Israel’s Energy Ministry on Monday awarded six offshore natural gas exploration licenses to Houston-based Murphy Oil and Israel’s Ratio Energies, eight months after the war with Iran forced Israel to shut its biggest gas field. The Zone G licenses cover about 1,700 square kilometers of seabed roughly 25 kilometers southwest of Leviathan. Murphy will operate the licenses, and each partner holds 50%. The award marks Murphy’s first venture into the Eastern Mediterranean, and it joins Chevron, the operator of Leviathan and Tamar,…