ISRAEL'S NATURAL GAS REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IS SET FOR APPROVAL BY MID-DECEMBER
A new regulatory framework for the natural gas industry in Israel is set to be approved by mid-December following a series of hearings.
The hearings have been scheduled by the Economic Committee of The Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) and will entail a intense, rigorous series of debates and discussions about the framework.
The schedule for the hearing was published Monday by the committee chairman, Eitan Cabel. Mr. Cabel has set an intensive two-and-a-half week of hearings from 22 November to 10 December, five days a week, four hours each session.
Mr. Cabel has summoned the country's top politicians, regulators, and professionals and representatives of the monopoly partners, Delek Group and Noble Energy, to give evidence before the committee. The final decision of the committee is not binding.
Top among those who were summoned is the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz. Among those summoned to testify are the state comptroller, the governess of the Bank of Israel, and the former anti-trust authority chief, who prompted the current crisis when he refused a year ago to approve any exemption from the anti-trust law to the natural gas monopoly.
Other interesting summons include the chiefs of Israel's security organizations: the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the head of the Mossad secret service, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service and the chief of military intelligence. Those security services' chiefs' testimonies will be heard behind closed doors.
Mr. Cabel also asked for numerous documents and papers from various bodies ahead of the sessions, including the protocols of various ad-hoc committees that dealt with natural gas issues, companies' presentations, financial reports, opinions relating to the country's gas prices, and a legal opinion that justifies the monopoly's exemption from anti-trust law on the ground of national security.
Although the list of demands by the committee chairman is quite exhaustive, it is not clear if he has the authority to force those summoned to testify.
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