Timor-Leste has become an example to the world for its transparency within the petroleum sector, according to Petroleum and Mineral Resources minister Alfredo Pires.
Pires said although Timor-Leste had only been a member of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) for a few years, the nation was already leading the way in the Asia-Pacific region.
Many other EITI nations have been expelled from the group for failing to fill criteria and respond to the needs of EITI, Pires said.
“(Timor-Leste has) actively participated in sharing experiences with other countries about transparency in the petroleum sector,” he said.
Pires said Timor-Leste was committed to transparency and uploaded documents detailing oil production and revenue to the internet the benefit of all interested parties.
“If we do not publish the processes on the internet, people will not know,” he said.
“We must upload so people can analyze the information.”
Pires recognized that Timor-Leste faced problems with finding local staff qualified to work in the resources industry but said there were some locals who were qualified to identify oil-rich areas and work in extraction.
He said there was a need to train more staff.
National Forum for Timor Leste (FONGTIL) executive director Arsenio Pereira da Silva said he was proud of the high score Timor-Leste had been awarded for the transparency of its petroleum industry.
Timor-Leste was ranked third internationally and first in Asia.
“We have to take pride in this and maintain our record and develop this further in the future,” he said.
EITI civil society representative Nelson Miranda said he looked forward to increased collaboration with oil companies to further enhance transparency in the industry.
“We are committed to collaborating with oil industries to provide data and information related to oil for civil society and the public,” he said.
