* Woodside says East Timor reaction premature, posturing

* East Timor slams Woodside for “arrogance”; opposes plan

* Woodside CEO to travel to Dili next week to meet officials

* East Timor, Australia to hold talks in Dili on May 14

PERTH/DILI, April 30 – Woodside Petroleum Ltd said the East Timor government’s opposition to its development plan for a major offshore gas field in the Timor Sea was premature, and that it would visit Dili next week to explain the merits of the plan.

Woodside on Thursday said venture partners for the multi-billion dollar Sunrise liquefied natural gas project want to develop the field using a floating liquefaction platform, drawing stiff opposition from the East Timor government, which also accused Woodside of exhibiting an “unacceptable level of arrogance”.

The Greater Sunrise field contains an estimated 5.13 trillion cubic feet of gas and straddles Australian and East Timorese waters. Dili wants the gas developed on its shores, while Canberra has not declared a preference.

“We will be going to East Timor next week to show them the full proposal … we will get them to read the proposal and then evaluate it,” Woodside Chief Executive Don Voelte told reporters after the annual general meeting.

Voelte said the floating LNG plan was the most compelling and would bring more revenue to the citizens of East Timor than any other option.

The venture would also commit to employing and training some people from East Timor, and help the impoverished nation build a new resource industry onshore.

Australia and East Timor reached a deal four years ago to evenly split billions of dollars of field royalties, but East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta had wanted jobs from processing to be based in the impoverished country.

Woodside ruled out building a liquefaction plant onshore, citing high costs and technical risks of building a pipeline across a deep ocean trench — arguments disputed by East Timor.

In a strongly worded statement, East Timor on Friday said it would not approve the Sunrise joint venture’s floating LNG plan “now or in the future” and said Woodside’s announcement was “a waste of valuable time”.

“Woodside was acutely aware of the governments’ position before the announcement; but chose to proceed regardless. This is not only a source of great concern, but reflects an unacceptable level of arrogance,” Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers, H.E. Agio Pereira, said in a statement.

Woodside’s Voelte dismissed those comments as “posturing”.

East Timor’s Foreign Minister, Zacarias Albano da Costa, said his government would discuss the issue with Australia’s Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, during an official visit to Dili in May.

“I don’t want to comment much on the option. We have put it in the agenda to discuss that issue during a meeting in Dili, East Timor, on May 14,” da Costa told Reuters.

Da Costa reiterated his government’s commitment to an East Timor-based LNG plant.

Floating LNG technology owned by Royal Dutch Shell , is untried anywhere in the world, but Shell said the technology has undergone vigorous testing and it plans to use the first of the nine ships it is building on its wholly-owned Prelude field off western Australia.

Partners in the Greater Sunrise field are U.S. major ConocoPhillips , Shell and Japan’s Osaka Gas . (Reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth; Tito Belo in Dili; Editing by Sara Webb and David Fox)

Timor-Leste Public Sector Capacity Development Program

Activity Manager and Capacity Development Adviser

GRM is the Managing Contractor for the Australian Government assistance provided to East Timor (Timor-Leste) via the Public Sector Capacity Development Program (PSCDP).

The goal of the East Timor (Timor-Leste) Public Sector Capacity Development Program is:
A sustainable and effective system of governance and public administration for the delivery of high quality public services.
The mission of the Program is:
To strengthen capacity building institutions and processes to build individual and institutional public sector capacity in East Timor.

As part of this assistance the PSCDP designs activities and provides timely access to, amongst other things, high-level short and longer-term technical expertise in areas across the public sector.

We are seeking to recruit an internationally experienced Activity Manager and Capacity Development Adviser to work closely with key national counterpart agencies within the Government of Timor-Leste. The position will be full time for an initial contract period of 12 months.
Selection Process

Recruitment for the position will take place as follows:
· GRM will review written applications to determine compliance with mandatory criteria and completion of application documentation and the Selection Panel will prepare a shortlist of candidates for interview with reference to the Terms of Reference (A. Terms of Reference) and the Selection Criteria (B. Selection Criteria);
· Interviews will be conducted by phone; and
· A decision will be made on the successful applicant following referee checks.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICANTS

All applications are screened for compliance upon receipt. Only those applications that comply with all instructions will be forwarded to the staff responsible for assessment.

Please submit your application to Hilary Goode on: hilary.goode@grminternational.com or +61 3 8676 6820 if you have any questions. Application closing date: Friday 14 May 2010. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Please submit with your application:
· A covering letter of no more than 3 pages addressing your suitability for the position against criteria outlined below. The cover letter must demonstrate your understanding of the requirements of the position and address each of the Qualifications, Experience and Skills Criteria as well as Language/Interpreter requirements mentioned in the Terms of Reference;
· Your curriculum vitae.

Applications should be in English and should not contain any additional material.

To access a detailed copy of the Terms of Reference and Selection Criteria, please click HERE
CVs of suitable applicants will be added to the GRM Consultant Database

A more complete version, with graphics, links, and ongoing updates, is at http://www.laohamutuk.org/econ/SDP/10SDPindex.htm

After working on it for several months, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão presented a summary of his Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 to the Development Partners meeting in April. Although the plan summary is entitled “From Conflict to Prosperity,” the cover was re-labeled “On road to Peace and Prosperity” when it was revised and posted on the Government website in English and Portuguese a few weeks later.

The full version of the Strategic Development Plan has not yet been circulated. However, La’o Hamutuk has read the English “Final Draft” which was given to a few state leaders. It has more than 400 pages, nearly 80 tables, and more than 60 figures.

Unfortunately, the content is not as impressive as the appearance. The Summary presents an “inspirational outlook” of a prosperous Timor-Leste in 20 years, with no illiteracy; water supply infrastructure, primary health care and secondary education for all; national wireless broadband, and no poverty. But the draft plan itself, which is often inconsistent with the Summary, gives scant specifics about how Timor-Leste will achieve this inspiring vision.

On 19 April, the Prime Minister began “consulting” Timorese people across the country about the plan, promising to go to every subdistrict.

Although the Prime Minister’s journey has stimulated much excitement and debate, the plan itself has received little analysis. La’o Hamutuk hopes that this web page helps people understand its contents and decide whether they are desirable and achievable, given Timor-Leste’s current situation and the human and material resources available.

This page discusses some of the most important issues in the plan:
1. Underestimating Timor-Leste’s dependency on Petroleum Revenues – honesty in describing non-oil revenues
2. Burning natural gas, and selling it too – using Sunrise gas to generate a gigawatt of electricity
3. Riches beyond imagining – is Timor-Leste’s “wealth” more than Indonesia or Malaysia?
We welcome suggestions about how to make this more accurate, relevant and useful.

1. Underestimating Timor-Leste’s dependency on Petroleum Revenues

As La’o Hamutuk has often written, Timor-Leste is by far the most petroleum-dependent country in the world. This is not because we have a lot of oil and gas, but because the rest of our economy is so small. In our submission on the 2010 General State Budget, La’o Hamutuk explained that Domestic Revenues for 2010 will actually be less than $46.1 million, rather than the $87.2 million projected by the Government. The difference is largely because the Government counts as revenues taxes paid by one ministry to another, gross income from selling rice which the government purchased at a higher price than it is sold for, and gross revenues from the electricity and ports agencies which operate at a loss. If these losses are taken into account, the actual domestic revenues projected in the 2010 budget are negative $18.2 million. However, the discussion which follows uses the Government’s inflated numbers — Timor-Leste’s dependency on petroleum is so severe that this makes little difference.

The first diagram in the Strategic Development Plan shows the components of State Revenue from 2002 through 2009. However, it uses a “logarithmic” vertical axes which distorts the relationship between small and larger numbers, making large numbers appear smaller, and small numbers appear larger.

The second figure, drawn by La’o Hamutuk based on the same data, uses a more understandable linear scale. In this case, every dollar adds the same height to each bar, regardless of the total size of the bar. The non-petroleum revenue components are so small as to be almost invisible.

The linear graph more accurately shows Timor-Leste’s dependency on Petroleum Revenues, which comprised 94% of total state revenues during the first eight years of independence. We hope that policy-makers will understand the urgency of strengthening Timor-Leste’s non-petroleum economy, which will result in increased domestic revenues, before the oil runs out in 15 years or less.

2. Burning natural gas, and selling it too

La’o Hamutuk believes that Timor-Leste should get the maximum benefits from the oil and natural gas in the Greater Sunrise field, which may involve bringing it to our South Coast by a pipeline, even though the international petroleum companies with the contracts for that field prefer to liquefy the gas at a floating LNG facility, rather than piping it to either Timor-Leste or Australia. . The Strategic Development Plan, however, assumes that the Sunrise gas will be brought to Timor-Leste, and we make the same assumption for the purposes of this discussion.

Page 15 of the Summary says
“Timor-Leste will develop a modern power grid linking the entire country with at least 1 Giga-Watt, 1GW (1,000 megawatts) of installed power capacity by 2020. The power grid will connect all districts, and will draw on the country’s natural gas resources to power much of the national system.”

If Timor-Leste intends to use gas from Sunrise as fuel to supply a gigawatt of electrical generation capacity, this will consume nearly two-thirds of Timor-Leste’s share of the Sunrise upstream project. Gas which is burned to generate electricity is not available to be liquefied and exported to generate revenue.

Under the CMATS Treaty, Timor-Leste receives its share of project profits as dollars, not as natural gas. For the purposes of this discussion, we are assuming that Australia and the companies agree that Timor-Leste can take most of its share as gas, as is envisioned in the Strategic Development Plan. This would also enable Timor-Leste to use some of the gas as feedstock for local industries and other activities.

Operating a gigawatt of electric generating capacity at 50% capacity for 30 years will require 0.87 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

Woodside estimates that Greater Sunrise contains 5.13 tcf of recoverable natural gas. According to La’o Hamutuk’s analysis of the economics of the upstream project, Timor-Leste will receive 1.33 tcf.

If this gas was exported and sold, it would bring in about $15 billion to Timor-Leste from the upstream Sunrise project. However, if we use 0.87 tcf of the gas to generate electricity, that reduces our revenues by nearly $10 billion.

The Strategic Development Plan assumes that petroleum revenues will “rise to $2 billion per year by 2030″ with very optimistic assumptions about oil fields yet to be discovered. However, if we burn most of the natural gas from Sunrise, how can this be possible?

You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Planning for one gigawatt of electrical generating capacity for Timor-Leste raises another question. Assuming 50% utilization, divided among two million Timorese citizens in 2030, indicates electric use of 2,200 kwh/person/year, which is about the same as Brazil, Thailand or China. It is four times as much as Indonesia and twice as much as Fiji, Ecuador or Cuba.

If Timor-Leste did generate this much electricity and sold it at current EDTL rates of 12.5c/kwh, the average six-person Timorese household would have to pay $137/month for electricity.

3. Riches beyond imagining

Page 5 of the Strategic Development Plan describes Timor-Leste’s “Economic Potential:” “Timor-Leste’s proven wealth per capita is now $55,660 (2005), higher than Indonesia ($13,350) and Malaysia ($55,326).” This implausible figure is footnoted to the World Bank’s Country Environmental Analysis for Timor-Leste, published in July 2009.

A closer look at that document sheds some light. The figures listed the Strategic Development Plan come from the table at right, taken from page 5 of the World Bank report. We can see that 85% of Timor-Leste’s wealth is non-renewable petroleum resources, which can be used only once. Timor-Leste lags far behind Indonesia and Malaysia in renewable wealth such as farmland and forests, and especially in “produced capital” (infrastructure and industry) . The World Bank report explains this in the text which accompanies this table, abridged as follows:

2.2 National Wealth

Timor-Leste total wealth per capita is among the highest in the region. Natural resources can be valued by taking the present value of resource rents over an assumed lifetime and calculating the net present value of such rents using a discount rate­in this case, 4 percent). Using this method, Timor-Leste’s total wealth per capita ($56,000) is more than three times higher than the average for the region and is comparable to upper middle-income countries like Malaysia.

The Timorese wealth is mainly composed of nonrenewable natural resources wealth. The definition of total wealth used in this report includes not only produced capital, but also natural and intangible capital. Timor-Leste wealth is mainly composed by oil and natural gas reserves (85 percent). Forest land and agricultural land correspond to 3 percent and 2 percent of total wealth respectively.

The management of nonrenewable natural resources represents a significant challenge for the country. Since most of the wealth consists of natural assets and mainly nonrenewable natural resources, this represents a peculiar challenge for the country economic management. In order to sustain and increase per capita consumption levels over time, it is necessary to have nondeclining wealth. From a practical perspective, this calls for natural resource rents to be invested rather than consumed. The Petroleum Fund established in 2005 has this very objective, as it allows oil wealth to be transformed into financial wealth and preserves the value of Timor-Leste’s petroleum wealth for future generations.

La’o Hamutuk agrees that Timor-Leste’s leaders should project an optimistic vision for this nation’s future. However, that vision, especially when it is described by a national plan offered as a “Bible” for current and future governments, needs to be grounded in reality. If we confuse analysis with public relations, future generations will suffer from broken promises, built on sand.

– La’o Hamutuk, 3 May 2010

***********************************************************
La’o Hamutuk (The Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis)
P.O. Box 340, Dili, Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Telephone: +670-3325013 or +670-734-0965 mobile
email: cscheiner@igc.org website: http://www.laohamutuk.org skype: cscheiner

Ágio Pereira

May 3, 2010

Díli, Timor-Leste

Media gets it wrong on gangs and security

Statement by Secretary of State Ágio Pereira

It is widely known Timor-Leste has one of the lowest crime rates per capita in the world. By January, 2010, the weekly reported incidents of crime reduced from 97 to 87 and serious crimes had been reduced by one-third. Since 2007, Timor-Leste has been praised for consolidating security, implementing social recovery programs for the most vulnerable and spurring economic growth which has ranked Timor-Leste as one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world.

The Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste stated in January 2010, “Timor-Leste is safer and more stable today than three years ago. Numbers of illegal weapons are low and crime rates have been relatively low. No recent cases of large-scale unrest in Díli or the districts have been recorded.”

On April 22, 2010 the UN Police Commissioner Luis Miguel Carrilho told the UN news centre “Timor-Leste is now a safe country with a low crime rate. The restaurants in the
capital and most populous city, Dili, are bustling, and you can see people enjoying their
daily routines.”

According to all reports, the gradual transfer from UNPol to the PNTL (Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste) has been successful with the UN reporting “no measurable increases in crime rates reported in districts where the national police, the Polícia Nacional de Timor- Leste (PNTL) had resumed primary policing responsibilities.”

James Scambary, a researcher residing in Australia, quoted recently in media reports as an expert on Timor-Leste, tells a different story. On March 31st in an essay for Inside
Story he reports “Fighting, sporadic but at times intense, sometimes involving over 300
people at a time, is taking place in eight neighborhoods across the city (DILI).” (no
sources quoted)

Scambary’s piece fuelled two more media reports; Mean Streets; The Australian, April 17, 2010 and Why East Timor has declared war on Ninjas, Time Magazine April 22, 2010. All three pieces contained no current statistics, or official comment provided by either Government officials orinternational authorities on the ground in Timor-Leste. According to Scambary, “Disputes are violently enacted by the different factions of some fifteen martial arts groups, which between them have an estimated 90,000 members. The national, mass nature of these groups has made them a destructive force in Timorese society, and their conflicts are again spreading,”

His statement not only contradicts current security reports from Timor-Leste and the overall nature and definition of Timor-Leste “gangs” but his own field research and those of his sources.

In 2006, Mr. Scambary was commissioned by AusAID to do a one month, in-country
survey: A Survey of gangs and youth groups in Díli, Timor-Leste. In a 27 page paper, he bases conclusions on interviews with 26 groups, eight bibliographic sources, all references dated between 1999 and 2006, one of which is a 2005 World Bank report, Timor-Leste: Youth Social Analysis Mapping and Youth Institutional Assessment (Ostergaard 2005).

Ms. Ostergaard derived her data from interviews with six groups. Her conclusions:
‘There are some 15-20 martial arts groups. …The number of registered members is
probably around 20.000. Estimates to the number of non-registered members is much
larger, above 90.000, which compared to the total number of youth, men and women,
being about 230.000, indicates that probably some 70% of the young men are active in
an martial arts group. People interviewed say that all young men are member
of a group; it is part of the identity of being a Timorese man,’

‘Most of the organisations were active during the resistance movement, and self-defence
art was part of the strategy to fight the Indonesian occupation. Since independence,
there has been a need to redefine the role of self-defence to become purely a
sport activity. The organisations have managed this to different extent, but
among those met with, there was a great concern to focus on sports, on
formal tournaments, international competitions and recognition, and to
avoid being part of the political system as this may prevent participation in
international competitions. Only one of the organisations, Kmanek Oan Rai Klaran
(KORK) is actively affiliated with the ruling political party Fretilin. This is the only
organisation not having an international relation and model, as it is trying to establish a
national self-defence art.’’

Scambary’s key findings in A Survey of gangs and youth groups in Díli, Timor-
Leste support Ostergaard’s conclusions:

The existence of hundreds of different bairro (village) based youth groups, all attempting in different but positive ways to engage and unify their communities through collective, socially oriented activities. These groups are essentially voluntary, community based civil society organizations, and represent important building blocks for future reconciliation and reconstruction programs, and as vital points of engagement with marginalized youth

As this study found, it’s impossible to generalise about these groups, which comprise a broad spectrum from small, informal groups of young males who mostly just play guitar and drink, highly cohesive, organised youth groups with coherent objectives and a range of sporting and civic activities, to large organised, ethnically based criminal gangs.” On the threat of violence Scambary writes:

These claims of non-involvement in the violence seemed genuine, as of all groups interviewed, only three had a bad reputation in the neighbourhood, and possibly only one of these groups could be said to be involved as a group. Without a more thorough investigation, it could be only be concluded that all of some groups, and some of all groups were guilty of involvement in the current violence”

Mr. Scambary’s statement is ambiguous and not significantly based on empirical data or comprehensive statistics. All the data presented in 2010 references information collected four to five years prior. Both studies (Scambary and Ostergaard) do not reflect the information presented in the three articles March 31st, April 17th and April 22nd. . In 2009, a second publication was issued: Groups Gangs and Armed Violence, which was “based on the research conducted by James Scambary, who has conducted research on Timorese gangs since 2006.”

The authors note ”The most sustained and comprehensive civil society-led process specifically to deal with gang and MAG violence so far has been the Action Asia/Hak Association MAG training Project. Two members (one senior, one junior) from each of the nine main active MAG groups were selected to participate in a collective one-year peace-building course. One part of the course involved an exposure visit to the Philippines, where they met with key groups that have played a role in promoting the peace process and non-violence in that country, including imprisoned gang members, solidarity groups, and Philippine army officers. Although one of the two key combatant groups, 7-7, was not initially involved, it joined the final course module and subsequently made a peace pact with PSHT.”

Scambary, a representative of the Asia Action group and a representative from HAK, were the only quoted participants in the aforementioned articles; a very well coordinated agenda presented to the press by the three parties.

It should be noted, Daily Security briefings are readily available and information can be sourced through the Government, the relevant Government Ministers, the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste, UnPol and the many other international partners who are involved in monitoring the overall security and progress of nation. The question still remains why three writers preferred to omit the central sources of real time and accurate information.

Secretary of State Ágio Pereira stated “Timor-Leste has become accustomed to weak external analysis; we now have over 3,635 reports written by international actors with conflicting data, outdated sources, and opinion presented as fact.

‘We are also aware that people and organizations have an agenda to promote to serve their own self interest, to justify their continued work in country or perhaps to promote a third party agenda whose best interests would be served to imply that Timor-Leste poses sovereign risk; sadly, this does not reflect the State of the nation in May 2010. Commentary such as this does not serve the interest of the State or the people of Timor- Leste nor does it contribute to the development of our nation which should be the ultimate purpose of all those involved in the development process.”

‘The last series of articles was deeply offensive to our nation, our Government, the institutions of the State, the people of Timor-Leste and all the international actors who have positively contributed and participated in consolidating peace and stability. By excluding our participation in the analysis, what was left was a grossly misleading and inaccurate portrayal of the state of the nation.” ENDS

For More Information Please Contact:
Ágio Pereira +670 723 0011
E-mail: agiopereira@cdm.gov.tl or govtlmedia@gmail.com
Website: www.timor-leste.gov.tl

FSN#2010/08

Supply Supervisor

OPEN TO: All Interested Candidates

POSITION: Supply Supervisor, FSN-7; FP-7

OPENING DATE: 04/30/2010

CLOSING DATE: 05/13/2010

WORK HOURS: Full-time; 40 hrs/week

SALARY:

Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR): FP-7

Ordinarily Resident (OR): FSN-7

The U.S. Embassy in Dili is seeking an individual for the position of Supply Supervisor in its General Services Office located at Rua Praia dos Coqueiros – Comoro, Dili, Timor-Leste.

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION:

Manages General Warehousing Operations for both expendable and non-expendable supplies and performs other supportive functions including issueing and receipt. Provides overall supervision to the Shipping and Customs functions. Performs back up Motor Pool supervisor as necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

NOTES: (1) All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each item. (2) For AEFMs, EFMs and MOHs please see Post “Additional Selection Criteria” at the beginning of the “Employment Opportunities for U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Members (AEFMs), Eligible Family Members (EFMs), Members of Household (MOHs) and Current Locally Employed (LE) Staff Employees” or on the Bulletin Board in HR or on the Website.

(1) Two years college or university studies is required; (2) At least three years of progressive experience as an administrative assistant and/or warehouse operation; (3) Level III (good working knowledge) of English. And host country language (Tetum). Bahasa (Indonesia) is required; (4) Must know all diplomatic shipping regulations of both local customs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Must be familiar with Department of State, Department of Defense, and ICCAS customer agency property and shipping regulations. Must be familiar with international surface and air shipping practices and associated documentation. Must have good knowledge of supply and warehousing principles based on previous experience; (5) Must Maintain a working relationship with working level officials of Customs Department, Port Authority, Police Department and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to request assistance when problems Arise. Must be proficient in composing diplomatic notes and correspondence and typing both Tetum and English. Must have good organizational skill; ability to perform physical labor; ability to drive forklift. Must be proficiency in computer applications including MS Office package.

SELECTION PROCESS:

When equally qualified, U.S. citizen Eligible Family Members (AEFMs) and U.S. Veterans will be given preference. Therefore, it is essential that the candidate address the required qualifications above in the application.

SUBMIT APPLICATION TO:

Human Resources Office
Attention: Recruitment
American Embassy, Rua Praia dos Coqueiros – Comoro, Dili, Timor-Leste
E-mail: DiliHR2@State.gov
Fax: +670-3313206

DO NOT ATTACH PHOTO

CLOSING DATE FOR THE POSITION: May 13, 2010

Employment Opportunities for U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Members (AEFMs), Eligible Family Members (EFMs), Members of Household (MOHs), Timor-Leste Citizens, Resident American Citizens & TCNs with Certified Residency Status

NOTE: All applicants who are not the Family Members of USG employees officially assigned to post and under Chief of Mission Authority must have the required work and/or residency permits to be eligible for consideration.

IN ADDITION TO THE ELIGIBILITY AND QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH POSITION IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING ARE ALSO SELECTION CRITERIA:

1. Management will consider nepotism/ conflict of interest, budget and residency status in determining successful candidacy.

2. Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.

3. Currently employed U.S. Citizen EFMs who hold an FMA appointment are ineligible to apply for advertised positions within the first 90 calendar days of their employment.

4. Currently employed NORs hired under a Personal Services Agreement (PSA) are ineligible to apply for advertised positions within the first 90 calendar days of their employment, unless currently hired into a position with a When Actually Employed (WAE) work schedule.

5. Post specific requirement: U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Members, Eligible Family Members and Members of Household must have at least 9 months remaining at post from the closing date of the vacancy announcement for non-sensitive positions.

TO APPLY:

Interested applicants must submit the following or the application will not be considered:

1. Application for U.S. Federal Employment (SF-171 or OF-612); or

2. A current resume or curriculum vitae that provides the same information as an OF-612; plus

3. Candidates who claim U.S. Veterans preference must provide a copy of their Form DD-214 with their application.

4. Any other documentation (e.g., essays, certificates, awards, copies of degrees earned) that addresses the qualification requirements of the position as listed below.

Last June, La’o Hamutuk published a short article “Diversify Petroleum Fund Investment? Not Now,” available at http://www.laohamutuk.org/Bulletin/2009/Jun/bulletinv10n1.htm#diversify . We continue to believe that this topic should be approached carefully, especially since the Government has not yet made use of the 10% which the current law allows to be invested in equities, in order to gain experience before revising the law.

On 6 March 2010, the Ministry of Finance hosted a seminar for Parliament and Civil Society on this topic, with presentations from:
Ministry advisor Vidar Ovesen: http://www.mof.gov.tl/en/par/DME/download/TLPF_2005-10.pdf
Towers Watson staffer Peter Ryan-Kane: http://www.mof.gov.tl/en/par/DME/download/OiltoFin_TW.pdf

In the next two weeks, two more seminars will be held on this topic. Both are open to the public, although they will be primarily in Tetum and are intended mainly to involve Timorese citizens, especially civil society.

On Tuesday 4 May, the Timorese NGO Luta Hamutuk is hosting a National Seminar “Vantazen no Dezafiu Diversifikasaun Investimentu Fundu Petroliferu” (Advantages and Challenges in Diversifying Petroleum Fund Investments). The program will be at Delta Nova Conference Hall, Comoro, Dili, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Invited speakers include Vice Minister of Finance Rui Hanjam, Executive Director of the Banking and Payments Authority Abraao Vasconselos, former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and others. For further information contact Luta Hamutuk at 726-3783 or lutahamutuk.timorleste@gmail.com.

On Monday and Tuesday 10-11 May, the RDTL Ministry of Finance is organizing “Seminariu kona-ba Jestaun Fundu Petroleu” (Seminar about Managing the Petroleum Fund). The event at the Dili Convention Center (former Expo or Mercado Lama) is from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday and 8:30-5:00 Tuesday. The Minister of Finance has describes “the objective of improving the Timorese capacity on issues related to the international financial market, fund management and investment strategies.” Speakers include Tim Mitchell from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Martin Skancke from the Norwegian Ministry of Finance, investment advisor Kevin Bailey and Peter Ryan-Kane from Towers Watson, as well as Timorese people currently involved in managing the Petroleum Fund.

La’o Hamutuk looks forward to lively debates at both these events, which we hope will help Timor-Leste’s Government and Parliament make wise decisions as they consider changing how Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Fund is invested and managed.

***********************************************************
Charles Scheiner
La’o Hamutuk (The Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis)
P.O. Box 340, Dili, Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Telephone: +670-3325013 or +670-734-0965 mobile
email: cscheiner@igc.org website: http://www.laohamutuk.org skype: cscheiner

Saturday, May 1, 2010

PRESIDENT AWAITS ALL INFORMATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF GAS ON SUNRISE

Lusa News – May 1, 2010

The President of East Timor, Ramos-Horta said today that he will only take a position on the issue of gas exploration in Sunrise after the government will show “all information” on the subject, which it has refused to do.

The Australian company Woodside announced on Thursday the choice of building a floating platform to process the natural gas extracted from the Sunrise field in the Timor Sea, at the expense of doing in East Timor, sending it by a pipeline, the wishes of the Timorese government.

The Government of Timor-Leste has reacted to the announcement in a statement, saying it does not give its approval to this solution, “now and in future,” and noted that the process has to be approved by Governments of Timor and Australia, according to the treaty governing the Petroleum field Sunrise.

Lusa asked today at his arrival in Dili, after a tour of several Asian countries, Ramos-Horta said he plans to study the issue before deciding and revealed that he has repeatedly asked the Prime Minister, without success, for the study that the company Petronas has done on the feasibility of a pipeline to Timor-Leste.

“I said to Prime Minister perentoriamente not crowing all positions of the Government in this and other matters. Already twice asked the prime minister reportedly made the study by Petronas, but until now the Secretary of State for Natural Resources and its super technicians have not found time to share this study with the president, ” he lamented.

Ramos-Horta stressed that the Government “must be fitted on the matter seriously and can not make decisions with demagoguery and rhetoric:” It is not a purely political decision: it is a technical and commercial decision.

“So far I have not received the study commissioned by the Government already two years ago in order to give all the technical information on whether or not to be established pipeline to East Timor and to assess its commercial viability, “he insisted.

Saying no could decide whether it agrees with the choice of Woodside, or with the rejection of government, Ramos-Horta said he takes a final public position after being in possession of all relevant information.

“The President wants to study this issue, which can not only be the Government, or just certain elements of the Government, because not even know if that matter was discussed at the Council of Ministers, “he criticized.

According to some estimates, the Bayu Undan field has reserves of around 175 million liquefied petroleum gas (LPG ) 229 million barrels of crude oil and 66 million tons of natural gas (LNG), equivalent to 1050 million barrels of oil.

The Sunrice, who is now at the center of controversy, will almost double and is ready to be explored: 300 million barrels of condensate and 177 million tonnes of LNG, equivalent to 2050 million barrels of oil.

–

sábado, 1 de Maio de 2010

PRESIDENTE AGUARDA TODAS AS INFORMAÇÕES DO GOVERNO SOBRE GÁS DE SUNRISE

O Presidente de Timor-Leste, Ramos-Horta, afirmou hoje que só tomará uma posição sobre a questão da exploração do gás de Sunrise depois de o Governo lhe passar “todas as informações” sobre o assunto, o que tem recusado fazer.

A empresa australiana Woodside anunciou na quinta-feira a escolha da construção de uma plataforma flutuante para processar o gás natural extraído do campo Sunrise, no Mar de Timor, em detrimento de o fazer em Timor-Leste, encaminhando-o por um pipeline, como pretendia o Governo timorense.

O Governo de Timor-Leste reagiu ao anúncio, em comunicado, afirmando que não dá o seu aval a essa solução, “agora e no futuro”, e lembrou que o processo terá de ser aprovado pelos governos de Timor e da Austrália, de acordo com o Tratado Petrolífero que rege o campo de Sunrice.

Questionado hoje pela Lusa à chegada a Díli, após uma viagem por vários países asiáticos, Ramos-Horta disse que pretende estudar o assunto antes de se pronunciar e revelou que pediu já várias vezes ao primeiro-ministro, sem sucesso, o estudo que a empresa Petronas terá feito sobre a viabilidade de um gasoduto para Timor-Leste.

“Eu disse perentoriamente ao primeiro-ministro que não papagueio todas as posições do Governo, nessa e noutras matérias. Pedi já duas vezes ao primeiro-ministro o estudo alegadamente feito pela Petronas, mas até agora o secretário de Estado dos Recursos Naturais e os seus super técnicos não encontraram tempo para partilhar esse estudo com o Presidente da República”, lamentou.

Ramos-Horta salientou que o Governo “deve estar equipado seriamente nessa matéria e não se podem tomar decisões com demagogia e com retórica”: “Não é uma decisão meramente política: é uma decisão técnica e comercial”.

“Até hoje não recebi o estudo encomendado pelo Governo já há dois anos, com vista a dar todas as informações técnicas sobre a possibilidade, ou não, de se ser estabelecido o gasoduto para Timor-Leste e de avaliação da sua viabilidade comercial”, insistiu.

Afirmando não se poder pronunciar sobre se concorda com a escolha da Woodside, ou com a rejeição governamental, Ramos-Horta disse que apenas tomará uma posição pública definitiva depois de estar na posse de todas as informações relevantes.

“O Presidente da República quer estudar esta questão, que não pode ser só do Governo, ou apenas de alguns elementos do Governo, porque nem sequer sei se essa matéria foi debatida ao nível do Conselho de Ministros”, criticou.

Segundo algumas estimativas, o campo de Bayu Undan possui reservas de cerca de 175 milhões de gás de petróleo liquefeito (LPG) 229 milhões de barris de crude e 66 milhões de toneladas de gás natural (LNG), equivalendo a 1,05 mil milhões de barris de petróleo.

O Sunrice, que agora está no centro da polémica, terá praticamente o dobro e está pronto a ser explorado: 300 milhões de barris de condensado e 177 milhões de toneladas de LNG, correspondentes a 2,05 mil milhões de barris de petróleo.

Sixty-fifth year

6299th meeting
Friday, 16 April 2010, 10 a.m.
New York

Provisional

Agenda
Post-conflict peacebuilding

…

President:

The President: I now give the floor to Ms. Lucia Lobato, Minister of Justice of Timor-Leste.

Ms. Lobato (Timor-Leste): It is indeed an honour for me to represent my Government and my beloved country in this important debate and to present our Timorese experience in recovering from conflict over the past 10 years. I will keep my statement within the time limit, but I have circulated a more detailed text to representatives for the record.

As Minister of Justice, I am able to present a perspective on the development of peace through the legal institutions and the rule of law in my country. But I also wish to discuss some broader aspects of reconciliation, economic development, security and political stability, which are essential. I intend to focus more on the solutions we are providing to our problems than on the problems themselves. Let me share our experience.

This debate is particularly timely for us, as we have just hosted the Dili International Dialogue conference, which served as an opportunity to exchange experiences and find common ground among the so-called g7 Plus — the “small g seven plus” of fragile States. There was strong consensus among fragile countries and development partners to move from fragility to agility and seek greater and more focused engagement with development partners.

We have found that Timor-Leste has much to offer and to gain in the discussions about peacebuilding strategies. While eight years is but a short time since our national independence, we have made many achievements. We addressed some burning issues in the short term that were indeed critical to our recovery. Important social security measures were introduced, including recognition for the heroes of our nation who made sacrifices so that we could be free. Our relationship with Indonesia has been strengthened through initiatives such as the Truth and Friendship Commission and the ongoing dialogue between our leaders. Camps for internally displaced person were gradually and sensitively decommissioned and people were assisted in relocation and rebuilding. The Government intervened to ensure food security when rising rice prices threatened to limit supply.

The police and defence forces began to define their peacetime mandates and work together on joint operations when the internal security of the nation was threatened. The success of this was evident following the 2008 attacks on the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. Thanks to sound leadership, this crisis inspired our security forces and provided a platform to pursue further security sector reform, greater professionalism and independence from political interference. The police are now adopting a community policing ethos, an approach by which the police serve and work together with the community to identify potential conflicts and to solve problems before they escalate to violence.

Timor-Leste is fortunate to be blessed with income from natural resources managed by the Petroleum Fund, a success story in transparency and good governance. Our Government believes that we need to invest the income we make back into our own country to improve the lives of our citizens. It is hard to explain the sense of keeping money in the bank while our people suffer. We need to create a dividend for peace and stability.

Yes, we have come a long way, but we have also learned many lessons, including some painful ones. We have learned that, without exception, countries can recover from conflict only if they can create a window of time in which they are free from further conflict. In Timor-Leste, we at last have that window, but we are not taking peace for granted. As our Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão, has recently said,

It can be easy to breathe a sigh of relief when you begin to show signs of progress, when you achieve a level of apparent stability, because in times of peace we can forget the hardships of conflict”.

We were not only emerging from a violent conflict; we were also, for the first time in our history, creating a new, independent State. In this spirit, I would like to share three observations on peacebuilding from our perspective, grounded in the recent history of Timor-Leste and enriched by pertinent themes from the Dili International Dialogue Conference.

In regard to the need for an inclusive political dialogue, in Timor-Leste we are aiming for a new maturity in political relations. Following independence, the Government set about addressing the roots of conflict. The world will remember that, at the birth of our new nation, our country lay in ruins. We were building our new country on a destroyed infrastructure, a limited economic sector and problematic social cohesion between ourselves and our neighbours. Our people had independence, but its benefits of it were as yet unfelt by many in their daily lives.

Not surprisingly, we faced conflict again in 2006. This conflict set back our development, but also presented valuable lessons. Our political actors learned that the way to our future was not through violence but through positive and active leadership, professionalism and commitment to development. From the 2006 conflict, we arose stronger as a nation, less afraid of expressing political differences, in a process enriching our political maturity without the need to revert to violent conflict. We confront each other every day, but we do so in our national Parliament. In addition, the parliamentary opposition is regularly included in public debates to forge a truly national consensus about issues of common interest to all Timorese, such as the package of major security laws that was approved last month.

As to setting the right national priorities within a flexible and long-term vision, in 2006 Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão and the fourth constitutional Government set about changing the course of Timor- Leste’s future. Continued stability depends on our success not only in managing crises but also in forming respected State institutions that address all the needs of our society, from ensuring basic services to reducing poverty. In 2008, we realized that the only way to achieve sustainable development was to coordinate all our efforts. That same year, we presented a set of national priorities for the country.

Those priorities are consistent with the five areas identified as recurrent peacebuilding objectives in the Secretary-General’s 2009 report on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict (S/2009/304). In addition, we include a specific national priority area dedicated to access to justice and another to good governance and accountability, as well as one that deals with human resource development. A focus on youth and gender is mainstreamed into all our priority areas because we have a rapidly growing population which we want to be productive members of society, not alienated or frustrated over a lack of jobs.

We have reviewed our national priorities on an annual basis to ensure that we are adaptable to the changing situation. With the improvement in the security situation since 2008, we have been able to shift our priorities for 2010 to infrastructure and rural development. To provide an umbrella for this and prepare us for the long term, the Prime Minister is finalizing a strategic development plan for 2011-2030 that will ensure the coordination of all development activities in the country for the next 20 years.

Concerning justice and the rule of law, we know that one of the foundations of a stable and secure society operating within the rule of law is a respected justice system, whereby the rights and obligations of the State and its citizens are understood by citizens and are enforceable. We aim to give particular attention to the voices of vulnerable groups, especially women and children. Timor-Leste has also consistently prioritized the building of strong institutions of justice that complement the work done in policing and security sector reform. Justice cannot be neglected in our progress towards long-term security, peace and economic development.

A fortnight ago, the Council of Ministers endorsed a strategic plan for the justice sector, following a highly participatory process. This process informed and subsequently took account of the recommendations of the 2009 independent comprehensive needs assessment, facilitated by the United Nations. The justice sector strategic plan can be explained by its motto, “Bringing justice to the people”, and in order to achieve that we have addressed five thematic areas, which are covered in more detail in the written version of this statement: institutional development; the completion of Timor-Leste’s legal framework; the development of human resources; creating an infrastructure and applying information and communication technology; and providing access to justice.

We see justice as a fundamental part of this debate on peacebuilding and the prevention of conflict. Let me quote Pope John Paul II, in his address for the 2002 World Day of Peace, when he said that there is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness”. Forgiveness is not the opposite of justice. In fact, true peace is the work of justice. We are working on a justice system that safeguards the rights of all citizens, including by providing legal remedies where their rights have been violated. We also acknowledge that there is no justice without forgiveness. While our country ensures the rule of law, we want to tell the Council that we suffered for many years, and in some cases the wounds are still fresh. We need to help heal these wounds, and we need to do so in our own way and in our own time.

As there is no peace without justice, there is also no peace without development. To conclude, I would like to share some important points.

Concerning the question of quality over expedience in capacity-building, in Timor-Leste we were criticized many years ago for choosing quality over expedience in preparing judicial actors, but we can now show results, and we encourage this principle to be applied as the only way of achieving confidence in State institutions.

On the alignment of all foreign development support to our development plans, in order to reach a lasting peace we still need support. Initiatives such as the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund could help us enormously. We highly appreciate the assistance of our development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, all of which are now working with us as close associates rather than as faraway donors. We know that we are not alone. In order to achieve development, we cannot allow the existence of uncoordinated or competing implementation mechanisms. The only way to create confidence among our people and sustainable progress is to ensure that the development agenda is led by the Timorese leadership, taking the national dialogue to all parts of the country. Peacebuilding must be a genuinely national process if it is to be a productive element for stability and reconciliation. A process of national consultation led by the Prime Minister will begin in rural areas next month.

Concerning the adoption of modern, user-friendly technology, we need to automate Government services and make them more accessible to the public, more transparent and more accountable. Developing countries may at times be offered clumsy, outdated solutions, as we were in Timor-Leste, because people think we are not ready for modern technology. We do not agree with that thinking. We need to jump into the future. Recent advances in technology have resulted in systems that are more intuitive and easy to use, and we need to go straight to these solutions. Many of our people are already comfortable with technology, and we are working with our partners to ensure that they are trained to develop, support and adapt systems owned by Timor-Leste. In addition, we need to use environmentally friendly technology. Here, we can learn from the mistakes of our development partners. We can keep the beauty and the resources of our countries while advancing towards peace and stability.

With regard to strengthening the partnership between Government and civil society, the growth and progressive impact of our civil society organizations have demonstrated the engagement of the people of Timor-Leste. Timorese civil society has evolved from providing humanitarian support to representing the voices of the most vulnerable. It is inspiring to see more and more young people volunteer to serve their communities and join the fight for peace and justice.

To achieve peace, we must fight not conflict, but the causes that might lead us to conflict. While some States have taken centuries to build their State institutions and achieve social and economic development, we must do it in decades. As our Prime Minister has stated,

To unite an entire people who have been scarred from conflict in the struggle for peace is more difficult than to achieve unity in times of conflict. As we know, there are so many legitimate expectations from people who have fought for so many years for the ideals of freedom, equality and development that we can say that achieving true peace also means freeing people from poverty.”

In Timor-Leste we believe that peacebuilding and development are not abstract words or theories, but as tangible and real as a hand to hold. My friends and colleagues in the Security Council took my country’s hand when we reached out to them at the start of our journey and helped pull us out of war. Our famous Timorese spirit survives and grows, and I now offer our hand again and ask for theirs as true partners in development, so that we can walk together along the road to a lasting peace and a brighter future in Timor- Leste.

Media Release

April 23, 2010

Díli, Timor-­Leste

Field Development Plan of Kitan Oilfield Approved

The Field Development Plan of Eni and its joint venture partners for the Kitan oilfield was approved on 22nd April 2010 by Timor– Leste’s National Petroleum Authority (ANP). The Government of Timor– Leste, as the major stakeholder in the project, has welcomed this milestone. The project will see first oil come on stream by the end of 2011 for a field that contains an estimated 34.5 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Eni SpA is Italy’s largest energy company and one of Europe’s biggest oil producers. The company has affirmed that this approval strengthens Eni’s presence and growth potential in the Timor Sea, which is thought to be an area with strong future potential.” The Kitan Oilfied is approximately 250 kilometers south of Timor– Leste and 500 kilometers north of Darwin in the Joint Petroleum Development Area.

Timor– Leste Secretary of State for Natural Resources, His Excellency Alfredo Pires, congratulated Eni and its partners on their diligence in preparing the project thoroughly in a very short period of time. He commended the very proactive and cooperative approach of Eni and its joint venture partners to work in concord with the aspirations of the people of Timor– Leste.”

Eni’s official release confirms they are committed to maximizing the direct economic participation of Timor– Leste in the Kitan Project, through the use of Timorese goods, services and labor and will continue to work with the Timorese Government on a range of social and economic development initiatives working towards the growth of the country.”

Pires said the relatively short time from the exploration to the approval of the Kitan Oilfield confirms that the Joint Petroleum Development Area is a very attractive petroleum province for oil and gas explorations. The approval of the plan is a testimony to the effectiveness of the decision making process when there is an alignment of interests (the in principle agreement’) between the commercial entities and the Governments, both working with a spirit of diligence and cooperation”.

The Secretary of State noted the approval is another stepping stone in the development of Timor– Leste’s onshore petroleum industry. He emphasized my office is committed to support the project with its very progressive plan for local employment and local participation in the supply of goods and services. The infrastructure planned on the south coast and in particular the Supply Base designated for Suai will support this project and others going forward, and now that the Field Development Plan has been approved the Government of Timor– Leste will expedite its work on the base.”

He commended the work of the National Petroleum Authority as the regulator of the JPDA for its professionalism in administering the field to the expectation of the Government”.

ENDS

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WOODSIDE Petroleum is set to announce as early as tomorrow that it plans to develop the big Greater Sunrise gasfields in the Timor Sea through a floating LNG platform, dashing the chances of a $5 billion liquefied natural gas plant at Darwin.

The Australian understands the four joint venture partners have come to an agreement on a concept to develop the field, but are still going through the formalities of finalising the decision.

Woodside, as operator of the field, is hoping to be able to make the announcement at its annual general meeting in Perth tomorrow.

Yesterday, a Woodside spokesman would not confirm the concept had been decided on.

“As we have previously said, we expect a decision to be made soon,” he said.

“When one is reached, we will be advising the ASX.”

Woodside and its partners — Shell, ConocoPhillips and Osaka Gas — have been weighing up whether to concentrate on a floating LNG ship to produce 4 million tonnes of LNG a year or an extension to ConocoPhillips’ existing onshore Darwin LNG plant, which would produce 5 million tonnes a year.

Ongoing delays in agreeing on a concept mean the timetable for a final investment decision on Sunrise has been pushed back from 2011 until 2012, according to a Woodside presentation made in February. First LNG is targeted for 2016.

In the February presentation, Woodside chief executive Don Voelte said the economics were strong for both development at Darwin — Conoco’s preference — and through floating LNG, Shell’s preference.

It is believed the development concept of the field has been influenced by East Timor, which has recently stepped up calls for Sunrise to be developed through an onshore plant there.

This is despite Woodside, in mid-2008, ruling out an East Timor plant.

The Greater Sunrise fields, which contain 5.3 trillion cubic feet of gas, sit on the border of Australian territorial waters and the Timor Sea’s joint petroleum development area, where East Timor and Australia split royalties 90/10 per cent.

Under a 2006 agreement, both nations have agreed to split royalties from the fields 50/50.

In January, East Timor secretary of state Agio Pereira said neither of Woodside’s options would be approved because the government was not confident of the company’s assessments that the East Timor option was not commercially viable.

Privately, the joint venture partners had hoped the vocal East Timorese proclamations were more an attempt to grab a better deal and gain public approval than a non-negotiable position.