Israeli conglomerate Delek Group's gas and oil exploration units, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration, are considering merging to reduce costs, attract new investors and simplify the financing process in developing the Leviathan natural gas field.

Delek Drilling's board met last week and decided to appoint a special independent committee of directors to examine a possible merger with Avner, it said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on April 17.

Delek Group directly holds 6.1% of Delek Drilling and 8.5% of Avner, although its Delek Energy unit owns 63% of Delek Drilling and 47.5% of Avner.

Delek Group owns 87 percent of Delek Energy, while Delek Drilling's chairman, Gideon Tadmor, is also Avner's chief executive.

The companies each hold 15.625% in the Tamar gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast and 22.7% each of the nearby Leviathan Field, whose development has been delayed by political and regulatory issues. Their main partner in both sites is Texas-based Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL).

A merger could hurt the Tel Aviv bourse, since both trade in the blue-chip Tel Aviv 25 index and have significant trading volume.