Steinitz: Gas outline to be fully activated, in place by the new year
By SHARON UDASIN \ 11/17/2015 11:06
Bringing an end to a nearly yearlong freeze in Israel’s natural gas sector, the country’s disputed natural gas compromise outline will be fully implemented by the new year, National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Tuesday morning.
Although the deal received both required cabinet authorization in August and additional Knesset backing in September, activating the outline still demands that the economy minister invoke a legal clause to circumvent the objections of the antitrust commissioner. Following former economy minister Arye Deri’s resignation from his position two weeks ago, it is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s responsibility as economy minister to consult with the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee prior to activating that clause – known as Article 52.
These consultations will take place over the coming weeks, and should not require more than a few meetings, Steinitz confirmed on Tuesday, during his address at the Universal Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition in Tel Aviv.
“I believe that by the beginning or middle of December this will be over, and by 2016 we will be open, with the gas framework already activated and fully in place,” the energy minister said.
Following the December announcement of former antitrust commissioner David Gilo that he intended to review whether the market dominance of the Delek Group and Noble Energy constituted an illegal “restrictive agreement,” nearly eight months of negotiations among the companies and government officials ensued.
After issuing several iterations of a compromise outline and following a public objections period, the cabinet authorized the terms of the deal in August. While Knesset support is not required to pass such an arrangement, the legislature narrowly voted to approve the document the following month.
Yet Gilo – who resigned over the issue and completed his term on August 31 – refused to support the outline, saying it would stifle competition in the gas market. To bypass such a refusal, the economy minister can invoke Article 52 of the 1988 Restrictive Trade Practices Law (The Antitrust Law), citing national security interests.
Nonetheless, Deri was not willing to invoke Article 52, arguing that the clause had never been implemented in the country's history. He therefore requested that his authority be transferred to the entire cabinet, but the coalition was unable to acquire the necessary majority to approve such a transfer.
On November 1, Deri resigned from his role as economy minister, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in charge of the position and now able to invoke Article 52. Prior to doing so, however, Netanyahu must consult with the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, which is now slated to occur in the next few weeks.
Source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Steinitz-Gas-outline-to-be-fully-activated-in-place-by-the-new-year-434357
