We condemn in the strongest terms Dana Petroleum and its owner, the Korean National Oil Corporation, for their role in working with the Israeli government to extract gas to the west of the Leviathan field, considered the largest economic project in Israel’s history.
In October 2023, amidst Israel’s horrific genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a consortium of Dana Petroleum, ENI and Ratio Energies, won the awards for six oil and gas exploration licenses from the Israeli Government. 62% of the area covered by these licenses lie within Palestinian waters. For the 12 licenses awarded in this round, the Israeli Government received more than US$15million. Dana Petroleum, headquartered in Aberdeen (Scotland), is wholly owned by the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC), and also has bases in the Hague (Netherlands), Cairo (Egypt) and London (UK). This contract with the Israeli government means that these companies are helping to fuel Israeli genocide, occupation and apartheid and its grave violations of Palestinian human rights.
The Palestinian people continue to live under Israeli military occupation, and the Leviathan field is just one example of their natural resources being exploited to benefit the occupying power. Dana Petroleum is committing to become a major extractor of fossil gas claimed by Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean, which will lead to Israel making billions of dollars in revenues from payments for its gas extraction licences, thereby helping to finance Israel’s regime of apartheid, settler colonialism and military occupation over the Palestinian people, including expansion of settlements and the siege of Gaza.
While Israel continues to reap the benefits of fossil fuel resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, Palestinians are denied control of their own gas field which is only 17 miles off the coast of Gaza. This is in breach of international law which states that every state with a coastline is entitled to an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline, within which the coastal states can enjoy extensive rights in relation to natural resources. Several human rights organisations have already written to Dana Petroleum and KNOC warning them that legal action will follow if they do not end their involvement in extraction of gas from Palestinian territory.
Furthermore, even before the genocide, power generators in Gaza have been repeatedly bombed since 2006, and since the start of the inhumane and oppressive blockade, Gazans have been experiencing power outages for up to 20 hours a day. Palestinians can only rely on the purchase of gas and electricity from their occupier and oppressor. The deliberate cutting off of electricity supplies to Gaza has also been a core tactic in Israel’s genocide, in which well over 64,500 Palestinians have been killed (the majority of them women and children). The EU, Egypt, and Jordan have entered shameful energy cooperation deals with Israel to import gas, turning a blind eye to the fact that such imports of Israeli gas are based on the pillage and exploitation of the sea adjacent to besieged Gaza Strip.
Dana Petroleum is playing a significant role in facilitating this massive export of Israeli fossil fuels, thereby granting recognition and assistance to the Israeli state and all of its associated war crimes. We condemn in the strongest terms Dana’s decision to do business with the Israeli government.
As Dana Petroleum is 100% owned by the KNOC, we demand that the South Korean government, the Korean National Oil Corporation and Dana Petroleum take seriously their legal and moral obligations and step back from their contract with Israel. This is the bare minimum that the South Korean government can do to be in accordance with last year’s UN resolution according to which, every single state must sanction Israel by all means possible to be in line with international law.
Signed:
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Urgent Action by S.Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine (coalition of 267 organisations)
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Friends of the Earth Korea
PENGON – Friends of the Earth Palestine
Further reading:
Disrupting Energy Corporations for the Liberation of Palestine: https://bdsmovement.net/sites/default/files/2025-06/Dana-Eni-toolkit.pdf
Energy firms face legal threat over Israeli licences to drill for gas off Gaza: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-energy-firms-legal-threat-companies-cease-activity-drill-gas-coast