Drilling platform at the Tamar natural gas field

MK Khenin: Antitrust Commissioner’s Resignation – Victory for Gas Tycoons & Their Puppets in the Government

Antitrust Authority director general Prof. David Gilo yesterday, May 25, announced his resignation, after the cabinet approved an arrangement for the natural gas industry which Gilo regards as improper. Gilo said, “My decision is a result of a number of considerations, most importantly the report that the cabinet, particularly the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry…

Factories At the Dead Sea (Photo: Al Ittihad)

Hadash blasts Sheshinski 2: State committee recommends a pro-capitalist approach to natural resource surtax

Arousing the ire of Hadash and environmentalists alike, the Sheshinski 2 Committee published its final recommendations on policies for taxing natural resources, softening its approach from a previous draft. Finance Minister Yair Lapid tasked the committee, headed by economist Eytan Sheshinski, a professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, last year with examining the…

Woodside exit from Leviathan gas field “disappointing” local neo-liberals

Despite the Israeli neo-liberal governmental disappointment surrounding Woodside Petroleum’s decision to abandon the Leviathan gas field partnership Israeli energy analysts are confident in the developers’ ability to move forward, particularly with regional pipeline options. Following a memorandum of understanding with the Leviathan partners in February, the Australian hydrocarbon firm had been expected to take on…

MK Khenin: Full royalty rates must be applied to downstream products and not just to the mineral resources

Imposing a surtax of 42 percent on the excess profits of natural resource exploiters would boost the state’s coffers with NIS 500 million annually, an inter-ministerial committee concluded on Sunday. The Sheshinski 2 Committee, headed by Prof. Eytan Sheshinski, was tasked last year with examining the state’s royalty policies for the exploitation of natural resources…