- Programme name: Assistance in Management of Petroleum Resources
Implementing institutions: Timor-leste State Secretariat for Natural Resources, Timor-Leste Ministry of Finance and Timor-leste State Secretariat for Environment.
- Agreement partner: The Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
- Norwegian Partners: Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Norwegian Ministry of Finance and Timor-Leste State Secretariat for the Environment.
- Project period: 2008 - 2013
- Total budget: NOK 67,2 million
The overall goal is to assist Timor-Leste to manage its petroleum resources in a way that generates economic and social development to the people of Timor-Leste. Norway is assisting Timor-Leste by building competence and capacity in the petroleum sector including assistance on technical, legal and HSE compliance, as well as revenue management.
Cooperation with Timor-Leste in the petroleum sector is one of the most important programmes of the Oil for Development programme and, after more than five years of involvement, progress in several areas have been made.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and the Petroleum Cooperation Agreement for Phase II (September 2009 to September 2014) of the programme was signed in Dili on 20 May 2008 by the Timor-Leste Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zacarias Albano da Costa, and the Norwegian Minister for Development Cooperation, Erik Solheim.
On 29 August 2008 the Timor-Leste State Secretary for Natural Resources Alfredo Pires, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Finance signed the Institutional Contract covering the Petroleum Cooperation for the period 2009-2014 took place in Oslo.
A Project Coordinator position in Timor-Leste is established for the Phase II programme with the responsibility to coordinate the petroleum cooperation programme. Advisor positions within finance (tax) and resource management (geology) to the government of Timor-Leste were established in 2008.