Israel’s Watchdog Orders Delek, Chevron To End Exclusivity Deal

The Israeli Competition Authority has sent a letter to Delek Drilling and Noble Energy (now owned by Chevron) claiming that the two companies, which own the Leviathan gas reservoir (in partnership with Ratio) violated the exclusivity clause in the gas agreement signed with the Israeli government, as part of the gas sale agreement it signed with the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) in 2019.

In the letter, the Israel Competition Authority is demanding that the exclusivity clause in the agreement be immediately canceled. The importance of the letter is mention of the violation rather than the immediate practical aspects because the agreement between the Leviathan partners and the IEC ends at the end of this month. The Israel Competition Authority did not say what it plans to do about the matter, but that it is keeping all its options open.

The alleged violation concerns the 18-month gas supply agreement signed in June 2019 between the Leviathan partners and the IEC. Gas began flowing from Leviathan on December 31, 2019, and the agreement expires on June 30. Under the terms of the agreement, according to a report in March, the IEC paid the Leviathan partners more than NIS 1 billion for gas in 2020. 

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