Scottish oil company pulls out of toxic Israeli gas deal

The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has declared a major victory as Scotland-based energy company Dana Petroleum pulls out of an Israeli consortium formed to illegally extract Palestinian offshore gas resources.

Campaigners have described the second withdrawal of an international energy company from the project as a “result of global solidarity with Palestine” an example of how “genocidal Israel’s isolation is intensifying”.  Italian energy giant Eni quit in March of this year, leaving the consortium scrambling to remain viable.

Dana Petroleum and, its owner, the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) have ditched the deal after a series of demonstrations, phone actions, sit-ins and engaging with employees. Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Friends of the Earth Scotland, and partners in South Korea, are celebrating a victory following a year long campaign to pressure the Aberdeen-based company to pull out of its contract with Israel.

Human rights organisations and lawyers have identified this project as laying the groundwork for the ‘pillage’ of Palestinian offshore gas reserves. The Palestinian-led global movement now calls for immediate pressure on Murphy Offshore Oil, the US company slated to replace Dana in the project.

Firm wanted to ‘profit from pillage’

Dave Black, Energy Apartheid campaign lead at Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), said:

“We welcome the news of Dana’s exit from this partnership, which had aimed to profit from Israel’s proposed pillage of Palestinian resources. It is shocking that it came to this: a company based in Scotland, where we see time and again that the people stand with Palestine and against apartheid, should never have got itself embroiled in such an immoral and illegal endeavour.

“We’re delighted to hear from internal sources that the campaign and associated protests played an important role in the decision to withdraw from the consortium.  Let this be a lesson to other governments and companies: there can be no business as usual with apartheid and genocide.”

‘Global solidarity with Palestine’ hailed

Kate Whitaker, Head of Movement Building at Friends of the Earth Scotland, added:

“This is the result of the strength of global solidarity with the people of Palestine. In Italy, Scotland and South Korea thousands have refused to sit by and allow the pillaging of Palestinian resources.

“Israel is trying to spin this by celebrating an American company taking up the license. But with ENI and Dana now withdrawing from the consortium, the reality is that the companies willing to be seen to be involved with toxic deals like this are dwindling.

“Right now, families in Gaza are living in tents and facing deadly flooding. Drainage systems are failing due to fuel being withheld by Israel. Meanwhile they are selling gas from Palestine’s Exclusive Economic Zone to fossil fuel companies looking to profit in the midst of these atrocities.”

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement work across intersections of campaigns

In October 2023, just days after the start of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Israel awarded licences to a consortium for the exploration of natural gas within Palestinian waters. Such exploration would, if it went ahead, be illegal, amounting to the crime of pillage, campaigners say.

The consortium consisted of Israel’s Ratio Energies, Italian energy giant Eni and Dana Petroleum, a subsidiary of the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) that is headquartered in Scotland.

Ratio Energies has been trying to get this consortium off the ground for three years, only for the main partners to withdraw thanks to powerful, strategic and intersectional campaigning from across the world. In its latest attempt to pillage Palestinian offshore gas resources, Ratio has enlisted Murphy Oil Corporation in the consortium which takes a 50 percent stake and acts as operator of the project.

The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement and its partners have worked alongside Palestine solidarity coalitions, trade unions, climate justice groups, and human rights organizations in South Korea, Italy, Scotland, England and beyond. And now, the Palestinian campaign for energy embargo on Israel calls for massive public pressure on Murphy Oil to withdraw from this illegal project.

The BDS movement warns investors, insurers, banks and contractors across Murphy Oil’s supply chain against enabling it. The BDS movement warns all corporations complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians to end their complicity or face massive public protest, exclusion from contracts and investments due to escalating BDS pressure, and possible criminal litigation.

Victory ‘shows what grassroots pressure can achieve’

Juman Muhammad, International Campaigns Manager with the BDS movement, stated:

“The withdrawal of Dana Petroleum and Eni from what has rightly become a toxic project is a massive win for the BDS movement and our partners in South Korea, Italy, Scotland and beyond. Two major international energy companies dragged out of an illegal deal to pillage Palestinian gas, one after the other, shows the sheer scale of what grassroots pressure can achieve: BDS is truly unstoppable, and no corporation is too big to be forced to walk away from complicity in Israel’s crimes.

“Genocidal Israel’s isolation is intensifying and it is no surprise that Israel is turning to a US company to continue its illegal activities. Murphy Oil should read the writing on the wall: it is stepping into a project that two major international energy companies have already fled, just as the US public has made clear its opposition to US complicity in Israel’s violations against Palestinians.

“Murphy Oil should withdraw now and end its complicity, or face escalating BDS pressure campaigns. And this should be a lesson to Chevron and other energy companies that are still complicit with Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid and illegal military occupation, BDS is unstoppable.”

Bora Noon, of BDS Korea, said:

“Given that Korea has a history of colonial occupation and theft, it is deeply shameful that a public Korean company was a part of this illegal deal to begin with. We hope this will serve as a lesson to the Korean government and Korean companies that doing business with a genocidal state is not only illegal and immoral; it also comes at a financial cost.”

“We call on President Lee Jae Myung, who has called Netanyahu a war criminal, to translate words into actions by cutting all ties between the Korean government and Israel, starting with the massive investment of the National Pension Service in Israeli stocks and bonds. All Korean companies and investors must also comply with their obligations under international law by severing all ties with Israel that may enable its genocide, illegal occupation and apartheid regime.”

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