On July 17, the Reuters agency reported that BP, the British energy company, and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) participated in the tender to obtain a license for conducting exploration works in the Israeli offshore part of the Mediterranean Sea.

According to Reuters, BP, a British energy company, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), and an Israeli company, NewMed Energy, applied for two offshore blocks in the fourth licensing phase. The focus of exploration lies in the natural gas reserves near the "Leviafan" and "Tamar" fields in the Israeli offshore region.

Reuters noted that it comes four months after BP and Abu Dhabi's state oil giant Adnoc proposed to jointly buy 50% of "NewMed" for about $2 billion, potentially giving them access to Israel's growing energy sector.

"The gas-rich offshore basin spanning Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, and Lebanon has attracted some of the world's top energy companies in recent years, particularly as Europe struggles to secure supplies to replace Russian gas following Moscow's intervention in Ukraine," the report said.