(16) On July 12, 2011, another meeting of the Petroleum Council was held, in which ACC's renewed request to transfer the rights to Shemen (submitted on June 19, 2011) was examined, and it was found that the application met the conditions, since it held liquid property in excess of NIS 190 million. In view of the compliance with the conditions, the Council decided to approve the application (Appendix "B" to Shimon Cohen's Notice - P/254).
- The concern that the regulator will prevent the transfer of the rights to Shemen is at the basis of the dispute that will be clarified below, the main part of which is alleged actions carried out by Ben-Eliezer on behalf of the defendant and his partners, which were allegedly done with the defendant's knowledge, with the aim of helping Shemen meet the new criteria, and bring about the transfer of the drilling rights.
- The dispute focuses on two main arenas:
The first arena – an examination of the two actions that were allegedly carried out by Ben-Eliezer for the benefit of the defendant and the oil company: (a) promoting a meeting between the people of the oil company and the CEO of Noble Energy; (b) Conversations that Ben-Eliezer conducted with the head of the Petroleum Council in order to promote the affairs of the Oil Company.
The second arena – an examination of the defendant's involvement in the actions taken by the oil company for the purpose of transferring the license in its name and the extent of his knowledge of the actions that were allegedly carried out by Ben-Eliezer.
Issues that are the basis for a decision in the arenas of dispute
- Even before the evidence and claims in the context of the two arenas of dispute were analyzed, I saw fit to make a specific reference, which is a basis for deciding the dispute arenas, for the following issues: (a) the defendant's economic interest in transferring the drilling rights; (b) the manner of cooperation between the defendant and Ben-Zaken in all matters relating to the oil company and the transfer of rights; (c) The independent delegate "Ben-Zaken - Ayelet Azoulay".
After addressing the aforementioned issues, I will move on to an analysis of the evidence and the arguments, and I will do so in both arenas simultaneously, i.e., an examination of the actions attributed to Ben-Eliezer, and an examination of the evidence presented regarding the defendant's knowledge of those actions.