Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz has declared that it is “not necessary” to investigate oil spills linked to oil and gas giant Chevron before it buys Texas-based Noble Energy and its Israeli gas reservoirs for $5 billion, despite calls from environmental activists worried about the US-based multinational’s record.
Yuval Steinitz told Bloomberg News last week that “With natural gas, there is no problem with spills.” Adding that natural gas evaporates into the air “all the time,” he said he was “confident” that Israeli regulators would approve the Chevron deal.
The transfer of rights in Israel from Noble Energy to Chevron must be approved by the Petroleum Council, part of the Energy Ministry, after deliberations that are not open to the public.
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