Israel’s Future as an Energy Exporter

Will Israel become a major exporter of natural gas in the near future? Most likely. How about an oil exporter? Maybe. Is there any chance of Israel joining OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)? With Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Venezuela on the membership committee, probably not.

But the reality is that Israel has already made the largest natural gas discovery – ever – in the Mediterranean and the largest discovery worldwide in 2009. Of course those figures were based on the initial Tamar gas field reserve estimates of 5 trillion (that’s ‘trillion’) cubic feet. Since then the Tamar estimates have jumped to 8.7 trillion cubic feet. But wait, there’s more! The Leviathan field, discovered after Tamar, is estimated to hold an astonishing 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The piece of news offshore operator Noble Energy isn’t ready to make too public yet is that they believe that underneath the natural gas fields, there could be oil. That’s the story offshore.

Onshore, Givot Olam claims the field below their Meged #5 well may hold 1.5 billion barrels of oil (we’ll find out how real that estimate is next month). By the way, the Meged #5 has been pumping oil in the midst of the latest arguments over how big the field may or may not be. Zion Oil & Gas, just yesterday, spudded (began drilling) their Ma’anit-Joseph #3 well. This is Zion’s third attempt to discover commercial quantities of oil in the Ma’anit structure. The first two wells were frustratingly close; they actually extracted oil from the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 test well. Zion isn’t going into the Ma’anit-Joseph #3 blind; based on results from the first two wells and their best science, this well will be at the location and depth they need to be to hit commercial oil.

Bottom Line: Israel is not waiting for a major hydrocarbon discovery – it’s already happened – the largest natural gas discovery worldwide in 2009 (of course that was when they believed they only had 5 trillion cubic feet in the Tamar field and before the Leviathan discovery). The Tamar field is 90 kilometers (56 miles) offshore and Leviathan is 130 kilometers (81 miles) out to sea. Producing the offshore gas (bringing to market by building pipelines to onshore facilities)  will take a few years (up to five). But it will happen. It’s a pretty good bet that all of Israel’s domestic natural gas needs (that includes electricity) will be fully supplied and that more than a few European and the Japanese households (at least) will be heating their morning tea with Israeli natural gas in the next decade. Up until 2009 nobody imagined that Israel could supply her own needs, let alone become a world exporter of natural gas. In 2019 it will be a major Israeli export.

Is oil far behind? I don’t think so. If oil and gas is discovered onshore in the near future, it will most likely beat the offshore gas to market. If a lot of oil is discovered – beyond Israel’s domestic needs – oil is much easier (and quicker) to export than natural gas.

Little old Israel, a major energy exporter – imagine that! Of  course Israel has accomplished a lot of things in the last sixty-plus years the world never imagined. That may be because the world doesn’t know it’s Bible as well as it should. About 2,700 years ago Israel (the northern kingdom) was decimated by her enemies (ancestors of some of the same enemies Israel has today) and many in Israel were taken as captives back to conquering Assyria.  Later the Babylonians conquered Assyria, but Israel remained captives in exile, away from their home land. In this dark time an Israeli living in exile, his name was Yechezk’el,  saw a vision of his people’s future. He saw dry bones coming together to form a nation of people, he saw a wasteland spring to life and become a garden. Yechezk’el’s (we westerners use the name Ezekiel) vision of dry bones became reality on May 14, 1948 when Israel, after 1,900 years of exile, became a nation. In 1948, the Land of Israel wasn’t too different from the ‘wasteland’ Ezekiel saw in his vision. Today the ‘wasteland’ has become a garden.  In Ezekiel’s vision G-d made a promise to the Land of Israel: “I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more before.” (Ezekiel 36:11)

A nation of people from dry bones … wasteland springing into gardens … a nation in exile for 1,900 years returning to its homeland and prospering today more than in any time in history … imagine that!

1.5 Billion Barrel Oil Discovery in Israel?

News reports out Israel of a 1.5 billion barrel oil discovery lit up websites and news postings yesterday. Israeli oil exploration company Givot Olam announced to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) on Tuesday that, “Production test drilling at Givot Olam’s Meged 5 site near Rosh Ha’ayin indicated it holds 1.525 billion barrels’ worth of oil.” And boy did it start a stir!

Givot Olam stock shot up 69% at one point, before finally settling out at a 19.7% gain … meanwhile trading was suspended and the Israel Securities Authority demanded clarifications of the report from Givot Olam – who didn’t have anything to add.  They said a full report would be available in September.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “This is not the first time Givot has issued partial and less than definitive information.” If you visit the Givot Olam website (http://www.givot.co.il/english/index.php) today you’ll read about the 2 billion barrels they “discovered” (but never produced) in 2004.  The truth behind this week’s “discovery” is that their tests don’t show how much oil they can produce or how much the discovery may be worth financially. What they do know is that even if there is 1.5 billion barrels down there, only a small percentage of it is recoverable; estimates range from 10% to 25%.

Givot Olam has been pumping oil mixed with gas and water from the Meged 5 test well for about a week and a half, averaging about 380 barrels per day. Israel consumes 235,000 barrels of oil per day. At the rate the Meged 5 is pumping now the well would supply less than two tenths of one percent of Israel’s daily consumption. If just 10% of Givot Olam’s “discovery” was recoverable (150 million barrels), the Meged 5 would have to maintain its current pace for over a thousand years to harvest the field. Israel burns through 150 million barrels in less than two years.

Haaretz reports: A geophysicist in the field, however, called the most recent announcement “speculative” and said the 1.525 billion figure appeared “exaggerated.”

“The bottom line is that I want to see the well’s capacity of barrels per day over time,” he said. “How much the drilling site can produce – that’s what will answer questions regarding its economic viability. Regarding the reserves, I don’t think they can be assessed at the moment. It’s a very rough estimate and everything gets into the range of probabilities.”

That’s what the geophysicists in Israel (the guys who know) are saying. It’s the same thing they told me after Givot Olam announced its 2 billion barrel “discovery” in 2004.

Bottom Line: Givot Olam’s announcement of a 1.5 billion barrel discovery is highly speculative and most likely exaggerated. A “discovery” doesn’t mean how many barrels a company can actually commercially produce (2004’s 2 billion barrel “discovery” commercially produced exactly zilch). We’ll need to wait until Givot Olam submits their definitive report in September and watch production on the Meged 5. Yesterday’s announcement created a lot of hoopla, but nobody, including Givot Olam, knows the substantive reality of the “discovery” at this point.

But that didn’t stop some Israeli news agencies and  Christian websites (Joel Rosenberg’s included) from running the headline “1.5 BILLION BARRELS OF OIL DISCOVERED IN ISRAEL” with few, if any, facts to back up the headline.

So why am I raining on everyone’s parade? Here’s why: the truth. There’s nobody that believes Israel will discover oil in a big way more than I do (except maybe John Brown of Zion Oil and Tovia Luskin of Givot Olam). And I believe the Bible (Torah) points to that discovery (so do John Brown and Tovia Luskin). But sensational headlines taken from unsubstantiated announcements don’t forward the search. When sensational headlines (like the 2 billion barrel “discovery” in 2004) don’ t pass the test of reality, they only disappoint the folks who believed them in the first place and hurt the credibility of those who ran the headline. That  said, here are the facts:

• The Bible (Torah) states that Jacob (Israel) would “suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.” (Deut 32:13) Of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) it states: “Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof …. (Deut. 33:13-16).  That Zebulun and Issachar “shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.” (Deut 33:19) And that Asher would “dip his foot in oil.” (Duet 33:24)
• Tovia Luskin and John Brown founded their oil exploration companies based on their belief that scripture points to a major oil discovery in Israel.
• Zion Oil & Gas and Givot Olam have proven that oil exists deep below the territories the Bible (Torah) said it would be found.   Givot Olam has pumped more than 3,000 barrels of it in the last week and a half.
• Serious geological studies by the Geophysical Institute in Israel and the US Geological Survey have backed up Luskin’s and Brown’s belief by stating that they estimate a mean of 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are recoverable in the Levant Basin, which includes onshore and offshore Israel.
• Enough natural gas to supply all of Israel’s needs into the foreseeable future has already been discovered off the coast of Northern Israel.

The facts are enough. Israel has discovered huge quantities of natural gas, they’ve discovered oil right where the Bible said it would be, and I believe Israel is on the cusp of discovering major quantities of producible oil, both onshore and offshore – enough to supply them into the foreseeable future.  It’s happening now, but it hasn’t happened yet. The prophecy of Israel’s oil, I believe, is being fulfilled before our eyes, but it hasn’t been fulfilled yet. Misleading headlines aside, Givot Olam’s discovery is a part of that fulfillment. I’ll report the facts to you as we see them unfold. In the meantime here’s a more balanced article on the subject from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/givot-olam-meged-has-1-5b-barrels-of-oil-1.308683

Steve Spillman

The Oil of Israel: Prophecy Being Fulfilled

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The Oil of Israel: Prophecy Being Fulfilled

by: John Brown

78 pages; softcover: $11.99 $9.99 (+ $5.00 S&H) www.oilinisrael.net reader’s special (10% of the sale price will go toward Israel charities. Genesis 12:3)

The Oil of Israel: Prophecy Being Fulfilled, the first book by Zion Oil & Gas Founder John Brown telling the story of Brown’s vision to discover the “Oil of Israel”. Includes Brown’s personal testimony and the scriptures that led to the search for Israel’s oil and the founding of Zion Oil & Gas. Brown shares his insights on true biblical faith and the vision and calling of Zion Oil. The book includes the full color maps of Israel’s ancient tribal boundaries and of Zion’s license area as well Zion’s progress to date in the search for Israel’s oil.

John Brown writes in the Preface: “So, why did God choose Zion to discover the oil in Israel? The answer is I don’t know why, but He did, and I believe I was told by God that it was to fulfill His promises to Israel (Isaiah 14:24) (Zechariah 1:17) and to bless the body of Christ. (Isaiah 23:18 NIV) and Zion Oil only exists because of God’s faithfulness to Israel (Psalms 36:5, 89:1-5) and not because of my faith (Isaiah 25:1).”

“Prophetically, I believe oil will be found on Zion’s leases.”
HAL LINDSEY

“John Brown, an evangelical Christian and founder and chairman of Zion Oil and Gas, believes that there is indeed oil in Israel.”
DR DAVID JEREMIAH

“This is such a vital, vital thing; we shouldn’t be surprised at all that God would save this for the end times and that God would save it for his chosen people Israel. We need to pray for John Brown, for Zion Oil and for all the people that are involved in this.”
Daystar Founder
MARCUS LAMB

“Suppose that a pool of oil, greater than anything in Arabia … were discovered by the Jews … This would change the course of history. Before long Israel would be able to independently solve its economic woes …”
DR TIM LAHAYE

“Israel? Proven reserves? Billions? When I read those words, the hair on the back of my neck stood up … By the time I sat down to write ‘Jihad’, I had decided to add a fictional oil strike – discovered by a fictional American investment
company working with a fictional Israeli company … Little did I know.”
JOEL ROSENBERG

“Dear John, I will continue to pray earnestly for the success and unlimited prosperity of Zion Oil in Israel. A major oil development in Israel would create geopolitical earthquake. I believe you have been called to the kingdom, ‘For such a time as this.’”
Most Sincerely,
Pastor John Hagee

78 pages; softcover: $11.99 $9.99 (+ $5.00 S&H) www.oilinisrael.net reader’s special (10% of the sale price will go toward Israel charities. Genesis 12:3)

Israel, Turkey Tensions Not Affecting Zion Oil

According to Zion CEO Richard Rinberg,  recent political tensions between Turkey and Israel are not affecting Zion’s work program or future plans. Zion Oil & Gas operates it exploration company in Northern Israel using a drilling rig and crew owned by Turkish drilling company AME. Future plans call for a new company, Zion Drilling, to to be formed between Zion Oil & Gas and AME.

Zion Oil & Gas has just released a corporate video detailing their exploration efforts and plans for the new drilling company. To view the video click here or on the photo at the top of this article.

In a recent letter to stockholders, Rinberg states that in spite of international tensions, Zion Oil and AME will conduct ‘business as usual’.

“I received a telephone call from a concerned stockholder asking about the recent event offshore Israel and its effect on the relationship between Zion Oil & Gas, Inc (in Israel) and Aladdin Middle East Ltd (in Turkey).

I have been in contact with Cetin Mumcuoglu, the General Manager of Aladdin Middle East Ltd, in Ankara, Turkey, and he is not concerned. International incidents will occur from time to time, but business continues without interruption.

He commented to me, “ We will continue with our business relationship even more strongly.”

Zion Oil & Gas and AME have excellent relations based on mutual respect and trust, so we expect that recent events will have little effect on our continuing business relationship.

Additionally, our Caesarea office and our petroleum exploration areas are in Northern Israel, well away from the Gaza area in Southern Israel, so everything is proceeding as normal.

At present, we do not anticipate that the recent event will have any material adverse effect on our business.”

Kibbutz Ma’anit Agreement Paves Way for Zion’s M-J#3 Well

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According to company CEO Richard Rinberg, Zion plans to start drilling the Ma’anit-Joseph #3 (MJ#3) in August. Zion signed an agreement with the land owner, Kibbutz Ma’anit, for access to the well site and continues the permitting process with various Israeli state agencies.

Rinberg wrote Zion share holders in his May 28 update:

“Further to our ongoing exploration work on the Ma’anit geological structure, we are moving forward with the required permitting and planning for the M-J #3 well (targeted for the ‘deep’ Permian geologic structure). (Deut. 33:13-16)
We are well underway in the process of assembling the various product and service suppliers needed to drill this new well. As reported last time, we instituted a bidding and selection process designed to ensure that we use the best available resources, offering Zion the most favorable overall value. Based on early vendor indications, we anticipate a strong response to our RFQs (Request For Quotes) and have already begun receiving price quotes. All price quotes are expected by month-end and the final vendor selection will follow shortly thereafter.
Permitting for the new well continues to proceed favorably with the recent achievement of a very significant milestone: agreement with Kibbutz Ma’anit granting us access to Kibbutz land where we desire to drill the MJ-3 well.
In Israel, ‘permitting a well’ is a very lengthy and complicated process, as permits are required from various authorities, including the: Water, Fire, Health, Military, District Planning Commission, Environmental Protection, Israel Land, National Infrastructure, Civil Aviation and National Transport Authorities… and of course, the owner of the land.
With the Kibbutz agreement now secured, we are fine-tuning the well site layout and beginning preliminary plans for construction of the site.
The layout and construction of the well site is a project in of itself, as it involves the careful placement of storage containers, offices and living quarters, equipment and liquid storage facilities, power units, and piping all efficiently arranged around the drilling rig and large liquid containment (“mud”) pits while allowing adequate space for the safe movement of personnel and heavy equipment.
As the M-J #3 well site is near residential and commercial areas, we are working diligently with local and governmental groups, to ensure the site will meet (or in some cases exceed) all applicable environmental and safety requirements.
Actual well site construction can begin once we have received all necessary permits. Depending on weather and equipment availability, we anticipate site construction to be completed within one month after being started. Given the progress we are making in both planning and permitting for the M-J #3 well, we remain optimistic that drilling will begin this summer.”

Plans for the new Ma’anit-Joseph #3 well were initiated in April after production testing determined that commercial quantities of gas and oil were not present in Zion’s nearby Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well.

Zion Oil Announces Rights Offering

Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – April 26, 2010 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: ZN), announced today that it will be launching a rights offering. Holders of Zion’s common stock will be entitled to purchase additional shares of its common stock at a price of $5.00 per share. In the rights offering, stockholders as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard time on the record date of May 6, 2010, will be issued, at no charge, one-half (0.5) of a non-transferable subscription right for each share of common stock  owned by the stockholder on the Record Date. This is equivalent to one (1) subscription right for every two (2) shares of common stock held by the stockholder on the Record Date. The rights offering will be conducted under an existing effective shelf registration statement.

The Company plans to use the proceeds from the rights offering: (a) to purchase a 51% interest in a new company (Zion Drilling, Inc. that will own a 2,000 horsepower drilling rig), (b) to drill further ‘deep’ exploration wells on Zion’s licenses in Israel (in continuation of Zion’s oil and gas exploration efforts) and (c) for general corporate purposes.

If the rights offering is fully subscribed, then the gross proceeds of the offering will be approximately $46 million. The rights offering will also include an over-subscription privilege, that will entitle a stockholder who exercises all of their basic subscription privilege the right to purchase additional shares of common stock that remain unsubscribed at the expiration of the rights offering, subject to the availability and pro rata allocation of shares among stockholders exercising their over-subscription right. If the rights offering is over-subscribed, then Zion may, in its sole discretion, elect to offer a number of additional shares to fulfill over-subscription requests such that the maximum gross proceeds in the offering would be $50 million.

The subscription rights are not transferable and will be evidenced by subscription rights certificates. Zion will not distribute any fractional rights; fractional subscription rights will be rounded up to the next 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. The rights may be exercised at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard time on June 30, 2010, the scheduled expiration of the offer; however, Zion may extend the offering period at its sole discretion.

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.

This announcement is neither an offer nor a solicitation of any offer. The securities are offered by prospectus only, and only within those States and other jurisdictions in which the securities may be sold, and this announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities of any such state or jurisdiction. The rights offering will be made by means of a prospectus supplement (File No. 333-164563).

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.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, drilling efforts,  the successful establishment of the drilling subsidiary and the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements with Aladdin Middle East Ltd. (the current owner of the drilling rig) with respect thereto and potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon and the gross proceeds of the rights offering, 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.

For more information regarding the rights offering or to request copies of the prospectus supplement relating to the rights offering when it becomes available, you may contact us by calling toll free 1-888-TX1-ZION (1-888-891-9466) or by contacting the Dallas Office at Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., 6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75231; telephone 1-214-221-4610; email: dallas@zionoil.com. Copies of the prospectus supplement, when available, will be available for viewing on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission located at www.sec.gov.

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

Contact:

Mike Williams

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.

6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300

Dallas, TX 75231

(1) 214-221-4610

Email: dallas@zionoil.com

Zion Oil 2009 Annual Report

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. filed is 2009 annual report with the SEC on March 16. Among the company’s operation plans for 2010 listed in the 104 page document are plan’s for a fourth well and another possible stock offering.

After CEO Richard Rinberg’s obligatory “Forward Looking Statements” statement (events that haven’t happened yet, haven’t happen and there’s no way of guaranteeing that they will happen, therefore statements about operational plans for the future are ‘forward looking’) the report states:

“As the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well did not reach the Permian geological formation beneath the Joseph license area, we are currently planning to drill a subsequent well, to be named the “Ma’anit-Joseph #3 well”. The Ma’anit-Joseph #3 well is currently anticipated to be drilled in the vicinity of the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well in order to try and reach the Permian target.“

“We believe that our currently available cash resources will be sufficient to finance our plan of operations, as described, through the end of 2010, including the drilling of the planned Ma’anit-Joseph #3 well. To carry out further drilling and maintain operations as presently conducted, we will need to raise additional funds.”

“In order to support our operations and drilling program beyond fiscal year 2010, on January 28, 2010, we filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 for a shelf offering. As of the filing of this annual report on Form 10-K, the registration statement has not been declared effective. When declared effective by the SEC, Zion will have the option to offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, up to $50 million of common stock, debt securities, warrants to purchase any of these securities, or any combination of such securities. The securities may be offered in one or more offerings, and at prices subject to prevailing market conditions to be set forth in a supplemental prospectus filing with the SEC at the time of such offering, should such an offering occur. We do not currently have any commitments to sell securities.”

A copy of Zion Oil’s complete 2009 Annual Report can be downloaded by clicking here: Zion Oil 2009 Annual Report

Zion Oil a Part of God’s Prophetic Timetable

I received a note from Zion Oil’s founder John Brown last week regarding his belief that Zion Oil’s exploration activities in Israel, and their result, are a part of God’s prophetic timetable for the land of Israel. I agree with him; here’s the letter:

“What I hope your subscriber’s understand is that Zion has been and is directly involved in God’s prophetic time table for Israel and we are not just drilling for oil because if we were just looking for oil then we could do that right here in Texas for a lot less money.

I believe that Zion was created by God to fulfill His promises to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people (see Founder’s Testimony – The Vision and The Calling) and that is why I believe that we will eventually be successful in finding oil in Israel.  So what this means is that, according to the Bible, all the money and time, that has been invested by Zion in Israel guarantees all our shareholders God’s blessings. (Gen 12:2, 3)

You can post this if you want because everything we are doing is based on scripture – (including where we are drilling).”

John also included his personal testimony and Zion’s Vision an Calling. Click below to download:

Zion Founder’s Testimony

The Calling

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

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