Woodside Energy has agreed to sell its 33.44 percent stake in the long-delayed Greater Sunrise gas project to Timor-Leste's Timor GAP for up to $200 million, with completion aimed for the first half of 2027.
Australian energy company Woodside Energy has agreed to sell its entire 33.44 percent operated stake in the Greater Sunrise gas development offshore Timor-Leste to the country's national oil and gas company, Timor GAP, for up to $200 million, Woodside announced on Tuesday 27 October.
Woodside said reaching alignment in August on the key principles underpinning a new Greater Sunrise production sharing contract and associated fiscal framework provided an appropriate point to sell its participating interest. Acting chief executive Liz Westcott said the agreement followed that August alignment, according to Dow Jones reporting of Woodside's announcement. Woodside aims to complete the transaction in the first half of 2027.
Greater Sunrise has sat undeveloped for years, in part because of a long-running dispute between Dili and Canberra over where the gas should be processed. Timor-Leste has pressed for a pipeline to its southern coast and a local processing plant, arguing that local processing would create jobs and support industrial development, while the field's revenue is critical for a country facing a sharp drop in income as other energy fields are depleted. Osaka Gas sold its 10 percent interest in the project to Timor GAP in September 2026, leaving Timor GAP to consolidate control.
Woodside's announcement and the signing ceremony reported by Upstream, at which Woodside executive vice president Julie Fallon and Timor GAP chief executive Rui Soares appeared, confirm the sale and its headline terms. The $200 million figure is an upper value, not a fixed price, and Reuters reporting notes that the full value will depend on the project's eventual progress, so it should not be read as cash already received.
The sale shifts Greater Sunrise from a venture led by an international operator to a state-led development, and it opens a question that analysts have flagged: who will fund the costly pipeline and processing facilities Timor-Leste wants. An industry analyst told ABC News Australia that China was well placed to step forward, pointing to Beijing's growing interest in Pacific and South-East Asian energy infrastructure, while Canberra has previously voiced discomfort with expanding Chinese investment near its northern approaches.
Completion in the first half of 2027 is the next dated milestone. Whether Timor GAP brings in new partners before then, and on what terms, will determine whether the project finally moves from a decades-old discovery toward construction.