Burnham’s North Sea Oil Plans Just Hit A MAJOR Israel Problem

Right, so Andy Burnham is approaching a North Sea oil decision with an awkward Israel problem attached to it, because when isn’t there an Israel problem attached to a UK government. His administration has promised sanctions against companies helping to fund or expand illegal settlements. But one of the businesses that could benefit from Rosebank has a majority shareholder named in the UN’s settlement-business database. That shareholder is Delek. It owns more than half of Ithaca, which owns a fifth of Rosebank. And according to Scottish Independent news outlet The Ferret, a recent dividend from Ithaca’s existing operations meant just under £100 million for Delek. Now Rosebank obviously hasn’t started producing yet. But approving it could give Ithaca another source of earnings, with Delek among the owners standing to benefit. Israel standing to benefit. Which puts a fairly obvious question in Burnham’s lap. Does his government believe Delek should face restrictions under its settlement policy? If so, what happens to their oil plans in which case? And if not, why not? It’s a rather inconvenient moment for the tough talk to meet the shareholder register isn’t it?