Israel economy minister resigns to allow major gas deal: PM
Israel’s economy minister resigned on
Sunday, opening the way for the
government to greenlight a multibillion
dollar gas deal with US energy giant
Noble Energy, a statement from the
Prime Minister’s office said.
“Minister (Aryeh) Deri announced to me
his intention to quit. In order to proceed
with the (offshore gas) agreement the
ministry will be transferred to me and I
will give the greenlight,” Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said.
A major deal to exploit offshore gas
reserves in the eastern Mediterranean
has been stuck for almost a year due to
the objection of the country’s anti-trust
authority, which warned the agreement
could give Noble and its Israeli partner
Delek an effective monopoly.
It was also held up by Deri’s refusal to
overrule the authority.
Netanyahu, who is already acting foreign
minister, will now assume control over
the economy ministry and press ahead
with the deal.
“We are making today a big step
towards advancing delivery to the state
of Israel. Gas is the number one engine
for economic growth in Israel for the
coming years,” Netanyahu said.
Israel has been trying to extract and
develop offshore gas since the discovery
of the Tamar and Leviathan fields in
2009 and 2010. While extraction has
begun in Tamar, the far larger Leviathan
has been hit by a series of bureaucratic
delays.
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