"We don’t agree with the Tzemach Committee recommendations," said Minister of Environmental Protection Amir Peretz today. "We propose that the gas reserves that will be kept for Israel total at least 600 billion cubic meters (BCM). The Knesset should also debate this subject."
Peretz added, "We should be thinking in reverse: first see how much we need for domestic use, and then decide how much to export."
"I suggest lowering the tone. We've discovered substantial gas fields, but we’re not a gas power - 0.3% of the total world reserves. We should not attack the developers; they did important work, and they took a very big risk. But the moment the gas was discovered, they became part of Israel's natural resources. This is a question about what the country will look like in the coming years.
The Knesset Economic Affairs Committee discussed the Tzemach Committee recommendations on natural gas exports for the second time today. "The public has the feeling that the Tzemach Committee's recommendations were made in the dead of night," said Committee chairman Avishai Braverman (Labor) said at the start of the meeting. He said that the decision on exports should be made by the Knesset, not the government, in order to obtain public legitimacy.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 5, 2013
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