Murphy Oil Wins Six Offshore Licenses in Israel in Area Spanning 1,700 Square Kilometers
Key Facts
Murphy Oil announced on November 9, 2026, that it had entered the eastern Mediterranean after the Israeli government awarded six exploration licenses in Area G, expanding the company’s activities into a gas basin offshore Israel. A Murphy subsidiary will hold 50% of the rights and operate the project, while Ratio Energies will hold the other half, according to a Murphy statement. The licenses are numbers 27, 28, 36, 37, 70 and 74, according to a Ratio Energies disclosure cited by Investing.com. The area spans about 1,700 square kilometers and lies about 25 kilometers southwest of the Leviathan field, according to the company. The equal ownership split gives both companies a role in assessing the area, with Murphy responsible for operations.
Murphy said the two companies will work together to assess Area G’s exploration potential. That puts the next phase in the context of evaluating geological prospects, while the company’s statement did not announce a discovery or estimate the area’s gas volume. The licenses therefore open a path to exploration and do not establish the presence of recoverable reserves or commercial production. The company said: "Murphy and Ratio Energies will now work together to continue evaluating the exploration potential of Area G." The announced development thus concerns exploration rights and the allocation of responsibilities between the partners. The statement did not report a drilling result or an expected production schedule.
The announcement comes days after Murphy’s third-quarter 2026 results, for the quarter ended September 30, when the company reported net income attributable to Murphy of $171.1 million and total net production of 186,495 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The figures provide context on the company’s results in the period before its announcement of entry into Area G, while the license represents a new exploration activity in the eastern Mediterranean. The disclosure does not link the third-quarter results to the offshore work plan or estimate the licenses’ financial impact. It also does not specify the spending required for the assessment work. The news therefore combines reported quarterly operating results with an exploration opportunity that remains at the assessment stage.
Area G has a history dating to Israel’s fourth offshore licensing round; a document from Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure says results for two groups were announced in October 2023, with Ratio, Eni and Dana Petroleum listed as participants in the document. This background indicates that the area was within the scope of that round before Murphy and its partner were awarded the licenses. The material available here does not detail what became of each previous participant’s role or why the participants changed. The government document says the fourth round included commitments to conduct surveys and extensive drilling. It also describes natural gas exploration as involving high levels of uncertainty and risk, placing assessment and drilling within a long process before any discovery could be established.
A map of the fifth offshore round published by Israel’s Energy Ministry in November 2025 shows the areas offered in the round, subject to the minister’s approval. The document provides context for the next round of offshore area awards, while Murphy’s announcement in November 2026 concerned licenses in Area G. The map does not show that Area G itself was among the areas offered in the fifth round. For Murphy, the latest closing price available in the evidence was $35.96 per share on November 6, 2026, before the company’s announcement on November 9. The evidence does not include reliable opening, low or high prices for the November 6 session, nor does it provide data on the market’s response to the announcement.