Israel: Energy giants rework nixed clause in gas deal

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced Wednesday that the government had drafted a new clause in its high-stakes gas deal with two energy companies struck down in March by the High Court of Justice.

The new draft deal allows future governments to amend the natural gas agreement should they be necessary, Walla news reported.

The proposed amendment will be voted upon by the government at Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting.

The High Court of Justice ruled in March that a controversial deal to extract natural gas from massive offshore fields would be canceled within a year unless the stability clause, which barred future governments from altering the agreement, were changed.

The ruling put a major damper on efforts by the state to approve the agreement with an Israeli-US consortium and override opposition by the state regulator, putting the brakes on a deal touted by the government as having the potential to bring hundreds of millions into state coffers and transform the country into a regional energy powerhouse.

Full Content: Times of Israel

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