On 13 December 2017, the Israeli Petroleum Commissioner and the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy & Water Resources (MIEWR) awarded Energean Oil & Gas five offshore exploration licences following a recommendation by the Petroleum Council. The awarded licences comprise Blocks 12, 21, 22, 23 and 31, which are located near the company's Karish and Tanin gas fields. They will be valid for an initial three-year exploration term and are extendable to a maximum period of seven years. Energean believes that the licences are highly prospective and in case a discovery is made, would benefit from being developed via tie-backs to the FPSO that the company will construct for the development of the Karish and Tanin fields.<P />The blocks have been awarded following the country's 1st Offshore Bidding Round (OBR), which was formally announced by MIEWR with a call for bids on 15 November 2016. The acreage offered had been drawn-up for competitive bidding on recommendation by the Petroleum Council and comprised 24 blocks, located close to the large gas discoveries. The blocks are up to 400 sq km in area and are in water depths of around 600-1,800m. The Council's recommendation was based on an evaluation of the Levant Basin's petroleum system by Beicip Franlab. The research had been commissioned by the MIEWR and found that at a best guess there were resources totalling around 6.6 Bbo and 75 Tcfg as-yet undiscovered in Israeli waters. These are estimated to be found in four different plays extending from the shallow margins in the east to the deep basin in the west.<P />Companies were able to bid for any number of blocks, with a bid bond of US$ 70,000 payable per block. Bids were evaluated based on the proposed work programme (90%), technical competence (5%) and signature bonus (5%). Energean operates the acreage with a 100% interest.
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