In areas A and C, East Timor claims 90 percent of the revenue left over after oil companies collect their cut of production profits; Australia gets 10 percent. In Area B, 90 percent of the yield goes to Australia and 10 percent to East Timor. Dili signed the arrangement in order to begin collecting returns as soon as possible.
The arrangement, however, does not address fields that lay outside the Timor Gap, the majority of which Australia now controls. Two of these fields, Greater Sunrise and Laminaria/
Corallina, will generate billions in earnings. A legal seminar, sponsored by Denver-based oil company PetroTimor in Dili March 23, advised East Timor's
Corallina, will generate billions in earnings. A legal seminar, sponsored by Denver-based oil company PetroTimor in Dili March 23, advised East Timor's
interim government that it could challenge the current boundaries to assert jurisdiction over a larger area of the Timor Sea.
Two days after the conference, however, Australia decided to renounce all decisions made by the International Court of Justice on the demarcation of the sea's boundaries. Canberra opted instead to engage directly in bilateral negotiations with Dili on maritime border issues.
The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea calls for maritime boundaries to lie along the midpoint between countries if less than 400 miles of sea separates them.
Two days after the conference, however, Australia decided to renounce all decisions made by the International Court of Justice on the demarcation of the sea's boundaries. Canberra opted instead to engage directly in bilateral negotiations with Dili on maritime border issues.
The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea calls for maritime boundaries to lie along the midpoint between countries if less than 400 miles of sea separates them.