Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz today accepted the appeal of Alon D license holders Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) and Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) unit Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) and extended their license for a further 32 months. RELATED ARTICLES Noble Energy to procure services from Israel Shipyards Leviathan 5 drilling confirms presence of gas Delek to pay NIS 600m tax on sale of Tamar In reaching his decision, Steinitz said that there had been no possibility for license holders to undertake drilling due to diplomatic and security issues related to the dispute over Israel's economic waters with Lebanon and the desire to avoid igniting the situation before a solution to the issue is found through international mediation. Consequently, they were unable to look for gas in the area, which would enable them request a holding in the area. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 21, 2017 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017