JERUSALEM, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) on Monday received official approval to explore natural gas in Israeli waters in the Mediterranean Sea, the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said in a statement.

The exploration licenses were awarded to the company at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Monday, attended by Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen and Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov.

The state-owned Azerbaijani company was selected, along with oil giant British Petroleum (BP) and Israeli company NewMed Energy, in an Israeli governmental tender in October 2023 to explore gas in a 1,700 square km area adjacent to Israel's active gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea off the country's northern shores.

The Israeli ministry noted that the granting of the licenses is in line with its policy of increasing natural gas reserves for both domestic economic needs and export growth, adding that the entry of the two foreign energy giants is important news for the Israeli natural gas market.

The granting of the exploration licenses has been delayed until now due to the prolonged multi-front conflict, which began in the same month the tender winners were announced, according to the ministry. Enditem

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