Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not participate physically in the negotiations with the natural gas developers during the past two days. Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz went to the negotiating rooms, but left the closing of the final small details to the professional staff. There was another factor constantly present: Noble Energy's claim against Israel for compensation, a loaded pistol on the discussion table. The immediate reason for yesterday's breakdown in talks was directly linked to the scenario of a future claim.
Deputy Attorney General Avi Licht demanded that it be made clear that the gas plan was not binding on the Knesset. Noble Energy wanted to preserve the ambiguity on this question, because the agreement demanded by Licht would have interfered with the chances for a successful claim before the international arbitration tribunal. Noble Energy Senior Vice President Eastern Mediterranean J. Keith Elliott explained that he was not authorized to make decisions on such a critical point, which required the approval of the company's most senior levels, and returned to Houston.
The statement of claim is all ready, the developers say, for a respectable amount in the tens of billions. It includes a long accounting with the state for all the regulatory changes made here in recent years since the Sheshinski Committee. Noble Energy regards the claim as its only guarantee that the state will fulfill its agreements. The company's has next to zero trust in the government and the agreements with it, and it has even less belief in the Israelis' word. In the course of the negotiations, someone asked the Noble Energy representatives why they were not satisfied with the government's undertaking to prevent private legislation. "In our government, the coalition always has a majority in parliament," he explained to them in what sounded like a lesson in Israeli civics. "If what you're saying is true, then how do you explain that you can't get the gas plan through the Knesset?", the Noble Energy negotiators asked the embarrassed Israelis.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 11, 2015
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