Sunda Energy Secures Environmental License for Drilling Ops off Timor-Leste
March 10, 2026
Sunda Energy, through its subsidiary SundaGas Banda Unipessoal, has been awarded an environmental license for the drilling of the Chuditch-2 appraisal well offshore Timor-Leste.
SundaGas operates the TL-SO-19-16 production sharing contract in the country’s offshore waters.
The licence was issued by Timor-Leste’s upstream regulator Autoridade Nacional do Petróleo (ANP) on March 9, following approval by the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. The permit is valid until March 9, 2028.
The award follows the submission earlier this year of the final Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Management Plan after consultations with the regulator. The documents were endorsed by ANP’s evaluation committee prior to the issuance of the license.
The Category A environmental license includes conditions requiring submission of a waste management plan before operations begin and the completion of a post-drilling environmental survey.
“Award of the Environmental Licence for Chuditch-2 is a major milestone in our drilling preparations, and the fruit of considerable survey works, studies, reviews and planning. I thank my colleagues and ANP for the strong collaborative efforts that went into preparing the extremely thorough EIS and EMP documents,” said Andy Butler, Chief Executive Officer of Sunda Energy.
