JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Energy Ministry on Monday gave preliminary approval to bids from Greek and Indian energy companies to explore for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean.
Israel had received bids from Greece's Energean and a consortium of Indian firms including ONGC Videsh, Bharat PetroResources, Indian Oil Corp and Oil India.
Energean will be granted licenses to explore five offshore blocks, while the Indian group will receive the license for one block, the ministry said.
The companies must provide some technical details and transfer guarantees for licenses within 30 days to receive final approval.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch)