Barely three months after entering Israel’s upstream following its $4.1bn takeover of compatriot Noble Energy, US major Chevron and its key Israeli partner Delek have been thrust into an antitrust dispute as Israel’s Energy Ministry was preparing to award the pair a solitary block, put on offer in June last year (MEES, 26 June 2020). The award of Block 72, initially set for 26 October, was delayed indefinitely (MEES, 30 October 2020) following a request by Greek firm Energean, the only other bidder.
Energean requested the delay to give time for a committee headed by Antitrust Commissioner Michal Halperin to rule on whether awarding Chevron and Delek the block would be in violation of competition regulations. The committee this week recommended the ministry “avoid giving the winning of the license to Delek for reasons of overall market concentration.” (CONTINUED - 847 WORDS)
