Zion Oil Announces Proposed New Drilling Subsidiary

Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – April 19, 2010 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: ZN) announced today that the Company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aladdin Middle East Ltd. (AME).

The MoU outlines Zion’s plan to establish a subsidiary, tentatively named “Zion Drilling, Inc.”, which will purchase AME’s 2,000 horsepower drilling rig (currently located at Zion’s Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 wellsite, in Israel) in exchange for an initial payment of US$ 7.0 million and a series of US$ 1.0 million additional payments that are anticipated to coincide with Zion’s drilling of seven (7) additional wells in Israel. Each of these payments is to be funded by Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. The MoU provides that Zion Drilling, Inc. will be 51% owned by Zion Oil & Gas and 49% owned by AME. AME will be responsible for the daily drilling operations of Zion Drilling, Inc.

Zion’s Founder and Chairman, John Brown, said today, “The signing of the MoU with AME marks a significant milestone in the life of Zion Oil & Gas. We are looking forward to establish Zion Drilling, Inc. as this will help us to drill as many wells as it takes, in order to recover the ‘treasures of the deep that lie beneath’.” (Deut. 33:13-16)

Zion’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Rinberg, noted, “By establishing Zion Drilling, Inc. we will clearly demonstrate our ability to continue to drill wells in Israel without dependence on any outside third party.  We will have secured permanent control of a drilling rig for our planned future operations and consequently also raised Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.’s exploration business to a completely new level. We remain excited about the prospect of recovering hydrocarbons on the Ma’anit structure and on our other license and permit areas, especially due to the recent publication of a report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), containing their assessment that there may be 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable undiscovered oil in the Levant Basin. Zion’s exploration rights fall within the area of the Levant Basin.”

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.

AME is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, incorporated in Delaware in 1962, with its head office in Wichita, Kansas. AME has drilled more than 130 exploration and development wells in Turkey and Egypt for major oil companies, including Exxon, Mobil, Wintershall AG, MOL, Placid Oil, Neste Oy, Burren Energy Inc. and Edison International spa. Its rig inventory includes 11 drilling and workover rigs.

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, sufficiency of cash reserves, ability to raise additional capital, the successful establishment of the drilling subsidiary and the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements with AME with respect thereto, timing and potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon 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.

Zion’s homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com

Contact:

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.

Mike Williams, 214-221-4610

dallas@zionoil.com

Zion’s Ottaviani Joins Board

ZION OIL & GAS APPOINTS NEW BOARD MEMBER

Dallas, Texas – April 12, 2010 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: ZN), of Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel, announced today that Mr. William L. Ottaviani has been appointed as a Director of Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. Mr. Ottaviani has been serving as the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company since January 31, 2010 and will continue to serve in these positions.

Mr. Ottaviani, a petroleum engineer by training, served as Chief Operating Officer at Rex Energy Corporation from November 2007 to September 2009. From September 2009 to January 2010, he worked as an independent consultant. From 1982 until 2007, Mr. Ottaviani served in various management, engineering, operational and staff assignments for Chevron and its affiliated companies, with assignments in California, Louisiana, Indonesia and Angola.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and his M.B.A. from California State University, Bakersfield.

Mr. John Brown, Chairman of the Board and Founder, said: “We are delighted to have Mr. Ottaviani joining our Board of Directors.  He brings more than 25 years of experience in the petroleum industry to Zion and will serve as a tremendous asset as we continue our pursuit to recover hydrocarbons in Israel.”

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.

Zion Oil Oversells Stock Offering by $19 Million

Special Report: Zion – The Movie

Special Report: Zion – The Movie

I traveled to Israel last week to work with Charter Films Limited, a UK film company. We (they) were doing preliminary shooting for a film about Zion Oil’s search for oil in Israel. Tom Boulting, Charter’s CEO met Richard Rinberg, Zion’s CEO on a flight to London a few months back and Richard shared the Zion Oil story with Tom. Tom was fascinated. As a filmmaker, Tom saw great possibilities for a documentary on Zion Oil; but after spending a few days with Richard and Zion Founder John Brown at Zion’s drilling sites in Israel he realized that a sixty minute documentary could only tell half the story. Tom started thinking ‘movie’.

As the ‘oil in Israel’ story teller up to this point, I was invited to spend last week with Tom and his cameraman, Jim, ‘on site’ while they filmed preliminary footage for both the documentary and a possible feature length film. I was able to share the ‘back-story’ with Tom and Jim, both on and off camera. They even christened me into the ‘film crew’ on location by letting me hold the boom mike during interviews and taught me some movie making lingo. It was a great experience personally, but more exciting was the realization that the world will soon witness the Zion Oil story through documentary on the small screen (TV) and (one day) on the big screen as a feature length movie.

There’s a lot of work to be done now by Charter Films, editing footage and preparing a short ‘promo’ piece to share with potential film partners. Speaking of ‘promo’ pieces, Charter Films is planning to join us at the 2010 National Religious Broadcasters’ Convention next February in Nashville to debut a sneak peek of “Zion – The Movie”.

Next week we’ll have http://zionthemovie.com online. By the time you’re about done with that left-over turkey, you’ll be able to visit the new website for great pictures, meet the director and stay up to date on the making of “Zion – The Movie”. Of course we’ll always give you the latest news here at http://oilinisrael.net.

Zion Oil Begins Drilling Elijah #3

According to Zion CEO Richard Rinberg’s ‘Zion Oil & Gas Newsletter’, Zion Oil began drilling the Elijah #3 well last week and by last Friday’s report, drilling depth on the Elijah #3 had reached 400 feet.

The Elijah #3 well site is located on northern Israel’s coastal plain near Mount Carmel, between Caesarea and Haifa, in Zion’s ‘Asher/Menashe” license area. Zion Oil’s Elijah #3 isn’t the first oil well to be drilled in this area and Zion Oil isn’t the first company to come to this region, known in the Bible as the ‘foot of Asher’, seeking the fulfillment of an ancient Bible prophecy. “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)

Wesley Hancock

In 1961, Bible believing Californian, Wesley Hancock was awarded an exploration license area of 97,000 acres including Mount Carmel and extended into parts of the Jezreel Valley, known as the “Valley of Megiddo,” site of the prophesied last days battle of Armageddon. Armed with a report forecasting Israel’s oil potential, and his Asher passage in Deuteronomy 33, Wesley went looking for Asher’s oil. On September 19, 1963 Wesley spudded the Asher #1, north and east of Mount Carmel near Haifa. Asher #1 had reached a depth of 7,800 feet when the drill head twisted off, taking seven drill collars with it. After the twist-off, chances of drilling any deeper were nil. By January of 1964, testing in the hole above 7,800 feet revealed that the Asher #1 was dry. In 1965 Wesley commissioned a hydrocarbon survey of his license area. This was the first petroleum survey of its kind in Northern Israel. The survey results led to choosing his location for the Asher #2 well. Hancock drilled the Asher #2 to a depth of 4,300 feet and core samples showed traces of oil. The Asher #2, however, was shut down; Hancock, without any other investors, had run out of money and was unable to continue drilling.

Gilman Hill

In 1979 Gilman Hill, an American evangelical Christian, came to Israel looking for Asher’s oil. According to Hill, God directed him to drill for oil and showed him the well’s location during a 1978 tour of Mount Carmel. Gill had completed preliminary geological surveys and fulfilled permit requirements to begin drilling by 1980.
Hill’s well, Elijah #1, was planned to be drilled to the upper Triassic strata, a depth of 15,000 to 16,000 feet. At 8,900 feet Gilman halted the drilling. According to Hill, God gave him the message, “circumstances have changed,” Gil was convinced that he was to cease drilling until further notice from God. Gil continued his geologic research for another six years waiting for a Divine release to resume drilling. The release never came. After spending $6 million of his own money on Mount Carmel, drawn by the Bible’s promise that Asher would “dip his foot in oil,” Gilman Hill had failed to find the elusive flow.

Andy SoRelle

About the same time Hill started drilling Elijah #1, a Texas oil man named Andy SoRelle was busy preparing to drill the Atlit #1 well near Haifa, known as the Asher Project. SoRelle’s well was spudded in February 1981, the same year Jim Spillman’s book, The Great Treasure Hunt,  was released. Spillman and SoRelle were mutual supporters, each understandably interested in the work of the other. Throughout the Asher Project  SoRell updated Spillman on the progress of the well they both believed would strike the oil God had promised.
At 9,400 feet the drill bit hit volcanic rock.  They drilled down through another 7600 feet before finally coming into limestone again. The drill bit, now at 17,296 feet was way beyond the rig’s capacity. Fearing he would lose the hole, Atlit’s drilling supervisor shut down the operation until a larger rig could be brought in.
December 28, 1982 a new drill rig, rated at 26,000 feet was installed over the original hole. This new phase, dubbed the Atlit #II was planned to bring the well as deep as 23,000 feet. By February of 1983 the well had been cleaned out and depth had been increased to 18,000 feet.
Drilling continued without incident until, at 20,570 feet Atlit II struck oil! What oil experts call “very good shows” came to the surface; graded as light oil at 35 to 40 degrees API. SoRelle continued to a final depth of 21,431 feet. The zone of oil bearing rock, was estimated at 470 feet, from 20,570 to 21,309 feet. Two years after spudding, the drilling phase of the Atlit well was finally complete!
During development problems emerged again. Financing for the project had been on a shoe-string at best. The crew had stopped casing the well at 13,772 feet.  Not having funds for additional casing and reasoning that the volcanic rock they had struggled through was stable enough to hold the hole open the crew had continued drilling in “open hole.”

As the crew was cleaning the hole in preparation for the production casing, drill collars stuck at 18,669 ft and two weeks of jarring would not break them loose. Special equipment was flown to retrieve the string (130 ft. in length) and, while cleaning the hole to “fish” with the new equipment they stuck again at the 17,772 ft mark. After ten more days of trying to break loose, they came out leaving another 8 ½ foot fish in the hole.

August 24, 1983, more than two and a half years after spudding, Andy SoRelle called it quits for the Atlit hole.  Having spent more than $25 million, his own money and that of his investors, Andy gave up on the Atlit well.

The history of the search for Asher’s oil doesn’t seem very promising. But if God said of Asher, ‘… let him dip his foot in oil …’ then I’m convinced He’ll keep His promise in His own time. One thing I do know; the oil is down there. Hancock saw it and SoRelle saw it. That Asher’s oil exists is a fact, when it will be brought to the surface is the only question.

Zion Oil Rights Offering Declared Effective

Globes Newswire October 13, 2009

DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, Oct. 13, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZN – News) announced today that the registration statement for its previously announced common stock rights offering was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 9, 2009. The offering will be open to all holders of record on October 19, 2009 (the “Record Date”).

Under the terms of the rights offering described in the prospectus contained in the registration statement, Zion will distribute to each person who own shares of Zion common stock on the Record Date non-transferable subscription rights to purchase shares of Zion’s common stock. Each shareholder of record on the Record Date will receive 0.23 of a subscription right for each share of common stock owned on the Record Date. This is equivalent to twenty three (23) subscription rights for every one hundred (100) shares of common stock owned on the Record Date. The Company will not distribute any fractional rights; fractional subscription rights will be rounded up to the next largest whole number. Each whole subscription right entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a purchase price of $5.00 per share.

Shareholders who fully exercise their rights will be permitted to subscribe for additional shares of common stock, if available, that were not subscribed for by other rights holders. The subscription rights are non-transferable. The aggregate amount of stock available in the rights offering is 3.6 million shares.

As soon as possible after the Record Date, Zion plans to mail to holders of its common stock (as of the close of business on the Record Date) a prospectus and other items necessary for exercising the rights. Shareholders who hold their shares in a bank or broker name will receive the rights offering material from their bank or broker. The prospectus will contain a description of the rights offering and other information. The subscription rights will be exercisable until the close of business on November 30, 2009, unless Zion elects to terminate the offering prior to the scheduled expiration date by giving two business days notice or unless Zion elects to extend the offering.

Zion to Commence Drilling

Great news from Israel this morning! Zion’s AME drilling rig arrived at the port of Haifa on Saturday. Thirteen loads were transported to the Ma’anit Rehoboth #2 well site yesterday with the balance of the rig to be delivered today and tomorrow. According to Zion CEO Richard Rinberg drilling of Zion’s second well, the Ma’anit Rehoboth #2 should begin by next week.   Here’s the Zion press release:

Zion Oil Updates Drilling Schedule

2,000 Horsepower Drilling Rig Arrives in Israel

Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – April 20,2009 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NYSE Amex: ZN) announced today updated information regarding the import into Israel of a drilling rig and crews owned and employed by Aladdin Middle East Ltd (AME). AME has been contracted to provide a completely refurbished and updated 2,000 horsepower rig and crews to drill Zion’s planned Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well ‘directionally’ to below 18,000 feet.

The drilling rig arrived by ship at the Israeli Port of Haifa during the evening of April 18, 2009. The required taxes and import charges were paid and the first thirteen loads (out of a total of approximately eighty loads) cleared Israeli Customs on April 19 and were transported to the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 drill site and unloaded. The remaining loads are scheduled to be transported to the drill site on April 20 and 21.

Twenty members of AME’s rig crew arrived in Israel on April 18 and 19 and will begin rigging up (i.e. erecting) the drilling rig on April 20. It is planned that drilling operations will start by the end of April.

For updates on the daily drilling activity please visit Zion’s website “www.zionoil.com“.

Zion currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya on the south and Haifa on the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres. Zion has applied for a further permit area (tentatively named by Zion the Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area) and the application, if granted, will increase Zion’s total license area to over 400,000 acres.

Zion’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Rinberg, said today, “It has been a long and difficult journey, but we have overcome the many challenges and, in a few days, the drilling rig should begin the drilling of Zion’s second well, on our Joseph License, to the Triassic Formation (down to a depth of 15,400 feet) and then, we plan, to the Permian Formation (down to a depth below 18,000 feet).”

Zion’s common stock trades on the NYSE Amex under the symbol “ZN” and Zion’s warrants trade under the symbol “ZN.WS“.

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located onshore between Tel-Aviv and Haifa.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon, including the commencement of drilling operations, 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’scontrol. 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.

Zion’s homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com

Contact:

ZionOil & Gas, Inc.
Brittany Russell, 214-221-4610
dallas@zionoil.com

Zion Oil & Gas Prepares for 2009 Drilling in Israel

December has been a busy month for Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel) as they prepare for drilling activities scheduled for early 2009.

The company issued three press releases over the last thirty days that, if we look a little deeper, may give us a forecast on what to expect in 2009.

The first press release, issued on November 14, reported the company’s third quarter financial results. Quarterly reports from public companies are required by SEC regulations. Zion Oil reported a net loss of $865,000 for the quarter (that’s eight cents per share). A loss like that sounds pretty glum unless we remember that Zion, at this point, is an exploration company. They explore for oil. That means they don’t produce income until they find oil. Now about finding oil – here’s something interesting you may miss if you don’t read the press release closely:

“Zion is moving forward with its exploration and drilling plans. We anticipate that the refurbished 2,000 horsepower drilling rig, with which we plan to drill Zion’s planned Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well ‘directionally’ to below 18,000 feet, will be shipped into Israel during January 2009. We have almost finished preparing the drill site and expect to commence drilling shortly after the rig arrives on location.”

Zion expects the delivery of a “2,000 horsepower drilling rig” in January. The new rig has a drilling depth capacity of 20,000 feet. Why is that important? In 2005 Zion Oil drilled the Ma’anit #1 well to a depth of 15,500 feet. The deeper they drilled the stronger the oil shows became. So why stop at 15,500 feet? That was all the rig they were drilling with could stand. They wanted to go to 18,000 feet but they would have lost the well due to rig failure if they had kept going. The rig Zion used in 2005 was a 1,000 horsepower rig with at total depth drilling capacity of 15,000 feet. It was the biggest rig in Israel.

So now you can understand why the rig Zion has coming from Turkey in January is such an important part of a commercially viable oil discovery in Northern Israel. Zion discovered oil at the Ma’anit #1 in 2005. They didn’t have the equipment finish the job. Come January they will.

The next press release, issued December 2, announced Zion issuing units and the second closing of their current public offering. Zion issued 350,994 units. A unit is one share of Zion stock and one warrant, giving the purchaser the option to buy one more share at a fixed price ($7.00) any time between the closing of the offering and January 31, 2012. Zion’s stock, as I write this post is at $6.20; it’s been bouncing between $6.10 and $6.50 over the last thirty days. That stock was issued at $7.00 in January of 2007 when the company went public. The fact that the stock has pretty much held its value for two years without any oil production or revenue, and in light of the current global economic meltdown is more than impressive. Makes me wish General Motors and Bank of America stock were as stable. By the way, this public offering has its final closing on January 9. After that, the public will not be able to buy more units (one share of stock & one warrant).

Let’s put two and two together. Zion is taking delivery on the rig that will reach the depth they couldn’t get to when they drilled in 2005. Zion’s public offering is closing January 9. Those who bought or buy  (we still have a few weeks left) during the current offering get one share of stock and the right to buy another share at $7.00 any time before January 31, 2012. If Zion’s stock has held its value in the last two years in spite of it not producing any oil revenue and a world economic collapse, imagine where it could go with an oil discovery. I’ll leave the rest of the math to you.

Finally, the last press release issued December 16; Zion announced the purchase of over $1 million in drilling pipe, crating up the drilling rig for transport to Israel and final preparations at the drill site. This isn’t just a post on the internet, folks. It’s the real deal. Zion Oil will be drilling at the first of the year. And who will be a part of whatever happens to Zion in 2009 will be determined when the public offering closes in January.

You can read all of Zion Oil’s press releases at http://zionoil.com/press-releases. The brilliant analysis and all news about oil and Israel, you can get right here at http://oilinisrael.net.

Zion Oil Announces Revised Drilling Schedule

Zion Oil announced today (read the full press release below) that the delivery of the AME drilling rig to Israel will be delayed until January of 2009 due to Israeli government delays in processing AME’s work permits.

According to AME, other than the delay in processing work permits, machinery updating and refurbishment is complete and the drilling rig is sitting in Ankara, ready to ship.

On Zion’s side, completion of the site preparation and final government permissions are underway.

Anyone who has ever built a house knows about delays, like the building inspector not showing up when he’s scheduled. The inspector finally arrives and the house get completed. I don’t think the process changes much as the project’s grow in size.

The bottom line is that the rig is now scheduled to be in Israel in January rather than November, as previously expected. On the positive side, it looks like AME and their drilling equipment is ready to roll and Zion’s site preparations should be complete by the time the rig arrives in January. Pray for progress without further delays. And news of a bit turning in Northern Israel!

Here is Zion’s press release:

 

Zion Oil Updates Drilling Schedule

 Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel- November 7, 2008 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: ZN) announced today updated information regarding the status and importation into Israel of the drilling rig and crews contracted for (on September 12, 2008) with Aladdin Middle East Ltd (AME). Under the terms of the contract, AME committed to provide a completely refurbished and updated 2,000 horsepower rig and crews to drill Zion’s planned Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well ‘directionally’ to below 18,000 feet.

AME has advised Zion that the drilling rig refurbishment has been successfully completed and that the rig stands ready in Ankara, Turkey. AME have started the process of obtaining Israeli work permits for their crews; however due to the relevant government office in Israel having been closed for most of October, the workers’ permitting process was delayed. It is now anticipated that the rig will be shipped out of Turkey in January 2009.  

Zion has recently received positive notifications on almost all of the required Israeli permits (other than crew work permits) related to the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well and is now working on the location site to prepare it for the arrival of the rig.  

As detailed in its registration statement, Zion is raising funds in order to pursue its planned multi-well drilling program. Depending on actual amounts raised, Zion intends to carry out the following work program: drill Zion’s second well, on Zion’s Joseph License, to the Triassic Formation (down to a depth of 15,400 feet) and / or to the Permian Formation (down to a depth of 18,040 feet), drill a test well on Zion’s Asher-Menashe License to the Triassic Formation and, if appropriate, the Permian Formation and prepare for the drilling of an additional well on either its Joseph or Asher-Menashe License. 

Zion’s common stock trades on the NYSE Alternext US under the symbol ZN. 

Before you invest, for more complete information about Zion Oil & Gas and its offering, you should read Zion’s registration statement (including a prospectus) together with the other documents Zion has filed with the SEC. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Zion Oil & Gas or its underwriter, Brockington Securities, Inc, will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll free 1-888-TX1-ZION (1-888-891-9466). Direct links to the SEC location, or to the documents in PDF, may be found on the home page of Zion Oil & Gas, at www.zionoil.com. 

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located onshore between Tel-Aviv and Haifa. It currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya on the south and Haifa on the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres. 

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon, including the importation of a drilling rig into Israel, the granting of various required permits, the selection of potential drilling targets and locations, 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. 

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Zion Oil & Gas and its offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Zion Oil & Gas or its underwriter will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll free 1-888-TX1-ZION (1-888-891-9466). Direct links to the SEC location, or to the documents in PDF, may be found on the home page of Zion Oil & Gas. Inc., at www.zionoil.com. 

Contact:

Brittany Russell

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.

6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300

Dallas, TX 75231

(1) 214-221-4610

Email: dallas@zionoil.com

ZION OIL ISSUES UNITS IN INITIAL CLOSING

Subscriptions Still Being Accepted

Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – October 24, 2008 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: ZN) announced that, today, the company issued 350,994 units in the initial closing of Zion’s follow-on offering. Each unit consists of one share of Zion stock and one warrant to purchase one share of Zion stock. The units were issued at $10 per unit and the amount raised in this initial closing was $3,509,940.
 
Zion continues to accept subscriptions at $10 per unit and the offering will remain open until the earlier of: (i) January 9, 2009, (ii) the date on which a total of 2,500,000 units have been subscribed and accepted, or (iii) such date as announced by the Company on no less than two trading days’ prior notice.
 
Zion has scheduled November 17, 2008 as the cut-off date for the receipt of documents to be included in the next interim closing.
 
As detailed in its registration statement, Zion is raising funds in order to pursue its planned multi-well drilling program.  Depending on actual amounts raised, Zion intends to carry out the following work program: drill Zion’s second well, on Zion’s Joseph License, to the Triassic Formation (down to a depth of 15,400 feet) and / or to the Permian Formation (down to a depth of 18,040 feet), drill a test well on Zion’s Asher-Menashe License to the Triassic Formation and, if appropriate, the Permian Formation and prepare for the drilling of an additional well on either its Joseph or Asher-Menashe License.
 
Zion’s common stock trades on the NYSE Alternext US under the symbol ZN and Zion’s units will trade under the symbol ZN.U
 
Before you invest, for more complete information about Zion Oil & Gas and its offering, you should read Zion’s registration statement (including a prospectus) together with the other documents Zion has filed with the SEC. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Zion Oil & Gas or its underwriter, Brockington Securities, Inc, will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll free 1-888-TX1-ZION (1-888-891-9466). Direct links to the SEC location, or to the documents in PDF, may be found on the home page of Zion Oil & Gas, at www.zionoil.com.
   
Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located onshore between Tel-Aviv and Haifa. It currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya on the south and Haifa on the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres.
 
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding the future effectiveness of Zion’s registration statement, matters regarding the offering and closings thereof, Zion’s planned operations, potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon, including selection of potential drilling targets and locations, 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.
 
Zion’s homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com

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