Israel to sell minority stake in Israel Natural Gas Lines

Israel plans to sell a minority stake in Israel Natural Gas Lines later this year, as part of a major wave of privatisations, to help pay down Israel’s debt and improve efficiency. Israel’s Energy Minister Silvan Shalom told a conference in Tel Aviv that natural gas companies Texas-based Noble and Israel’s Delek Group will have to sell some of their reserves in the Tamar and Leviathan fields under anti-trust regulations to avoid being deemed a monopoly. Italy’s Edison, owned by France’s EdF, has suspended talks to buy the offshore Tanin and Karish gas fields from a consortium comprised of Noble and Delek.