Zionist Union MK Shelly Yachimovich slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz on Thursday over the agreements reached with the gas developers, ahead of a potential approval of the natural gas roadmap by the cabinet on Sunday.
“The populist display drizzled with meaningless passwords by Netanyahu and Steinitz will not erase the heavy stain weighing down Netanyahu’s government: the perpetuation of a powerful private monopoly that will from now on exploit the people of Israel,” said Yachimovich after a press conference held by the two Likud leaders.
“We have witnessed a display of unbelievable crony capitalism: the state has stopped acting as an authority and unburdened itself of its responsibility to its citizens, choosing instead to handle a fictitious and submissive negotiations with the gas companies, as it was not an authority which has an expensive resource which is in high demand.”
According to Yachimovich, the immediate positive response in the market was proof that the gas companies had won: “Delek’s share price’s jump was incriminating testimony to how ridiculous it was that the government pretended as if it was bargaining with the companies, when effectively the game was rigged.
“The failures of the roadmap were not fixed, not even a clause. Worse yet, the companies were given another year-long extension to their commitment to start the gas flowing from Leviathan it is now five years. The price remains exaggerated as before, and an outrageous commitment to ‘stability’ was left, which establishes the autonomous state of Noble-Delek on Israel’s shores; and the worst of all, the perpetuation of the largest private monopoly in the history of the market.”
Yachimovich called on the ministers to not vote in support of the roadmap on Sunday and to “defend the public from unprecedented exploitation.”
The final roadmap
Meretz chief Zehava Gal-on also attacked the agreement: “The roadmap agreed with the gas companies is not good news in comparison with the original, terrible arrangement. The talks held in recent days were not intended to improve the roadmap following the public criticism, but to silence it and placate the public. Even after the minor changes inserted, the roadmap does not set price supervision, does not weaken the power of the monopoly, and does not guarantee the development of Leviathan. Without price supervision and actual competition, the controllers of the gas hold enormous power which gives them control not only over the gas, but also over the media, politics, and the economy.
“I call on the government to reject the ‘new’ roadmap, and implore Minister of Economy Deri to not participate in the bypassing of the antitrust regulator under clause 52.”
Gas firms: Energy independence coming to Israel
Delek Drilling and Avner Oil & Gas Exploration said, “since the day of the massive discovery of gas off Israel’s shores, the Israeli gas market has been in a constant state of uproar, and suffers from unending regulatory changes which delay the development of the gas fields and cause the Israeli market damages in the tens of billions of shekels. The agreements reached in the gas roadmap will allow the massive investments necessary for developing the Leviathan reservoir and expanding the Tamar project, some NIS 40 billion, a development which will guarantee Israel energy independence and a window of geopolitical opportunity to export gas to neighboring states.
“Despite the not-so-simple decrees present in the gas roadmap, it is preferable to all sides over a complete suspension of the Israeli gas industry and unnecessary hearings in the courts. We believe that the implementation of the agreement will lead to a speedy development of the reservoirs, which will allow for the entry of new actors, bring certainty to the energy market, create new employment opportunities, and allow for significant streams into the state coffers from taxes and fees worth hundreds of billions of shekels of which all Israelis will benefit.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 13, 2015
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