Page 9 - MEOG Week 36 2022

MEOG FINANCE & INVESTMENT MEOG

Israeli PM approves

sale of Haifa refinery

ISRAEL ISRAEL Petrochemical Enterprises is set to go Even so, the owners of Israel Petrochemi-
ahead with the acquisition of Bazan, the oper- cal Enterprises – David Federman, Adi Feder-
ator of a 197,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery man, Jacob Gottenstein and Alex Passal – said
in Haifa, as Prime Minister Yair Lapid gave his in a stock exchange notice that they intended to
approval to the deal on September 6. co-operate with the government’s plans for reha-
Lapid’s authorisation had been the last step bilitating and developing the Haifa Bay area. This
standing in the way of the proposed takeover. includes working with all relevant state agencies
Crude oil refining is classified as an essential to form a team that will negotiate the closure of
industry in Israel, and as such the deal required the Bazan plant, as well as compensation for the
the approval of the full government. Israel’s closure, they wrote.
Finance and Energy Ministries had already given Israel Petrochemical Enterprises is already a
a green light to the sale on September 5. minority shareholder in the Haifa refinery, as it
According to press reports, the prime minis- holds a 15.45% stake in Bazan.
ter’s authorisation did not make the sale condi- The company has used its position as a stake-
tional upon the closure of the Bazan plant within holder to fend off a competing bid for the plant
a decade. from Hagag, a real estate development group that
Members of Lapid’s cabinet had voted unan- aimed to tear down the refinery and replace it
imously in March of this year to shut the plant with new residential, business and transporta-
down, along with its storage depot in nearby tion infrastructure.
Kiryat Chaim, within 10 years. It is also acquiring Bazan as it heads toward a
Environment Minister Tamar Zandberg has debt restructuring deal that will allow it to over-
pressed the government to keep this commit- come its own lack of resources.
ment, as have local environmental organisations The Tel Aviv District Court approved that
and Alon Tal, a legislator from the Blue and deal, worth about NIS1bn ($291.51mn), on Sep-
White Party, which is part of Lapid’s coalition. tember 5.™

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