JERUSALEM—Israel is inviting international oil companies to further explore its offshore waters for natural gas, the country’s energy minister said on Tuesday, as the country tries to become an energy exporter for first time. “We believe that based on the geological data—from our own experts and global companies—that there is still the potential for new discoveries,” Mr. Steinitz told reporters in Jerusalem. Israel, Egypt and other countries have pushed to turn the Mediterranean Sea into a natural-gas powerhouse as energy companies make new finds there. Shell’s head of gas Maarten Wetselaar declined to disclosed if the company had been in any talks with the Israeli government. “We are not in the gas business in Israel and have no immediate plans to explore or produce gas there,” Mr. Wetselaar said in an interview Tuesday. Representatives for Eni, Exxon and Hess didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment. Mr. Steinitz said […]