Timor Sea Designated Authority
For The Joint Petroleum Development Area
Media Release

Draft Legal Regime For Timor Sea Investment Unveiled

26 July 2004

The Timor Sea Designated Authority (TSDA) today presented a new draft
Petroleum Mining Code and a model Production Sharing Contract that set out
a competitive and transparent regime for the development of petroleum in
the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), established pursuant to the
Timor Sea Treaty.

Interested parties are invited to send input and comments on the draft for consideration by the TSDA, prior to the drafts being sent to a Timor-Leste and Australia Joint Commission for approval later this year.

The TSDA is a joint Timor-Leste/Australia authority responsible for administering the JPDA, established under the Timor Sea Treaty. The TSDA has been working under an interim petroleum regime since its formation on 2 April 2003, while developing jointly with the Timor-Leste Government a world class, permanent regime for Petroleum Investment in the Timor Sea.

The TSDA's draft documents can be downloaded at www.timorseada.org

The new petroleum regime mirrors the Timor-Leste domestic petroleum regime
also being launched today, and which is available at www.timorseaoffice.gov.tp.

In unveiling the package of draft documents Executive Director, Mr Einar Risa said:

"Together with the Timor-Leste Government we have created a petroleum regime that is internationally competitive, with the view of moving forward together. The JPDA has already proven to be a highly prospective area. We hope to attract a wide range of companies to the area."

"We look forward to receiving comments from key stakeholders during our
consultation period."

The JPDA is home to two major fields: the Bayu-Undan and Sunrise fields. The ConocoPhillips Bayu-Undan Project celebrated the start of production earlier this year. Production is expected to increase over the coming year and will be upplemented with the addition of gas exports to the Darwin LNG facility.

The Bayu-Undan field contains an estimated 3.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of
gas and 400 million barrels of condensate and other liquid petroleum gases
(LPG), while the Greater Sunrise field contains an estimated 7.7 (TCF) of
lean gas and 290 million barrels of condensate.

The TSDA aims to have the new regime in place in order to launch an exploration round in the first quarter of 2005.

Written comments relative to the set of documents can be sent to the email address below to be received no later than 21 September 2004.

Corporate enquiries: Niny Borges, niny.borges@timorseada.org, +670 723 1229 or +61 409 900 015

Media Enquiries: Paul Cleary, pcleary_tso@yahoo.co.uk; +670 723 4151

Written submissions should be addressed to: Jose Soares,
jose.soares@timorseada.org

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