Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Cyprus is giving Noble Energy Inc. the right to transfer 30 percent of its gas-drilling rights in Block 12 of the country’s exclusive economic zone to Israel’s Delek Group, said Praxoula Antoniadou, the minister of commerce, industry and tourism.

Noble remains the concession’s sole operator and will fulfil its financial and technical obligations to Cyprus, Antoniadou said in an interview today on state-run CyBC radio.

--Editors: Alan Purkiss, Chris Peterson

To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Tugwell in Athens at ptugwell1@bloomberg.net; Stelios Orphanides in Nicosia at sorphanides@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angela Cullen at acullen8@bloomberg.net; Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net