Dili, May 13 (AseanAll) —The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Timor-Leste, along with the public company TIMOR GAP, EP, signed a cooperation agreement with the Swiss company StreamTec Solution AG on May 13th, 2025, for the development of a natural gas pipeline design project and the establishment of a public-private company named STREAMTEC Timor-Leste Pipeline, CO. 

The new company will be 70% owned by TIMOR GAP, E.P., and 30% owned by StreamTec Solution AG, and will be responsible for promoting, operating, and maintaining a gas pipeline that will transport natural gas from the Bayu Undan gas condensate field in the Timor Sea and other adjacent fields to Natarbora. The establishment of this company represents a strategic initiative from a commercial point of view and aims to stimulate the development of the southern coast by enabling the transportation of gas from the Timor Sea to Natarbora. 

STREAMTEC Timor-Leste Pipeline may also participate in the Greater Sunrise project, depending on the outcome of negotiations currently underway between the Sunrise Joint Venture and the Governments of Timor-Leste and Australia. Its eventual integration will be considered after the project structure and distribution of responsibilities among the partners have been defined. 

The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Francisco da Costa Monteiro, pointed out that, taking into account “the decline in production at the Bayu Undan field and the ongoing assessment of the closure of the commercial route (the gas pipeline) to Australia”, it is necessary to “develop a national gas pipeline solution that will allow the remaining reserves to continue to be used and align with the potential development of the Chuditch field”. 

As for the implementation schedule, the Minister said that the project should start soon and that the design phase of the pipeline could be completed in about one to two years. There are also plans to do a joint study, with the active participation of Timorese experts, to strengthen national capacity for future operation and maintenance. 

StreamTec representative George Nowack shared the company's experience in executing large gas pipeline projects, highlighting the example of the Nord Stream system between Germany and Russia, which was originally scheduled to take six years to complete but was finished in just two.

StreamTec has previously collaborated with Timor-Leste on feasibility studies for the Greater Sunrise project. With this new agreement, the Government now seeks to consolidate this partnership as part of a broader strategy for developing infrastructure linked to Bayu Undan and for the future implementation of Greater Sunrise.