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Public Consultation and Enactment of Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund Act
January - June 2005
Public Consultation and Enactment of Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund Act
January - June 2005
Final version of Petroleum Fund Act (also Portuguese) as enacted July 2005.
Information on Petroleum Fund operation from September 2005 on.
Background
In October 2004, the Timor-Leste Ministry of Planning and Finance (MoPF) released a Public Consultation Discussion Paper on Establishing a Petroleum Fund for Timor Leste (Tetum, Portuguese). A series of presentations, public consultation and submissions were held on the issues discussed in this document. Follow this link for more information and documents relating to the Discussion Paper.
On 31 January 2005, the Ministry of Planning and Finance released a draft law on the Petroleum Fund (Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian).
On 14 February 2005, a public meeting was held in Dili, with a presentation (Tetum, Portuguese) by interim Petroleum Minister Jose Teixeira on behalf of the Petroleum Fund working group. The Finance Ministry distributed Frequently Asked Questions (Tetum, Portuguese) relating to the Petroleum Fund.
In February and March 2005, La'o Hamutuk submitted comments to two international conferences on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: in Paris organized by the World Bank, and in London organized by the British Government. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri addressed the London conference.
People were invited to make written submissions on the draft Petroleum Fund Act to the Petroleum Fund Steering Committee by 1 March. La'o Hamutuk made a submission, as did several other organizations.
The Petroleum Fund Act was revised and approved by the Council of Ministers on 12 April 2005. The official text is in Portuguese, and it has been translated into English and Tetum.
In June 2005, it was being considered in Parliament. Parliamentary Commission C invited testimony from several NGOs -- see the bottom of this page.
Parliament made a few modifications and passed the Petroleum Fund Act (also Portuguese) on 20 June 2005. It was signed by the President and became Law no. 9/2005 shortly thereafter.
The Timor-Leste Banking and Payments Authority (BPA), which will administer the Petroleum Fund, signed an Operational Management Agreement with the RDTL Ministry of Planning and Finance in July. The BPA published an explanation of how the fund will work in its July 2005 newsletter.
Click here for subsequent information on Fund establishment and operations.
At the same time the Petroleum Fund Act was being enacted, Timor-Government and Timor Sea Designated Authority passed their Petroleum Regimes -- several laws regulating petroleum development and the relationship between the Government and oil companies. Click here for details.
Submissions to Petroleum Fund Working Group on the Draft Petroleum Fund Act, March 2005
La'o Hamutuk Submission on Petroleum Fund Draft Act (March 2005) (English PDF) (Portuguese PDF)
La'o Hamutuk's submission refers to the following documents, in addition to those mentioned above:
From La'o Hamutuk
From the Government of RDTL
UNTAET Regulation 2001/30 establishing the Banking and Payments Authority
Banking and Payments Authority Annual Report 2003-4 Portuguese
Banking and Payments Authority "Economic Bulletin" January 2005
draft model Production Sharing Contract circulated for public comment in August 2004
From other sources
United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision published February 2005
Submissions by other organizations and individuals, March 2005
In Timor-Leste
Estanislau Saldanha, Dili Institute of Technology (in Tetum)
Timor-Leste Network for Transparency and Economic Justice (NeTEJ) and Lalenok Ba Ema Hotu (LABEH)
From overseas
Martin E. Sandbu, Columbia University, New York USA
Joseph C. Bell, attorney, Washington, DC USA
Global Witness, UK (also Portuguese, Indonesian) (115K each)
Jennifer Drysdale, Australian National University (also Indonesian) (217K)
International Monetary Fund Monetary and Financial Systems Department (MFD)
Submissions to Timor-Leste Parliament on the Petroleum Fund Act, June 2005
La'o Hamutuk (also Portuguese)
Oxfam in Timor-Leste (also Portuguese)
Jennifer Drysdale, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Joseph C. Bell, attorney, Washington, DC USA
Martin E. Sandbu, Columbia University, New York USA
A comprehensive and extensive collection of information and documents relating to Timor-Leste Petroleum activities and related issues has been published on the OilWeb CD-ROM by La'o Hamutuk. This invaluable reference includes more than 2,000 files, with material and audiovisuals on Timor-Leste's petroleum resources, the history of exploration and development here, detailed legal and documentary data on the Australia-Timor-Leste maritime boundary dispute, as well as many local and global background papers on transparency, the "resource curse", ecological effects, the consequences of oil and gas development in other countries and other essential information. The OilWeb CD is available from our office and a few international distributors: $2 for campaigners, $50 for institutions. Click on the icon at right to order.
The East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis
1a Rua Mozambique, Farol, Dili, Timor Lorosa’e
P.O. Box 340, Dili, East Timor
Tel: +670-3325013 or +670-7234330
email: laohamutuk@easttimor.minihub.org
Web: http://www.laohamutuk.org