Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan today accused the Ministry of Finance of foot-dragging in transferring funds for preventing a possible natural disaster by a breakdown in an oil or gas well in the Mediterranean.
"Regrettably, the Ministry of Finance, which has taken the welcome step of pricing natural resources more correctly so that the public will also benefit, and increased the government's future revenues by tens of billions of shekels, is dragging its feet with a minimal allocation for personnel and budgets for preventing a possible natural disaster caused by a breakdown at an offshore well," said Erdan at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel's Jerusalem Environment & Nature Conference 2012 today.
Erdan said that his ministry did not oppose offshore oil and gas exploration, but he stressed that the damage to the environment caused by the drilling should be reduced. "Here, in the small Mediterranean Sea, huge environmental damage could be caused, from which the Israeli economy would not be able to recover - ecological damage, damage to desalination plants and IDF bases, and possible international claims from neighboring countries - because Israel is responsible," he said.
Erdan said that, in the US, the department that grants drilling licenses was separate from the department that oversees drilling, and he called for a similar separation in Israel. "A government authority should be established to oversee all aspects of drilling. Inter-ministerial cooperation is essential for ensuring the safety of the rigs. Even at the level of national legislation - because this is not in its territorial waters, there are licenses, but no ability to regulate. The maritime areas law has been stuck for years at the Ministry of Justice, delaying regulatory powers on the matter."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 5, 2012
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