Norway, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Azerbaijan and Russia are among the mineral-rich countries that have established sovereign wealth funds to distribute profits from natural resources among their citizens. Such funds are designed with the next generations in mind, to prevent overvaluation of the local currency and to channel revenues into fueling economic growth and spending on fields like education, health and welfare. Israel established its statutory wealth fund seven years ago, but the promises of billions of shekels in revenues have failed to materialize. The fund has not even been fully established amid the low profits claimed by the companies extracting the gas from the reservoirs.
Exploitation of these offshore Mediterranean gas fields began in the middle of the previous decade, and according to 2014 assessments were expected to yield revenues of 260 billion shekels ($81 billion). The forecast stipulated that the sum would depend on the amount of gas produced and on global gas prices.
