Coordinates: 10°S 127°E

Timor Sea
The Timor Sea (Indonesian: Laut Timor,
Timor Sea
Portuguese: Mar de Timor, Tetum: Tasi Mane or
Tasi Timór) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to
the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the
Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia.

The sea contains a number of reefs, uninhabited

islands and significant hydrocarbon reserves.
International disputes emerged after the reserves
were discovered resulting in the signing of the
Timor Sea Treaty.

The Timor Sea was hit by the worst oil spill for 25
The Timor Sea at Vessoru, East Timor
years in 2009.[1]

It is possible that Australia's first inhabitants crossed

the Timor Sea from the Malay Archipelago at a time
when sea levels were lower.

Contents
Etymology
Geography Location of the Timor Sea
Extent
Location Eastern Indian Ocean
Meteorology
Coordinates 10°S 127°E
Reefs and islands
Type Sea
History
World War II Native name Laut Timor  (Indonesian)

Hydrology Mar de Timor  (Portuguese)

Timor Current Tasi Mane / Tasi Timór  (Tetum)
Hydrocarbon reserves Etymology Timor Island
Bayu-Undan project Part of Indian Ocean
Ichthys gas field
Basin countries Indonesia
Other projects
East Timor
Territorial dispute
Australia
Timor Sea Treaty
2018 Maritime Boundaries Treaty Surface area 610,000 km2 (240,000 sq mi)
See also Average depth 406 m (1,332 ft)
References Max. depth 3,200 m (10,500 ft)
External links Islands Ashmore and Cartier Islands,
 Browse Island, Tiwi Islands

Etymology Trenches Timor Trough

Settlements Darwin, Northern Territory
The Timor Sea is named after Timor, the island on
the other side of the sea's northern coastline.[2] The island's name is a variant of timur, Malay for "east".

In Tetum, the expression tasi mane (lit.  transl. 'male sea') is often used to refer to the Timor Sea. The
counterpart of that body of water, the 'Ombai-Wetar Strait', which has smaller waves, is less turbid, and
washes most of Timor island's northern shores, is commonly referred to in Tetum as tasi feto
(lit. transl. 'female sea').[3]

Geography
The waters to the east are known as the Arafura Sea. The Timor
Sea is adjacent to three substantial inlets on the north Australian
coast, the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Beagle Gulf and the Van Diemen
Gulf. The Australian city of Darwin which is located in part on the
shore of the Beagle Gulf, is the nearest large city to the sea.[4] The
small town of Wyndham is located on the west arm of Cambridge
Timor Sea and neighbouring seas Gulf, an inlet of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.

Rivers that enter the Timor Sea from the Northern Territory include
Fish River, King River, Dry River, Victoria River and the Alligator Rivers. Rivers in the Kimberley region
that flow into the Timor Sea include the Ord River, Forrest River, Pentecost River and Durack River.

The sea is about 480 km (300 mi) wide, covering an area of about 610 thousand km2 (240,000 sq mi). Its
deepest point is the Timor Trough (which some geologists consider is the south-eastern extension of the
Java Trench, but others view as a foreland trough to the Timor Island "mountain range"), located in the
northern part of the sea, which reaches a depth of 3,300 m (10,800 ft). The remainder of the sea is much
shallower, much of it averaging less than 200  m (660  ft) deep, as it overlies the Sahul Shelf, part of the
Australian continental shelf.

The Big Bank Shoals is an area on the sloping seabed between the continental shelf and the Timor Trough
where a number of submerged banks are located.[5] The ecosystem of the shoals differs significantly from
the deeper waters surrounding them. In May 2010, it was announced that a crater about 50  km (31  mi)
wide has been discovered on the seabed of the Timor Sea.[6]

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the

Timor Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian
Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:[7]

On the North The Southeastern limit of the Savu Sea

[By a line from the Southwest point of Timor to the
Northeast point of Roti, through this island to its
Southwest point] the Southeastern coast of Timor and Tropical cyclone Floyd over the
the Southern limit of the Banda Sea [A line from Timor Sea, 2006
Tanjong Aro Oesoe, through Sermata to Tanjong
 Njadora the Southeast point of Lakov (8°16′S
128°14′E) along the South coasts of Lakov, Moa and
Leti Islands to Tanjong Toet Pateh, the West point of
Leti, thence a line to Tanjong Sewirawa the Eastern
extremity of Timor].

On the East. The Western [limit] of the Arafura Sea [A

line from Cape Don to Tanjong Aro Oesoe, the
Southern point of Selaroe (Tanimbar Islands)].

On the South. The North coast of Australia from Cape

Don to Cape Londonderry (13°47′S 126°55′E).

On the West. A line from Cape Londonderry to the

Southwest point of Roti Island
(10°56′S 122°48′E).

Meteorology

Many tropical storms and cyclones originate or pass through the Timor Sea. In February 2005, Tropical
Cyclone Vivienne disrupted oil and gas production facilities in the area, and the next month, Severe
Tropical Cyclone Willy interrupted production. Petroleum production facilities are designed to withstand
the effects of cyclones, although as a safety precaution production work is often reduced or temporarily
halted and workers evacuated by helicopter to the mainland - usually to Darwin or Dili.

Reefs and islands

A number of significant islands are located in the sea, notably

Melville Island, part of the Tiwi Islands, off Australia and the
Australian-governed Ashmore and Cartier Islands. It is thought that
early humans reached Australia by "island-hopping" across the
Timor Sea.

Scott and Seringapatam Reefs formed in the area and to the west,
on the same underwater platform, are the Rowley Shoals.
August 2005 NASA satellite
photograph of the Rowley Shoals
History

World War II

During the 1940s the Japanese navy conducted air raids on Australia from ships in the Timor Sea. On the
19 February 1942 the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga with other vessels, launched air strikes against Darwin,
Australia, sinking nine ships, including the USS Peary. This bombing marked the beginning of the Battle of
Timor in the Pacific theatre of World War II.

Hydrology

Timor Current
The Timor Current is an oceanic current that runs south-west in the Timor Sea between the Malay
Archipelago and Australia. It is a major contributor to the Indonesian Throughflow that transports water
from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

Hydrocarbon reserves
Beneath the Timor Sea lie considerable reserves of oil and gas.
Confirmation of the prospectivity of the Timor Sea came when
Woodside-Burmah's Big John rig drilled Troubadour No. 1 well in
June 1974 on the Troubadour Shoals about 200 kilometres (120 mi)
southeast of Timor, and intersected 83 metres (272  ft) of
hydrocarbons. A number of offshore petroleum projects are in
operation and there is considerable exploration activity either Oil slick from the Montara oil spill in
underway and numerous proposed projects. A gas pipeline crosses the Timor Sea September 2009.
the Timor Sea from the Joint Petroleum Development Area to
Wickham Point near Darwin.[8]

The Timor Sea was the location for Australia's largest oil spill when the
Montara oil field leaked oil, natural gas and condensate from 21 August to
3 November 2009.[9] During the spill 400 barrels (64  m3 ) of oil leaked
each day. The Montara Commission of Inquiry placed blame on the Thai
company PTTEP, owner of the wells.[1]

Bayu-Undan project

The largest petroleum project in operation in the Timor Sea is the Bayu-
Undan project operated by Santos.[10] The Bayu-Undan field is located
approximately 500  km (310  mi) north-west of Darwin in the Bonaparte
Basin.[11] Production commenced in 2004 as a gas recycle project - with
Big John
liquids (condensate, propane and butane) being stripped from the raw
production stream and exported. Gas was pumped back down into the
reservoir. At around the same time, construction commenced on a 500 km
(310 mi) subsea natural gas pipeline connecting the Bayu-Undan processing facility to a liquefied natural
gas plant situated at Wickham Point in Darwin harbour. Since the completion of the pipeline and the
Darwin LNG plant in 2005, gas produced offshore at Bayu-Undan is now transported to the Darwin plant
where it is converted into a liquid and transported to Japan under long-term sales contracts.[12] Timor-Leste
has made, as of 2017, over $18 billion from Bayu-Undan since production began; however, it is predicted
its reserves will be exhausted by 2023.[13]

Ichthys gas field

The Ichthys gas field is a natural gas field located in the Timor Sea, off the northwestern coast of Australia.
The field is located 220 km offshore Western Australia and 820 km southwest of Darwin, with an average
water depth of approximately 250 metres.[14] It was discovered in 2000. First Gas from the Ichthys field
was achieved on 30 July 2018.[15]

Other projects
AED Oil owns the large oil project at Puffin oilfield and Woodside Petroleum is producing oil at the
Laminaria oilfield. The Greater Sunrise gas field, discovered in 1974, is one of the largest in the area and is
expected to earn East Timor several billion dollars in royalty revenues. Woodside Petroleum plans to
process gas from Greater Sunrise via a floating platform, however Xanana Gusmão, East Timor's Prime
Minister opposes this plan and instead wants the gas to go to Beaço (https://www.timorgap.com/databases/
website.nsf/vwAll/Bea%C3%A7o%20LNG%20%E2%80%93%20Plant) via a pipeline for processing.[16]

Territorial dispute
Since the discovery of petroleum in the Timor Sea in the 1970s,
there have been disputes surrounding the rights to ownership and
exploitation of the resources situated in a part of the Timor Sea
known as the Timor Gap, which is the area of the Timor Sea which
lies outside the territorial boundaries of the nations to the north and
south of the Timor Sea.[17] These disagreements initially involved
Australia and Indonesia, although a resolution was eventually
reached in the form of the Timor Gap Treaty. After declaration of Demonstration against Australia in
East Timor's nationhood in 1999, the terms of the Timor Gap December 2013
Treaty were abandoned and negotiations commenced between
Australia and East Timor, culminating in the Timor Sea Treaty.

From 1965 to 2018, Australia's territorial claim extended to the bathymetric axis (the line of greatest sea-
bed depth) at the Timor Trough. It overlapped East Timor's own territorial claim, which followed the former
colonial power Portugal and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in claiming that the
dividing line should be midway between the two countries. In 2018, Australia agreed to a median line
boundary.

It was revealed in 2013 that the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) planted listening devices to
listen to East Timor during negotiations over the Greater Sunrise oil and gasfields. This is known as the
Australia–East Timor spying scandal.

Timor Sea Treaty

The Timor Sea Treaty, which was signed on the 20 May 2002, led to the establishment of the Timor Sea
Designated Authority (TSDA). This organisation is responsible for the administration of all petroleum-
related activities in a part of the Timor Sea known as the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA). The
treaty was ratified in February 2007.[17]

Under the terms of the treaty, royalties on petroleum production in the JPDA are split in a 90:10 ratio
between East Timor and Australia.[18] It has been criticised because the treaty did not finalise the maritime
boundary between East Timor and Australia.[17]

2018 Maritime Boundaries Treaty

The Australia–Timor Leste Treaty Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea was signed on
6 March 2018 at United Nations headquarters in New York in the presence of United Nations Secretary-
General Antonio Guterres.[19]

See also
 Banda Sea
The great Jukung race

References
1. Andrew Burrell (29 April 2011). "Montara oil spill firm seeks permission for more drills" (htt
p://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/montara-oil-spill-firm-seeks-permission-for-more-drill
s/story-e6frg8zx-1226046540339). The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
2. Ormeling, Ferjan (2000). "Sea Names Categories and Their Implications" (https://unstats.un.
org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/_data_icacourses/_HtmlModules/_Documents/D03/Docume
nts/D03-02_Ormeling.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Geography Education, 44. 44: 54–61. Retrieved
15 April 2022.
3. Hunnam, Kimberley; Carlos, Imelda; Hammer, Michael P.; Dos Reis Lopes, Joctan; Mills,
David J.; Stacey, Natasha (2021). "Untangling Tales of Tropical Sardines: Local Knowledge
From Fisheries in Timor-Leste" (https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffmars.2021.673173). Frontiers in
Marine Science. 8. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.673173 (https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffmars.2021.
673173). ISSN 2296-7745 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2296-7745).
4. "Survey Plan CP/5090 - localities within the Tiwi sub-region" (http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/hpa-
services/surveyplans?planname=CP/5090). Place Names Committee. Northern Territory
Government of Australia. 5 April 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
5. "Big Bank Shoals of the Timor Sea" (http://www.aims.gov.au/c/document_library/get_file?uui
d=703cba58-6526-44e4-91eb-7ef84e4ba25d&groupId=30301). Australian Institute of
Marine Science. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
6. Jess Teideman (21 May 2010). "Vast asteroid crater found in Timor Sea" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20100524213811/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/vast-asteroid-c
rater-found-in-timor-sea.htm). Australian Geographic. Archived from the original (http://www.
australiangeographic.com.au/journal/vast-asteroid-crater-found-in-timor-sea.htm) on 24 May
2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
7. "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition" (https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-
23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf) (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. p. 28.
Retrieved 28 December 2020.
8. "Santos - Our Activities - Timor Sea" (https://web.archive.org/web/20101013200302/http://w
ww.santos.com/exploration-acreage/timor-sea.aspx). Santos. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.santos.com/exploration-acreage/timor-sea.aspx) on 13 October 2010. Retrieved
23 October 2010.
9. "Huge oil spill plugged at last - rig owner" (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,251
97,26300862-26103,00.html). The Australian. News Limited. 3 November 2009. Retrieved
3 November 2009.
10. "Santos Completes Acquisition of ConocoPhillips' Australia Assets" (https://www.oedigital.c
om/news/478868-santos-completes-acquisition-of-conocophillips-australia-assets). OE
Digital. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
11. "Bayu Undan / Darwin LNG" (https://www.santos.com/what-we-do/activities/northern-territor
y/bonaparte-basin/bayu-undan-darwin-lng/). Santos Limited. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
12. Darwin LNG (http://www.darwinlng.com/about/index.htm)
13. "Timor-Leste's big-spending leaders are squandering its savings" (https://www.economist.co
m/news/asia/21721685-costly-projects-pile-up-petrodollars-dwindle-timor-lestes-big-spendi
ng-leaders-are-squandering). The Economist. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
14. "Project map" (http://www.inpex.com.au/our-projects/ichthys-lng-project/ichthys-in-detail/proj
ect-map/). INPEX. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
15. Reuters Editorial. "UPDATE 1-Inpex's Ichthys LNG produces first gas off Australia" (https://w
ww.reuters.com/article/inpex-c-lng-ichthys/update-1-inpexs-ichthys-lng-produces-first-gas-off
-australia-idUSL4N1UQ073). U.S. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
16. "East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão accuses Woodside of lying" (http://www.news.
com.au/business/business-smarts/east-timors-prime-minister-xanana-gusmao-accuses-woo
dside-of-lying/story-e6frfm9r-1225871817113). news.com.au. News Limited. 27 May 2010.
Retrieved 31 May 2010.
17. Richard Baker (21 April 2007). "New Timor treaty 'a failure' " (http://www.theage.com.au/new
s/investigations/new-timor-treaty-a-failure/2007/04/20/1176697092049.html).
Theage.com.au. The Age Company Ltd. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
18. "Joint Petroleum Development Area Fact sheet" (http://www.timorseada.org/pdf_files/08011
6%20Fact%20Sheet_final.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 29 January 2008.
19. Australian Senate Economics Legislation Committee, Report: Timor Sea Maritime
Boundaries Treaty Consequential Amendments Bill 2018 [Provisions] and the Passenger
Movement Charge Amendment (Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty) Bill 2018
[Provisions], 8 February 2019 (https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/
Senate/Economics/TimorSeaMaritime/Report); Hao Duy Phan, Tara Davenport and Robert
Beckman (eds.), Timor-Leste/Australia Conciliation: A Victory for UNCLOS and Peaceful
Settlement, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore, 2019.

External links
Khamsi, Kathryn (2005). "A Settlement to the Timor Sea Dispute?" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20060504232257/http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/33/43/). Harvard Asia
Quarterly 9 (1) 6–23.
East Timor is protective of oil, gas industry (http://www.etan.org/et2006/august/05/02etprot.ht
m)
Robert J. King, Submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on the
provisions of the Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty, January 2019 (https://www.aph.gov.
au/sitecore/content/Home/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/TimorSe
aMaritime/Submissions)

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