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Yacimovich: New gas discovery at Daniel would not increase competition in sector

JANUARY 17, 2016 15:13

Commenting on the news on the prospective natural gas resources located in the eastern Mediterranean Daniel license zones on Sunday, MK Shelly Yacimovich (Zionist Union), who has been among the most vocal opponents of the government's handling of the natural gas sector, argued that a discovery at Daniel would not actually generate the hoped for competition in the sector.

The gas resources in the Daniel zones may come close to the quantities found in Israel's Tamar reservoir, a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange report revealed on Sunday.

"The possibility of a discovery in Daniel East and Daniel West is unparalleled good news for the Israeli economy and Israeli citizens, but if the outline is not revoked, it will only intensify the power of the monopoly,” Yacimovich said. “The gas price will be outrageously high and the contribution to the Israeli consumer will be zero each round.”

The outline in question – a comprehensive deal aimed at settling disagreements between gas developers and the government, as well as fostering competition in the sector – was officially activated on December 17, and continues to face fierce disapproval from the Knesset opposition and activists.

"If the outline did not provide the country's largest gas operators with exemptions from antitrust policies as well as guaranteed stability for the next decade, a new discovery could be leveraged to generate competition with the Tamar and neighboring Leviathan reservoirs, she argued.

"Instead, the Noble-Delek-Isramco conglomerate just received more gas, in order to increase the power of the monopoly," Yacimovich said.

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