In 2023, SPE Western Australia Section initiated the establishment of a SPE Student Chapter in Timor-Leste with members from four universities: Dili Institute of Technology (DIT), National University of East Timor (UNTL), University of Dili (UNDIL), and Universidade Oriental Timor Lorosa'e (UNITAL). The chapter is one of the largest globally with over 600 student members in Dili.
The goal of the SPE Student Chapter is to offer petroleum and geosciences students with much-needed guidance, cutting-edge industry insights via quarterly meetings in Dili, and connectivity to potential career opportunities. To date, 40 scholarships have been awarded, including a 1-week visit to Perth.
Timor-Leste’s economy is highly dependent on the extraction of oil and gas reserves from the Timor Sea. One of the country’s well-known mature fields, Bayu-Undan, is planned for conversion to carbon capture, storage, and utilization. New developments in the region, such as Greater Sunrise and Chuditch, aim to provide economic prosperity and much-needed employment.
SPE Timor-Leste Student Chapter Q1 Meeting
From the outset, the shear excitement in Timor-Leste about student membership in a globally recognized energy society such as SPE has always been palpable. Especially so with our quarterly meetings featuring international speakers who impart knowledge and share experiences.
The quarterly meeting, held on 7 March, marked our 2nd Annual SPE Distinguished Lecturer (DL) Extravaganza with the bonus of having the SPE 2024 President Terry Palisch, as well as a special senior management guest from Santos HQ in Adelaide.
Emcees Ivania Dilman (UNTL) and Hugo Guterres (DIT) kicked off proceedings with the audience of 500 singing "Pátria" (Fatherland), the Timorese national anthem, quickly followed by SPE Timor-Leste officers and academics presenting the VIP guests with colorful, traditional Tais.
As SPE WA past chair and Timor-Leste leader, I seized the opportunity to wish all women “Haksolok Loron International Feto! (or Happy International Women’s Day)” then summarized the key SPE initiatives to support Timorese students. The most prominent, and eagerly awaited, of course, are the annual scholarships (12 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and a further 14 imminently in 2025) featuring a 1-week visit to Perth and a laptop.
I summarized the full program of 2025 meetings including SPE’s Energy4me in June, an introduction to oil and gas training course by Australian Energy Producers (AEP) in August, and the 2nd Annual Careers Day sponsored by Edith Cowan University in November.
For one of the newest SPE chapters and youngest nations on the planet, it was truly magnificent to have 2024 SPE President and Carbo CTO, Terry Palisch, with us from Dallas to deliver his timeless presentation on “Creating Our Energy Future” of which there is always some new fact to learn no matter how many times you’ve seen his talk, which includes a thought-provoking energy quiz. He also shared his SPE journey and provided useful pointers to the students on optimal use of SPE resources. The session ended with three questions, then he presented an SPE gold pin to DIT student Cezania Carvalho for posing the best question.
Representing Santos, a valued principal sponsor, Mark Burgoyne, general manager of reservoir production optimization, began his speech with an overview of the company’s operations globally including the company’s more than 20-year history in Timor-Leste with Bayu-Undan, as well as a promotional corporate video. He then piqued interest by addressing “The Importance of Remaining Curious” and how it can shape one’s future and how it’s played a significant role in his own career journey.
Following an intermission featuring a traditional Portuguese dance by a group of eight female students led by Cecilia Pinto, we embarked on our first SPE DL lecture by Martin Storey from Well Data Quality Assurance Pty Ltd. (Well Data QA). Storey delivered his 2023–2024 talk on "A Survival Guide for Digital Transformation" with expertise, captivating the audience with his tales on the criticality of data and highlighting examples of data misinterpretation due to minute errors.
This event experienced a surge in attendance with over 500, meaning that some students were, unfortunately, unable to enjoy the delicious Timorese lunch. It is now our highest priority to remedy for future events.
After savoring a local coffee with similar viscosity to Brent Crude (but significantly better taste) in the canteen accompanied by Victor da Conceição Soares, former Minister for Petroleum & Minerals, the university band launched into a few local numbers to energize the crowd, which included a solo by emcee Guterres.
Next up, Andy Watt, a 2024–2025 SPE DL and senior innovation advisor at Woodside Energy (also a principal sponsor) in Perth, delivered our second DL talk on “No Longer A Sunk Cost: Innovation & Collaboration for Decommissioning Subsea Infrastructure.” Decommissioning has become mission-critical with operators in all legislations globally, and Watt shared insights of numerous innovations which have either been deployed or are being investigated to recycle or eliminate various waste streams.
Gratefully, Justin Kijam, SPE Programs and Strategy Manager, stepped up since our third DL didn’t make it, instilling further energy in the crowd with a few Mexican waves prior to summarizing the benefits that SPE can provide, including a 1 free year of SPE professional membership for all graduating SPE student chapter members.
Newly appointed president of the SPE Timor-Leste Student Chapter, Napoleão Guterres (UNTL) and VP Victoria Magno (DIT) gave a speech of thanks and a presentation summarizing the chapter's accomplishments thus far and their plans for the imminent future.
I concluded the day’s events by reflecting on these remarkable occasions with a pledge to continue transferring knowledge and a sincere hope of delivering career opportunities. The finale again cued the students demanding a deluge of selfies, as we now know is a national obsession.
Welcome Dinner
The Sky Garden at the Timor Plaza Hotel hosted welcome drinks and a buffet dinner for 2024 SPE President Palisch so that the 2025 Timor-Leste Student Chapter officers had an opportunity to engage with him socially in a relaxed environment on a balmy evening in the tropics.
We had the optimum number of attendees, so I asked the hotel to configure two round tables in the shape of the SPE logo.
Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Visit
The Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Francisco da Costa Monteiro welcomed Palisch, Kijam, and me to his office for an engaging discussion and presented each of us with a traditional Timorese Tai in vivid colors.
This was an exceptionally interesting conversation on the government’s progress and immediate plans within the country. The minister expressed some very appreciative and gracious words about SPE on their departure. It was also a testament to the SPE WA objectives for this initiative.
Inaugural Chapter President and Vice President Lunch
A special lunch engagement was arranged at the newly opened JL World Hotel so that Palisch could have some quality time with Inersia Soares and Kevin Martins, the SPE Timor-Leste Student Chapter inaugural president and VP, respectively.
Soares and Martins served the chapter with distinction for the first 2 years of its existence before recently graduating in November and immediately transitioning to SPE professional memberships with the newly formed SPE Timor-Leste Section.
Inaugural SPE Timor-Leste Section Technical Meeting
SPE Timor-Leste Section also arranged their inaugural monthly technical meeting to coincide with our visit. This was actually an official SPE DL meeting with Watt from Woodside Energy with the added bonus of special guest speaker Palisch.
It was a doubleheader to remember attended by approximately 100 guests with proud Section Chair Fernando da Silva providing opening remarks. The event was featured the next day on national TV channel GMNTV.
“Energy Cup” Futsal Competition
Lastly, SPE Timor-Leste Section embarked upon an inaugural “Energy Cup” Futsal competition with Palisch officially launching the event.
Certainly, an ambitious venture for a section less than a year old, with approximately four games per week being scheduled over the next 13 weeks.
However, kudos to the section officers for committing the time and effort to make this milestone competition a success. It features both male and female teams from various operators and government entities and will no doubt galvanize the local community under the banner of SPE.
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The SPE Timor-Leste Chapter initiatives have been supported by the generous 2025 sponsors of our Timor-Leste Fund. Our sincere thanks to:
SPE Western Australia is extremely grateful to the rector and trustees of UNTL for permitting us to use their beautiful Hera auditorium, as well as Domingos de Sousa Freitas (Nido) for his facilitation.
