process are published on the Government's Oil and Gas Directorate website (http://www.timor-leste.gov.tl/emrd/). This is, I understand, perhaps the first time a Bid Report has been published.

Regards

Jenny Drysdale

Penulis : Drs.Simon Arnold Julian Jacob