Offshore Gas Field is a ‘Monster’

Noble Energy chairman and CEO Charles Davidson expressed optimism that there will be more gas fields discovered at a press conference in Tel Aviv today.

He said, “We conducted a 3D seismic survey, which will provide very sophisticated information enabling us to know whether there are more reservoirs. We believe that there are other reserves adjacent to the Tamar and Dalit reservoirs. We’re now analyzing the results of the seismic survey. I hope that we’ll continue to find natural gas in this country. I’m optimistic about more reservoirs, whether at Leviathan or elsewhere.”

Davidson added, “Israel was the land of milk and honey in Biblical times, but in the modern era, its milk and honey and natural gas. In Israel’s deep waters, in virgin territory, a monster natural gas discovery has been made.”

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) is a partner in the Tamar and Dalit offshore gas fields, together with Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) subsidiaries Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) and Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L), Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq: ISRL; TASE: ISRA.L), and Dor Alon Energy in Israel (1988) Ltd. (TASE:DRAL) subsidiary Dor Alon Energy Exploration Ltd. It is also a partner with Delek Group in the Yam Tethys partnership, which owns a natural gas field offshore from Ashkelon, and in the Leviathan prospect, west of Tamar, with Delek Group Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L).

Noble Energy convened the press conference at the Tel Aviv Hilton not only to wax poetic about biblical Israel, but to outline its program to develop its natural gas reserves in Israel. Investors are eager for any scrap of information about the Leviathan lease, where 3D seismic survey is underway, whose results are due later this month. If gas is found, the prospect’s partners will begin drilling toward the end of the year, at an estimated cost of $100 million.

Davidson said, “The company expects to drill into another large structure during the second half of the year, and to drill in the two discoveries already made during 2011.”

The statement reiterates what Noble Energy said in the conference call following the publication of its financial report for 2009 last month, without explicitly mentioning “Leviathan”. “As for Tamar, the immediate challenge is to reach an agreement with the government on how to bring the gas to shore, since seafront real estate in Israel is very expensive. One possibility is to build a new terminal, another is to use Yam Tethys’ existing infrastructure,” Davidson said.

Davidson promised that the company would meet its timetable for the Tamar well. The well’s partners are due to publish their development plan for the reservoir in the second half of the year. The plan will reportedly cost more than $2.6 billion, with gas production beginning in early 2012.

“We’ve been here for over ten years already,” said Davidson. “Noble Energy won’t be here for years, but for decades. I can’t imagine a better place to be than here.”

Noble Energy will invest $140 million in gas exploration in Israel in 2010, almost 10% of its budget.

Shares of Israeli gas and oil exploration partnerships on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) have skyrocketed by hundreds and even thousands of percent in the past year, as investors seek the next Isramco. Davidson, however, sends a clear message to investors: Be careful. “Oil and gas exploration shares were hyped last year, and I urge caution,” he said. “There is no sure thing in the energy industry, and in the end, only a few companies will succeed. There’s an upside potential in the shares of Noble Energy. I’m a long-distance runner, and I don’t comment about the market’s response over the next week or two. We’re managing projects that will last us decades. In this business, you don’t plan for days, but for the long haul.”

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com

Zion Oil Introduces ‘49:1 The Zion Story’ at NRB

News of the upcoming feature film ‘49:1 The Zion Story’ created quite a buzz National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville Feb 27 – March 2. Zion Oil & Gas founder John Brown, author of Breaking the Treasure Code: the Hunt for Israel’s Oil, Steve Spillman, and British filmmaker Tom Boulting were all present during the convention and met publicly and privately with leaders in Christian ministry, broadcasting and entertainment.

John Brown and Steve Spillman shared the story of Israel’s oil during the convention on two radio programs, Charle’s Crismier’s ‘Viewpoint’ broadcast and “The Meeting House” radio show with Bob Crittenden. “Viewpoint aired live on March 1; the archived broadcast can be heard at http://irnusaradio.com/our-programs/viewpoint. “The Meeting House program should air on the week of March 8; broadcast details can be found at http://www.meetinghouseonline.info/.

Thanks to the generosity of Zion Oil & Gas, Convention attendees received complimentary copies of Jim Spillman’s book The Great Treasure Hunt,  Zion’s 2010 ‘Joseph Project’ DVD including the film trailer for ‘49:1 The Zion Story’, along with free Zion Oil/49:1 t-shirts and Zion Oil & Gas media packages. True Potential Publishing, Inc. sponsored an autograph session with Steve Spillman personalizing complimentary copies of Breaking the Treasure Code: the Hunt for Israel’s Oil for conference attendees.  On the last day of the convention, two lucky attendees were drawn for a grand prize of a ten day tour for two in Israel with Jonathan Bernis, sponsored by Zion Oil & Gas and Jewish Voice Ministries, and a second prize of Ten Commandment tablets carved of stone cut from the same quarry in Jerusalem that built King Herod’s palace, sponsored by Holy Jerusalem Stones in Israel.

The Zion Movie

According to London based Charter Films, Ltd. CEO Tom Boulting, immediate plans are in process to produce a documentary on Zion Oil’s faith and Bible based search for oil in the land of Israel. Boulting’s extended plans, however, call for a feature length film telling the story of Zion founder John Brown’s faith journey in his quest to discover oil in Israel.

For more on ‘49:1 The Zion Story visit www.zionthemovie.com.

Givot Olam Struggles with Oil Discovery

In 2004 Givot Olam announced an oil discovery in their Meged #4 well, the newly discovered ‘Meged oil field’ was estimated to contain 980 million barrels of crude; about 200 million barrels of that actually recoverable. Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructures looked t the data,  confirmed the discovery and issued a production license to the company … that was six years ago. Givot Olam hasn’t actually produced any appreciable amount of the oil they discovered in 2004 and the Meged #4 was shut down due to ‘engineering problems’ after attempting a horizontal drilling process in 2005.

Last year Givot Olam tried to resurrect hopes of producing oil by drilling the Meged #5, south of it’s previous wells. The Meged #5, still under 13,000 feet deep (according to Givot’s drilling agreement with Lapidoth, the original planned depth was over 16,000 feet) and the drilling project is $4.9 million over budget; add to that an additional $6 – 7.5 million for production testing. Givot Olam only has $3.7 million in the bank, so they’ll need to raise more capital before anyone knows if the Meged #5 will be a commercial well.

Givot representatives stated last week (see below) that the “quantities of gas measured in the mud of the Meged 5 well is ten times the amount in all other wells in the Meged field.” But since no actual quantity was disclosed, there’s no way of telling whether the well is capable of producing commercial gas until testing is complete.

An oil ‘discovery’ of 980,000 million barrels in 2004 (the Givot Olam website states 2,000 million [2 billion] barrels) and still no oil?

First of all, I believe Givot Olam discovered oil 13,000 feet below the surface in 2004.  Secondly, while the oil is still 13,000 feet down, I don’t believe there’s any ironclad way of determining exactly how much was discovered or, more importantly, how much of the oil in the ground is producible to the surface.  And (this is an important part of the oil business) you can only send oil to the refinery that’s that’s actually on the surface.

What’s the moral of this story?

Discovering oil and producing oil are two separate and distinct events. Sometimes they happen back to back … but sometimes they don’t. And how much time and capital an oil company thinks exploration and completion will cost, reality may have a higher figure in mind. In a recent interview, Zion Oil & Gas Exploration Manager Stephen Pierce stated that the odds of finding oil in the exploration process are “one in nine.” That means, on average, nine wells are drilled for every one that produces. But not one of the oil explorers I’ve interviewed or researched in the history of Israel’s hunt for oil expected to drill nine holes before discovering oil. Every well was expected to be the well. That, unfortunately, isn’t the way it is.

Here’s the good news.

Israel possesses a massive amount of natural gas – more than they’ll need into the foreseeable future. Israel’s natural gas was discovered just last year. And Israel possesses oil – that’s been proven by exploration and, I believe, it will be confirmed by discoveries outside the Meged field in the near future. The gap between ‘discovery’ and ‘production’ may be time consuming and expensive (as it has been in Givot Olam’s case), but once fields begin producing they generally continue. Israel will be energy independent; she will produce and consume domestic oil and gas, all Givot Olam and the other oil exploration companies in Israel need to do is stay in business. Givot Olam will raise the capital to finish the Meged #5. Will the well produce oil or gas? I don’t know, but I do know they’re a lot closer to the finish line than when they started.

Below is the February 28 Globes article on Givot Olam:

“The quantities of gas measured in the mud of the Meged 5 well is ten times the amount in all other wells in the Meged field,” Givot Olam Oil Exploration LP (TASE:GIVO.L) announced today in a presentation ahead of Tuesday’s partners meeting. At the meeting, the general partner will try to get the investors’ approval to issue NIS 25 million worth of partnership units and options.

Givot did not disclose the actual quantity of gas measured in the well, or its significance for the quantity of oil at the site, which will only be known when the production tests are completed.

Givot’s general partner added that the drilling cost of the Meged 5 well is $12.6 million, more than the $7.7 million originally planned. The general partner attributed the higher cost to “two serious breakdowns during the drilling and adjustments to the drilling plan”.

The presentation added that the Meged 5 has reached the Upper Mohila strata at a depth of 3,879 meters, and that the well is due to reach a depth of 3,950 meters. The partnership estimates the cost of the production tests at $6 – 7.5 million and they will last for two more months. The partnership has just $3.7 million in cash left, hence the need to raise more capital.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on February 28, 2010

Zion Oil & Gas Newsletter March 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zion Oil & Gas Newsletter March 5, 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Shareholder and/or Friend of Zion… Last week, both Bill Ottaviani (Zion’s President and Chief Operating Officer) and I visited New York, in order to present Zion Oil & Gas at the ‘NASDAQ-Oppenheimer 14th Annual Israeli Equities Conference’. We presented to investment professionals attending the ‘by invitation only’ event. Amongst others, conference attendees included representatives from Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. We believe that the presentation, an audio webcast with slides, was successful and have posted a link to it on Zion’s homepage (www.zionoil.com) so that you can review and enjoy it. Please note that, due to the ever increasing demands on management time, from now on, we will send you an update email once every two weeks, instead of every week. Of course, if there is anything urgent to report, we will issue a press release or a ‘breaking news’ email to you. But, as always, our petroleum exploration work will continue at an unabated pace… every single working day. ……………………………………………………… So, here is this week’s operations update: The Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 Wellsite The Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 Well Since the previous report, I am pleased to note that we have restarted rig operations on this well, as you can see in the pictures above (photographed on Thursday, March 4, 2010). Apart from the rig crew of Aladdin Middle East, the Metsada wireline truck is onsite as is the Weatherford team and their equipment. Our plan is to test several geologic intervals for the presence of producible hydrocarbons. These various ‘intervals of interest’ were previously identified through the use of open-hole diagnostic tools when the well was drilled. Now that we have the drilling rig back on the hole, we can “complete” the well. In the past days, we completed some of the initial down-hole preparatory work that was needed before we can production test the first geologic interval. This preparatory work included milling out the plug used to isolate the open-hole section of the well and validating that the cement bond quality between the casing and rock formation is adequate for testing. Without a good cement bond, that effectively isolates the zone we wish to test, we risk not being able to accurately evaluate the productivity of that particular zone. To assess if the cement bond is adequate, we used an electronic down-hole tool (aptly named a ‘Cement Bond Logging Tool’) that confirmed that we do have sufficient bond quality. This is good news as it means that we do not need to perform a remedial cementing operation and can proceed to the next phase of the testing operation for this first interval. The next phase includes perforating the zone of interest and testing the well for hydrocarbon flow. To ‘perforate’, we use shaped explosive charges that are run into the well on a perforating ‘gun’ – a long hollow cylinder.  The charges are spaced out equally along this cylinder, across the zone of interest, and detonated from the surface. The energy from the exploding charges penetrates (or perforates) the casing and into the rock formation. This action creates a passageway for any hydrocarbons in the rock to find their way to the wellbore.  The pressure drop from the higher pressure rock to the lower pressure wellbore allows any hydrocarbons present to flow from the rock to the well. We plan to use sophisticated equipment from Schlumberger Oilfield Services to measure pressures and flow rates, both inside and outside the well, all critical data needed to assess a well’s long term production capabilities. Logistical planning and coordination continues to be a significant challenge in Israel, as we have to import much of the equipment needed for our well operations. For the most part, we have been securing our needed resources for this well work on a ‘just in time’ basis. Now that we do not have to perform a remedial cementing operation, we find ourselves in a situation where we may need to wait on some needed equipment to continue our work without interruption. Our suppliers have been working very hard to ensure they meet our tight timing needs, but sometimes delays are inevitable.  Should we encounter such a delay, we don’t anticipate it to be very long and will be doing everything possible to stay on our planned schedule to complete the full testing program in April 2010. Operations at the Elijah #3 Well (No change from previous report.) The Elijah #3 well was drilled to a depth of approximately 10,938 feet (3,334 meters) when the drill string became stuck within the Asher Volcanics section of the hole. After recovering a significant portion of the stuck drill pipe, progress in recovering the remainder of the pipe slowed and the decision was made to temporarily suspend drilling operations pending further analysis of the situation and to relocate the rig to the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well. We are currently assessing various options that should enable us to proceed with the ‘next steps’ for this well. The Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area The Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area As reported previously, Zion and the Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) have signed an Agreement for GII, on behalf of Zion, to acquire approximately 30 kilometers of seismic data in Zion’s Issachar-Zebulun Permit area. A pre-site assessment field trip was conducted last month by Zion’s geological team and members of GII.  As you can see from the photo, doing field work can, at times, be a fairly messy business.  The purpose of the site visit was to assess the general area where seismic data is to be collected and identify potential natural barriers (e.g. waterways) or other impediments (man-made structures) that could impact the seismic acquisition process. With the pre-site assessment completed, detailed planning can now commence for the actual field work. The timing for the field work has been pushed back by a number of weeks, as the seismic crew for GII are currently out of Israel and not scheduled to return until mid-summer 2010. “In your good pleasure, make Zion prosper…” Psalm 51:18 Thank you for your support of Zion, and Shalom from Israel Richard Rinberg CEO of Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. www.zionoil.com FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, geophysical and geological data and interpretation, anticipated attributes of geological strata being drilled, drilling efforts and locations, the presence or recoverability of hydrocarbons, timing and potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon and sufficiency of cash reserves are forward-looking statements as defined in the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion’s periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion’s control. These risks could cause Zion’s actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements. Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More information about Zion is available at www.zionoil.com or by contacting Michael Williams at Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., 6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75231; telephone 1-214-221-4610; email: dallas@zionoil.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zion Oil & Gas Newsletter February 19, 2010

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zion Oil & Gas Newsletter February 19, 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Shareholder and/or Friend of Zion… On Wednesday of this week, Israel’s Channel 10 TV sent a reporting team to interview ‘Zion Oil & Gas’ and film at the Ma’anit site. I understand that a TV program on ‘Oil and Gas in Israel’ is scheduled for broadcast tonight (Friday) on Channel 10 in Israel. As I mentioned last week, Zion has been featured or mentioned in various articles in the business press recently, as ‘Oil & Gas in Israel’ continues to be a ‘hot topic’ that is attracting very great interest in Israel. Please note that there will not be a weekly update next week as both Bill Ottaviani (Zion’s President and Chief Operating Officer) and I will be in New York, presenting Zion Oil & Gas at the NASDAQ-Oppenheimer Israeli Equities Conference. ……………………………………………………… Here is this week’s operations update:

The Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 Well As reported previously, following the rig mobilization, we are in the process of getting ready to re-enter this well to conduct production testing on several geologic intervals. As you can see in the picture above (taken on Wednesday, February 17th), the rig mast has been raised. As I write, final preparations are being made to re-enter the well, but I expect that by the time that you read this report, we will have re-entered the well and started operations. Logistical arrangements for all of our planned work activities are just about completed, as we start to receive project equipment and finalize our service schedules. In keeping with past practice, we will employ local companies when appropriate, which helps grow the petroleum industry within Israel and, as needed, we will also bring in the multinational firms that offer specialized services and equipment attuned to our particular needs. We expect to use the services of Baker-Hughes and Weatherford and, for the first time in our operations, we plan to use Schlumberger Oilfield Services. Schlumberger is a well-known and respected name within the international petroleum industry, especially noted for their capabilities in well testing operations and that is exactly the purpose we plan to use them for, at our Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well. In 1912, Conrad Schlumberger conceived the revolutionary idea of ‘logging’ – using electrical measurements to map subsurface rock bodies. The use of the word ‘logging’ derives from the written record by the captain of a ship in his daily log. In 1919, Marcel Schlumberger began working with his brother Conrad, in Paris and, in 1929, for the first time, they logged a well in California, USA. Fast forward 80 years and Schlumberger should soon be operating in Israel. Well operations are expected to continue for approximately two months. Of course, many factors may cause operations either to be extended or to be accelerated. You can be assured that under all eventualities, we will take appropriate action, as and when required.

The Wellhead at the Elijah #3 Well Operations at the Elijah #3 Well The Elijah #3 well was drilled to a depth of approximately 10,938 feet (3,334 meters) when the drill string became stuck within the Asher Volcanics section of the hole. After recovering a significant portion of the stuck drill pipe, progress in recovering the remainder of the pipe slowed and the decision was made to temporarily suspend drilling operations pending further analysis of the situation and to relocate the rig to the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well. We are currently assessing various options that should enable us to proceed with the ‘next steps’ for this well. The Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area As reported previously, Zion and the Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) have signed an Agreement for GII, on behalf of Zion, to acquire approximately 30 kilometers of seismic data in Zion’s Issachar-Zebulun Permit area. Pre-site assessment is scheduled to begin this month with the actual field work anticipated to occur during April and May 2010. “In your good pleasure, make Zion prosper…” Psalm 51:18 Thank you for your support of Zion, and Shalom from Israel Richard Rinberg CEO of Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. www.zionoil.com FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, geophysical and geological data and interpretation, anticipated attributes of geological strata being drilled, drilling efforts and locations, the presence or recoverability of hydrocarbons, timing and potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon and sufficiency of cash reserves are forward-looking statements as defined in the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion’s periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion’s control. These risks could cause Zion’s actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements. Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More information about Zion is available at www.zionoil.com or by contacting Michael Williams at Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., 6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75231; telephone 1-214-221-4610; email: dallas@zionoil.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

State of Israel Updates Petroleum Rights List

Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructures has updated their list of companies that own oil and gas exploration rights in Israel. If a company isn’t on this list it does not have the right to explore for oil and gas in Israel. The exploration rights list (PetroleumRights170210a-1) and exploration rights map (PetroleumRights15_10_09Geogr.jpg) go together to show rights ownership and the location of the rights territory.

The Israeli Petroleum Law states that “petroleum resources belong to the State.” These State owned resources extend beyond the land itself to include Israel’s territorial waters.

The Law governs all exploration and production of all petroleum products. It provides three types of permits to explore for or produce petroleum in the country. The first “preliminary permit” allows the holder to conduct initial prospecting in the permit area with the exception of drilling. This eighteen month permit also gives the holder the privilege of requesting a “priority right” on the permit area. The priority right prevents awarding the area’s petroleum rights to anyone else during the term of the permit. The second permit stage is a three to four year “exploration license.” This license allows the drilling of test wells in an area of not more than 400,000 dunam (100,000 acres). If and when a prospector discovers oil in economically retrievable quantities under the exploration license he may apply for a “production lease.” The production lease term is thirty years, extendable to fifty years.

Just because a company has been granted an exploration or production license in an area doesn’t mean it is granted physical access to the area. Once issued a permit, license, or lease, the holder must also secure permission from other State agencies and property owners to actually conduct activities in the license area. The holder is also required to submit regular progress reports and final reports to Ministry of Infrastructure. All research, test results, studies and any other information produced through exploration efforts are to be submitted to the Ministry as the property of the state.

The production lease gives the lessee the right to market any petroleum produced, subject to the State of Israel preempting the petroleum for its own use. Israel also collects a 12½% royalty on all petroleum produced. All in all, Israel’s petroleum law effectively allows outside commercial entities (the licensees) to finance the exploration and production of oil in the country. Israel benefits by having access to all the exploration data and 12 ½% of all the oil produced.

Noble Energy plans $530m investment in Israel

The company plans to resume exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Amiram Barkat21 Feb 10 16:56

Oil and gas exploration company Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) will invest $530 million in natural gas exploration in Israel and in development of its current reserves at Yam Tethys and Tamar, said company executives during a conference call on Friday.

During the conference call, which followed the publication of Noble Energy’s financial report for the fourth quarter of 2009, Noble Energy chairman and CEO Chuck Davidson said, “Late in the year, we anticipate resuming exploration in the Eastern Med, looking to build on our tremendous success that we’ve had already there in Israel.”

The reference is to economic zones of Israel and Cyprus, probably at the company’s Leviathan license, west of Tamar. Leviathan is jointly owned by Noble Energy, Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG), and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L). Drilling will probably begin after the recently completed 3D seismic study of the strata structure is analyzed.

Noble Energy said that its capital program in 2010 will total $2.5 billion, $1 billion for major projects, most of which will be directed to projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Equatorial Guinea in West Africa, and Tamar.

Noble Energy said that natural gas sales in Israel were 25% lower in 2009 than in 2008. Sales are from the Yam Tethys field offshore from Ashkelon, in which Noble Energy owns 47.1%, with Delek (4.44%) and its subsidiaries Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) (23%) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) (25.5%) owning the rest.

Davidson said, “Internationally, we had tremendous exploration success in Israel, with our largest discovery ever at Tamar and subsequent Dalit find. We announced signed letters of content covering $10.5 billion in gross expected revenue, with less a third of resources committed. And we immediately moved forward with the development plans that should lead to the sanction of Tamar this year.”

The Tamar partners today announced that they have signed a third letter of intent for the sale of natural gas to Dimona Silica Industries Ltd. The 17-year contract is worth $500 million. Noble Energy owns 36% of the Tamar prospect, alongside Delek Drilling, Avner Oil, Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq: ISRL; TASE: ISRA.L), and Dor Alon Energy in Israel (1988) Ltd. (TASE:DRAL) subsidiary Dor Alon Energy Exploration Ltd.

Noble Energy attributed the lower than expected natural gas sales in Israel to warmer than normal weather, increased imports of competing Egyptian gas (from East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which began deliveries in early 2009), and because the company’s customer, Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) had some downtime on one of their power plants.

Investment house Barclays Capital reiterated its “Overweight” rating on Noble Energy stock, and kept its target price for the share at $84. However, it cut its earnings per share estimate as production guidance figures ranged lower than Barclays analysts had expected. They nevertheless maintain that strong future production growth, beginning in 2012, will support the shares.

Israel Oil & Gas Exploration Boom Continues

Haaretz

Israel has natural gas fever, to judge by the line at the National Infrastructure Ministry’s oil board. “Even when they discovered the Heletz field in the south [in 1955] people weren’t lining up here, but this time even leading financial institutions have been backing all kinds of searches,” a member of the ministry’s oil board told TheMarker. The board member, Ron Nahman, who is also mayor of Ariel, said, “We haven’t had this many requests and inquiries in the past nine years. There’s never been interest like this.” Nahman and the other eight board members are responsible for allocating drilling and exploration rights within Israel and off the country’s shores. (Avi Bar-Eli)

Virtual Jerusalem

The Oil Law advisory council at the Ministry of National Infrastructures met on Monday to review and discuss applications for oil and natural gas exploration licenses and oil production licenses. The council reviewed many applications for oil and natural gas licenses, including oil shales and the transfer of rights.

The council approved six applications:

• A license for Modiin Energy LP for the Yam Hadera prospect.
• A preliminary permit with forward rights for Zerah Oil And Gas Explorations LP and Ginko Oil Exploration LP for the Gulliver offshore prospect.
• A license for Ginko for the land Orly prospect.
• A license for Swiss-based Rig Builders Contracting SA for the land Gurim prospect.
• A license for Dr. Baruch Drin Consultants and Services Ltd. and Griffin Strategic Investments Ltd. for the land Yahel prospect.
• A license for ACC Resources Ltd. for land Shemen prospect (in the Med Ashdod area).

The initial permit is for a maximum of 18 months for an unlimited area, during which preliminary surveys are conducted, including the collation of all current material as well as new material to fill in the information gaps. When the permit period expires, the licensee must apply for a drilling prospect.

A license is for three years, with an option for renewal, and requires drilling a well. An extension is for a maximum of seven years.

If and when commercial quantities oil or gas are discovered, the license is for a maximum of 50 years. The holding will not be granted for more than 30 years in the first stage, and only subject to justifying the reservoir’s potential.

Zerah and Ginko get Negev gas exploration license

The Orly prospect is north of Arad.

Globes Online: Mira Awwad 16 Feb 10 17:46

The Orly license covers a 102,400 (50,600-acre) area in the southern Judean Desert, above the Dead Sea.

Under the terms of the license, Zerah and Ginko will conduct a 2D seismic survey of the prospect by mid-October 2010, analyze the results and submit a drilling proposal by mid-February 2011. They will begin drilling a 2,000-meter well by mid-October 2011, and submit a report for further operations at the well within four months of the completion of the well.

Last week, Zerah obtained the offshore Gulliver license.

Zion Oil to Present at the NASDAQ-Oppenheimer Israeli Equities Conference in New York

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZN) will be participating at the NASDAQ OMX and Oppenheimer 14^th Annual Israeli Equities Conference in New York on February 23, 2010.

Richard Rinberg, Zion’s Chief Executive Officer, and Bill Ottaviani, Zion’s President and Chief Operating Officer, are scheduled to present at the conference at 3:05 p.m. EST on February 23, 2010. A copy of the presentation will be made available on Zion’s website after that date.

Zion’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “ZN” and Zion’s warrants trade under the symbol “ZNWAW”.

Zion Oil & Gas, a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel, in areas located on-shore between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and the Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya, in the south, and Haifa, in the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres and the Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area, adjacent to and to the east of Zion’s Asher-Menashe license area, covering approximately 165,000 acres. Zion’s total petroleum exploration rights area is approximately 327,000 acres.

About the 14th Annual Israeli Equities Conference

NASDAQ OMX and Oppenheimer & Co. are pleased to present the upcoming 14th Annual Israeli Equities Conference to be held February 23-24, 2010 at Oppenheimer’s offices at 300 Madison Avenue in New York City.

This conference will bring together over 20 of Israel’s leading companies representing a variety of industries and a range of market capitalization. The format will consist of investor presentations and 1-on-1 and small group meetings. This setting offers both investors and company management intimate discussion on the business environment in Israel and globally.

About Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (“Oppenheimer”) is a leading investment bank and full-service investment firm that provides financial services and advice to high net worth investors, individuals, businesses and institutions. For over 125 years, Oppenheimer has provided investors with the necessary expertise and insight to meet the challenge of achieving their financial goals.

Oppenheimer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., an integrated financial services holdings company. Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.’s other wholly owned subsidiaries include Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc., Oppenheimer Life Agencies Ltd., and Oppenheimer Trust Company.

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