Sunda Energy has secured a 12-month extension to the current phase of its Chuditch gas licence offshore Timor-Leste, following an earlier warning from the country's upstream regulator that the production sharing contract (PSC) could be terminated over unmet drilling obligations.
The extension was granted by Timor-Leste's Autoridade Nacional do Petróleo (ANP) to Sunda's wholly owned subsidiary SundaGas Banda Unipessoal, which operates PSC TL-SO-19-16 in partnership with state-owned TIMOR GAP.
The license contains the Chuditch gas field, where the partners have been preparing to drill the Chuditch-2 appraisal well.
ANP issued a notice of intention to terminate the PSC on June 19, 2026, citing the joint venture's failure to meet its minimum exploration work commitment to drill Chuditch-2 by June 18.
The regulator gave the partners 120 days to submit written representations before it could proceed with termination.
Since receiving the notice, SundaGas and TIMOR GAP have been holding discussions with ANP over arrangements to advance the appraisal drilling program.
The negotiations include a potential increase in TIMOR GAP's working interest through a farm-in transaction and the transfer of operatorship from SundaGas to TIMOR GAP.
Neither arrangement has been finalized.
The newly granted extension allows the partners to continue negotiations, with binding documentation and the necessary ANP approvals targeted before the end of 2026.
The extension is conditional on suspending the uplift on the PSC's cost recovery account from June 19, 2024, until drilling operations at Chuditch-2 begin.
"I am delighted that an extension has been granted to the PSC and am grateful to ANP for their continued support of our efforts to progress the Chuditch project. I also thank TIMOR GAP for the positive spirit of our Discussions. This extension is an important milestone as we progress towards the drilling of Chuditch-2," said Andy Butler, CEO of Sunda Energy.
Separately, Sunda confirmed it was continuing discussions with Finder Energy over potential cooperation between their planned offshore drilling campaigns in Timor-Leste.
The companies signed a letter of intent in April 2026 to explore combining Sunda's Chuditch-2 appraisal well with Finder's Kuda Tasi and Jahal (KTJ) development drilling program.
Finder announced on October 15 that it had signed a contract with Eneos Drilling for the Hakuryu-5 semi-submersible rig to drill three firm development wells at KTJ, with options for two additional wells.
The optional drilling slots could accommodate participation by other operators, although no agreement has been announced confirming Chuditch-2's inclusion in the campaign.