The Big Picture

The Great Treasure Hunt Continues…

A treasure hunt is underway; possibly the most important treasure hunt in modern history. Not just because of the size of the treasure, and its size is immense; but because of the implications of its discovery. When the treasure comes to the surface, the world will feel its impact.

Much of this treasure hunt is already complete. We’ve found the clues…found the map leading to where the treasure is buried. The hole has been dug (drilled really); and hints of the riches below have already been brought to the surface.

The story of this treasure hunt began a long, long time ago. The treasure, already long hidden, was promised, by God himself, to the children of Israel, nearly 4,000 years ago. Clues leading to the treasure were written down nearly that long ago; both in the Holy Book of the Jews and on the face of their Promised Land. Hidden in plain sight, the clues would wait quietly until the time was fulfilled for their discovery. God knew the time when the clues were to be revealed and the treasure discovered.

Gog & Magog
Biblical prophecy describes a last days event in which an alliance of armies, led by “Gog and Magog” would invade Israel “to take a spoil” (Ezekiel 38). “Gog and Magog”, we know from history, represent Russia and her allies. The question arises, “What could Israel possibly possess that would cause Russia and her allies to invade her to ‘take a spoil’?” Israel doesn’t possess wealth enough to warrant the avaricious interest of Russia and her allies to the point of invasion. Countries don’t invade their neighbors for pomegranates and olive oil.
But they do go to war over another kind of oil. Petroleum…light crude…the stuff the world runs on. Recent history has proven that oil is worth going to war over. What if a significant amount of oil was discovered in Israel; a really significant amount? Enough to satisfy Israel’s domestic oil needs for the foreseeable future? Enough to grow wealthy by exporting the surplus? Enough for Russia and her allies to want for themselves?
Let’s pretend for a moment that oil reserves alone don’t make a country target for invasion by enemy forces. After all, Venezuela has 53 billion barrels of oil reserves; and as of this writing there have been no news reports of armies on the march to Venezuela to plunder her oil supply. Fortunately for Venezuela, she is not a small Jewish State surrounded by enemies sworn to wipe her off the face of the earth. The fact of Israel’s geographic location and the sentiments of her neighbors makes her situation a little more interesting. It is feasible that Israel’s enemies, Russia in the lead, could invade to “take a spoil” if she possessed vast oil reserves.
Israel’s Blessing
But all this conjecture about Russia and her allies invading Israel for her oil reserves is a little premature, isn’t it? After all, Israel doesn’t have any oil reserves. It’s like the joke Israel’s Golda Meir told on her country, “Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!” Golda, however, may have been wrong…
The Bible prophesies that in the last days: “Israel then shall dwell in safety alone.” (Deuteronomy 33:28) God also promises that in the last days Israel would enjoy a greater prosperity than ever before: “and I will settle you after your old estates, and I will do better unto you than at your beginnings…” (Ezekiel 36:11) Does the Bible give us any clues as to the economic source of Israel’s safety and prosperity? We believe it does.

Before entering the Promised Land the children of Israel were given certain blessings, to be bestowed upon them in the “last days”. Among these were blessings of “the deep that coucheth beneath”, “the chief things of the ancient mountains” and “precious things of the lasting hills” (Deuteronomy 33:13,15). Also among the blessings to Israel and his children God promised that he would “suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.” (Deuteronomy 32:13) God promised that Zebulon and Issachar would, “shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.” (Deuteronomy 33:19) and Asher would, “dip his foot in oil.” (Deuteronomy 33:24)

Could these passages possibly refer to an oil reserve hidden deep beneath the land of Israel? That is just what they mean, according to the late James R. Spillman, whose theory and its implications are explained in detail in the new book, “Breaking the Treasure Code: the Hunt for Israel’s Oil”. According to the book, not only does Scripture promise Israel an oil treasure in the last days, it actually points to the location of buried reserves.

Zion Oil & Gas

It has been twenty-five years since Spillman first made public his beliefs about Israel’s oil treasure, proving its existence in scripture. Since that time several oil explorers have gone in search for Israel’s oil; all to return home empty-handed, leaving Israel with another hole in the ground and still oil poor. All, that is, except for one. John Brown, of Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. first heard Jim Spillman’s oil message in 1981. From that moment forward John knew that Israel possessed a wealth of oil and that he would be the man to discover it. In the last twenty-five years John Brown has been prospecting for Israel’s oil with little to show for his efforts…until last year. In April of 2005 Zion Oil and Gas, Inc. began its first drilling operation in Israel.

Much has happened in the past year to bring the promise of Jacob’s Blessing, oil wealth for Israel, steadily closer to reality. In April 2005 Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. dedicated its first well, the Ma’anit #1 in northern Israel. From April through October Zion drilled the existing Ma’anit #1 well to a depth of 15,482 feet. Drilling complete, the well reaches the depth of early Triassic era. The geologic structure of the Triassic era is thought to contain reef formations left-over from an ancient sea. These reef structures are porous enough to contain significant hydrocarbon (oil and gas) reserves. Zion predicted that at the completion of the Ma’anit #1 well they would find a massive Triassic era structure known as the “Mohilla Reef”.

Although the Ma’anit #1 drilling did not locate the Mohilla Reef, Zion’s results were impressive. Among other things, the Ma’anit #1 revealed nine individual zones with shows of oil and gas. Significant oil and gas shows at the same depths Zion expected to find the Mohilla Reef will be a primary target for oil production. This depth includes a 650 foot section of Triassic that contains a total of 51 vertical feet of “pay” (structure with sufficient porosity to extract commercial quantities of oil and gas).

Currently all drilling on the Ma’anit site is suspended until results can be obtained from drilling a “step-out” appraisal well about 500 yards north-northwest of the Ma’anit #1. Results from the second well will allow Zion optimize the completion of the Ma’anit #1. The step-out well, Zion believes, will confirm the existence of significant oil and gas deposits in the Ma’anit #1 and provide a potential second oil producing well on the same site. The target zone for the step-out well sits on a Triassic high spot, meaning the same structure experienced in Ma’anit #1 will be evident sooner (higher) in the step-out well. The possibility of hitting the top of the Permian strata (below the Triassic) in the step-out well is also improved due to the higher structure. Zion believes that when the Ma’anit #1 is complete (ready for production) they will have discovered three or more reservoirs in a new oil field.

Zion’s plans for the near future, however, stretch beyond the Ma’anit wells. The “Joseph #1” site, in the southern tip of the Zion’s Joseph license area, the company believes, will find the Mohilla reef structure that evaded them at the Ma’anit #1 well. Geologic testing indicates a significant reef structure, dubbed the “Joseph Reef”, underneath the Joseph #1 site. Zion calculates the top of the Joseph Reef to be at about 13,130 feet below the surface with a recoverable structure of 900 to 1,000 feet. The Joseph Reef comprises an area within Zion’s license of about 4,000 acres. According to Zion, the Joseph #1 well, has as good or better chances of producing commercial quantities of gas and oil as the Ma’anit wells.

Geologists made another fascinating discovery during the drilling of Ma’anit #1. The well is structurally and stratigraphically the highest in Northern Israel. This means that the structure and layers found in Ma’anit #1 are higher (shallower) than any well ever drilled in Northern Israel. The oil believed to exist at Triassic and Permian era layers will be easier to access due to this up-lifted geology

At the Ma’anit site the Permian (older) era structure that lies beneath the Triassic is much closer to the surface than expected. The Permian age structure being so close to the surface in the Ma’anit area was a remarkable find. Based on world-wide oil discoveries in Permian strata, the chances of finding potentially huge oil reservoirs at that depth are good. Givot Olam, the oil exploration company operating the Meged oil field just south of Zion’s Joseph license has already discovered oil in the Triassic layer that has migrated up from older structures. This discovery of “old” oil has proven the existence of Triassic and Permian oil in the region.

To date, no wells in central or northern Israel have ever reached the Permian depth. The top of the Permian at Ma’anit, estimated at about 16,000 feet, is surprisingly shallow; and within the drilling capabilities of Zion’s existing rig. This likelihood of reaching the Permian level in a structurally high area where oil could be trapped puts Zion’s oil prospects on a world class level. Their first step for exploring the Permian prospect will be to drill a deeper “wildcat” well into the Permian structure.

Could the possibility of huge reserves at the Permian (the deepest) level reflect the blessing given to Joseph nearly 4,000 years ago? Among several Bible scholars, Christian and Jewish, the news of the Permian being accessible confirms Jacob’s promise to Joseph that he would be blessed with the “…blessings of the deep that lies beneath…” (Genesis 49:25)

The Asher Permit

Zion’s opportunities in 2005 didn’t stop with the Ma’anit and Joseph prospects. A final, perhaps more providential, wind-fall was to come the company’s way. In August, Zion was awarded the Asher license area. The Asher license, 121,000 acres adjacent to and north of the Joseph license, more than doubles Zion’s exploration area. Biblically speaking, the Asher license lies directly on the crown of the head of Joseph and under the foot of Asher. Maps of Israel’s ancient tribal boundaries locate the crown of the head of Joseph and the foot of Asher directly on the Asher license area. According to Spillman’s theory this area is the equivalent to a bulls-eye for the location of Jacob’s Blessing. Scripture states“…let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top (crown) of the head of him…” (Deuteronomy 33:16) “And of Asher he said, let Asher be blessed, with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.” (Deuteronomy 33:24)

The Asher license area contains the Asher-Atlit well, drilled in 1983. The Asher-Atlit well lays about fourteen miles north-west of the Ma’anit #1, on the Mediterranean coast just south of the city of Haifa. At 21,431 feet, it is the deepest oil well ever drilled in Northern Israel. During drilling the Asher-Atlit project encountered 4,000 feet of oil bearing Triassic age reef before the well was lost through a series of disastrous events during its development phase. Tragically, after discovering the Triassic reef and proving the existence of oil, the Asher project, drained of funds, was abandoned. Asher-Atlit’s related geologic and exploration records already confirm the existence of reef structures in the Triassic. The data from the Asher Project will provide Zion several excellent exploration prospects for oil trapped in Triassic Age rocks.

Zion will continue the Ma’anit and Joseph projects in 2006 while expanding their exploration efforts into the Asher license area. The company expects continuous oil and gas exploration and development activities in both license areas over the next five to ten years.

The Big Picture

The discovery of oil in Israel will be the fulfillment of a promise made nearly four thousand years ago; that in the last days the children of Israel would inherit the “blessings of the deep” and “treasures hid in the sand”. This was not just a promise given by Jacob to his sons, however. This was a promise given by God to his people. The promise will be fulfilled. And the oil brought to the surface. More importantly, this promise will be fulfilled because it is part of a greater promise; that the Messiah will return, God’s people will be redeemed, and that this age will end and a new age begin.