Good news has arrived: ENI will play no role in the exploration and potential exploitation of gas in the section of the Mediterranean Sea within the Palestinian exclusive economic zone. An article in the Israeli financial daily Globes confirms that ENI withdrew from the consortium—which also includes Dana Petroleum (a British-Korean company) and Ratio Energies (an Israeli company)—in October 2025. The news was alsoconfirmedtoday to the Staffetta Quotidiana news agency with the following statement from the oil company: “ENI confirms its withdrawal from the consortium awarded Block G, a decision made as part of the strategic rationalization and diversification of its upstream activities, and acknowledges the decision by the other consortium members to complete the award process.”
The note that Ratio Energies sent on March 20, 2026, to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange states that “in October 2025, ENI, which was supposed to act as operator for the licenses, notified the Commissioner for Petroleum at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the other members of the consortium of its decision to withdraw from the consortium.”
The delay in the announcement is reportedly due to Ratio’s desire to first reach an agreement with Dana Petroleum for the latter to serve as operator of the gas field, should one be discovered. The agreement on the allocation of shares in the partnership between Ratio and Dana is likely to take time, as the management of the Korea National Oil Corporation is currently focused on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which most of Korea’s oil supplies are transported. Ratio is also assessing the amount of compensation that ENI will have to pay following its withdrawal from the consortium awarded the licenses.
ENI has issued a cease-and-desist letter to ReCommon regarding the statements made by our campaigner Eva Pastorelli on the TV program Report and the article that followed the broadcast, in which we in fact noted with satisfaction ENI’s decision to cease operations in the area. Now, Ratio Energies’ official communication to investors appears to put a definitive end to the matter and confirm our belief that ENI had given us a nice Christmas present by withdrawing from the controversial exploration project in Palestinian waters.
