Murphy Oil Enters Eastern Mediterranean With Six Israel Zone G Licenses

Six offshore exploration licenses covering approximately 1,700 square kilometers mark Murphy Oil Corporation's entry into the Eastern Mediterranean. The Government of Israel awarded the blocks in Zone G, roughly 25 kilometers southwest of the Leviathan gas field. The company confirmed the awards and its operatorship in a statement on the transaction.

For Murphy, an independent oil and natural gas producer with onshore and offshore positions across multiple basins, the awards add a new international frontier to its exploration portfolio. The move places the Houston-area independent (a producer that operates without refining or marketing arms) in one of the decade's most consistently drilled gas provinces.

What exactly did Murphy secure?

The six licenses sit within Zone G, an offshore licensing area administered by the Government of Israel. A Murphy Oil subsidiary will hold a 50% interest in the licenses. Ratio Energies LP, an Israeli energy partnership listed in Tel Aviv, holds the remaining 50%.

Murphy will serve as operator of the license position. Operatorship gives the company control over exploration planning, drilling decisions and any future development sequencing across the acreage.

The two partners plan to further evaluate the exploration potential of Zone G. No well commitments, seismic timelines or drilling schedules were disclosed with the award announcement, so the position remains at the earliest stage of the exploration cycle — ahead of any sanctioned well program.

The takeaway: Murphy now holds operatorship of a 1,700-square-kilometer exploration position in a proven gas province, but the work program ahead of a drill-bit decision has not yet been defined publicly.

How close is the acreage to Leviathan?

The licenses lie about 25 kilometers southwest of the Leviathan gas field. Leviathan is the largest producing gas field in Israel's offshore sector and anchors the country's domestic supply and export position.

Proximity to established infrastructure matters in frontier-adjacent exploration. A discovery on Murphy's new acreage could, in principle, draw on the pipeline, processing and export capacity already built around Leviathan. Whether any such tie-in is feasible depends on future drilling outcomes, which remain undefined at this stage.

The takeaway: the position sits near existing Eastern Mediterranean gas infrastructure, a factor that typically strengthens the economics of any future discovery in the area.

What does this mean for Murphy's portfolio?

Murphy Oil described the awards as an expansion of its international exploration portfolio. The company's existing assets span onshore and offshore positions across multiple basins, and the Israeli licenses extend that footprint into a region where the company previously held no position.

Under the agreed structure:

• Six licenses in Zone G, offshore Israel
• Combined area of approximately 1,700 square kilometers
• Murphy Oil subsidiary: 50% interest, designated operator
• Ratio Energies LP: 50% interest, non-operator partner
• Location: about 25 kilometers southwest of Leviathan

The companies will now evaluate the exploration potential of the blocks. That evaluation phase typically precedes decisions on seismic acquisition and exploration well commitments, though neither partner has published those steps.

The takeaway: Murphy has diversified its exploration exposure into a new basin at the appraisal-free, pre-drilling stage, with costs so far limited to license terms.

What comes next?

The watch item is the work program. Zone G evaluation by Murphy and Ratio Energies will determine whether the partners commit to seismic surveys or an exploration well, and on what timeline. Investors and regional observers will look for a drilling decision, a farm-in or a seismic campaign as the next concrete signal from the 1,700-square-kilometer position.