Oil in Timor-Leste: A Ticket to Prosperity?

Timor-Leste is currently the third newest member state of the United Nations, independent since 2002. It is also one of the poorest places on earth where life is extremely difficult: after prolonged fighting, physical infrastructure is virtually nonexistent, services such as health and education are of a low quality and not accessible in the mountainous interior, and a big part of the population lives in extreme poverty scraping just enough to survive. However, all this might change during the next decade(s). Timor-Leste not only has many problems but also a powerful tool for their solution: oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea. Timor-Leste has had to fight just as hard for the rights to exploit its natural resources as it was fighting for its independence. Many pressing socio-economic problems are awaiting resolution but the country can use over $10 billion of oil revenue to address them. Institutions and instruments have been set up for efficient management of Timorese oil resources, but will the government really manage to spend the country's wealth wisely?