Murphy Oil Enters Eastern Mediterranean With Zone G License Awards

Murphy Oil Corporation has entered the Eastern Mediterranean after the Government of Israel awarded it six exploration licenses in Zone G offshore Israel. The licenses cover about 1,700 square kilometers and lie roughly 25 kilometers southwest of the Leviathan gas field. A Murphy subsidiary will hold a 50 percent interest and act as operator, with Israeli partner Ratio Energies holding the other 50 percent.

 

The Zone G Licenses

 

Murphy announced the award on 9 November 2026, describing it as an expansion of its international exploration portfolio and a new opportunity in the Eastern Mediterranean. Zone G comprises six exploration blocks, which Israel’s Ministry of Energy lists as totaling 1,732 square kilometers. Murphy and Ratio will now work together to assess the zone’s exploration potential. Neither company has disclosed the size of its planned investment or a drilling timetable.

The licensed area sits in a proven hydrocarbon province. Leviathan, about 25 kilometers to the northeast, is one of the region's largest gas discoveries and has helped turn Israel into a natural gas producer and exporter. Proximity to an established field does not guarantee a discovery, but it gives explorers geological data and analogs to work from. It also places any future find relatively close to existing infrastructure.

 

How the Licenses Changed Hands

 

Israel first awarded Zone G in October 2023 as part of its fourth offshore bid round. At that time, the Ministry of Energy granted the six licenses to a consortium led by Eni, with Dana Petroleum and Ratio Energies. Under the bid round rules, exploration licenses run for an initial three-year period, which can be extended if the holder drills at least one well and meets its work program. Israeli law allows a maximum license term of seven years.

According to Globes, Eni later withdrew from the consortium, and Ratio secured Murphy as a replacement partner. Globes reports that the Ministry of Energy approved Ratio’s request to proceed with the license alongside Murphy, even though the original deadline for exercising it had passed. It adds that Dana Petroleum is not taking part in the exploration phase, so the licenses are now split evenly between Ratio and Murphy. The paper says the licenses provide 32 months for active exploration.

 

Partner Perspectives

 

Ratio Energies CEO Yigal Landau said the license award and preparations for the Zone G work program mark an important step toward expanding exploration in Israel and increasing the country’s gas reserves for the coming decades, according to the Jerusalem Post. Ratio is a partner in Leviathan, and Landau pointed to that project as evidence of the company’s ability to turn geological potential into producing assets of regional importance. The partnership pairs Ratio’s local experience with Murphy’s offshore operating capability. Ratio also stressed its ability to attract experienced international partners despite a complex geopolitical period.

For Murphy, Zone G adds a new frontier to an international portfolio that already includes offshore exploration and development in the Gulf of America, Vietnam and Côte d’Ivoire. The Houston-based company has a long record as a deepwater operator. As operator, Murphy controls the exploration program and technical decisions. It also signals a substantial commitment to the region rather than a passive minority stake.

 

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The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Context

 

The Eastern Mediterranean has become an important gas region over the past 15 years, with major discoveries offshore Israel, Egypt and Cyprus. Israel’s Leviathan and Tamar fields supply domestic power generation and export gas to Egypt and Jordan. European interest in the region has grown as the continent seeks to diversify its gas supplies. New exploration aims to add reserves and extend the region’s role as a regional supplier.

Exploration in the region also takes place against a backdrop of geopolitical risk, which can affect company decisions and investor sentiment. Globes reports that political considerations played a part in Eni’s withdrawal from Zone G. Murphy’s entry shows that some international operators remain willing to invest in Israeli offshore acreage. The success of the Zone G program will depend on both the geology and how the operating environment develops over the exploration period.

 

What Comes Next

 

With the licenses in place, the partners will start evaluating Zone G’s potential, which typically begins with reviewing and reprocessing existing seismic data. They use that work to identify and rank prospects before deciding whether to drill. The bid round rules required drilling at least one well before the licenses can be extended beyond their initial period. The timing of the first well will therefore be an important milestone to watch.

A commercial discovery in Zone G could add to Israel’s gas reserves and potentially link into nearby infrastructure. Any development would still require appraisal drilling, regulatory approvals and significant investment. For now, the award is mainly a strategic step for Murphy into a new basin. It also gives the zone’s exploration effort fresh momentum after the change in its partner group.

 

Source: Murphy Oil