DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, July
30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ZN) announces formal approval from the Israel Ministry of
Energy of its drilling plan for its next well in Israel.
"The amount of progress has been miraculous given the strains on
the Israeli government due to Covid-19 and their operating at
approximately 30% capacity," expressed Rob
Dunn, CEO. "This drilling plan approval demonstrates
Israel's commitment to further
energy exploration and the ongoing partnership between Zion and the
State of Israel."
DRILLING PLAN
Zion submitted its proposed drilling plan to the Ministry for
approval on April 12, 2020, and after
considerable work by Zion and Ministry personnel, received plan
approval on July 29, 2020. Zion's
plan anticipates drilling activities will commence in mid to late
third quarter, 2020. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Zion
expects it will take approximately five months from spud to target
depth to drill the Megiddo Jezreel #2 well.
The importation of Zion's drilling rig has been delayed due to
the uncertainties of Covid-19 and, as a result, severely restricted
visa issuance within Israel for
Zion's rig crews. During the pandemic-related delays, Zion also has
been working simultaneously with customs authorities and shipping
agents to deal with all of the logistical issues posed by
transporting approximately 150 truckloads of rig and related
equipment to the port of Constanta, Romania for importation into Israel.
All required customs documentation has now been delivered to the
required Ministries within Israel,
and Zion's drilling rig is ready to ship from Constanta to
Haifa, Israel once the visa
issuance restarts. Zion estimates a 5-7-day transit from
Romania to Israel.
Zion plans to start civil work on the pad location in mid-August
with the construction of the cellar and setting of the conductor
pipe. Other required items have been procured, including wellhead,
casing and drill bits, many of which are shipping out of
Houston, Texas.
APPROVALS AND PERMITS
Since late quarter one 2020 Zion has worked diligently to obtain
multiple, required approvals from more than a dozen different
Israeli regulatory bodies to allow drilling to begin as soon as
possible. A partial list of these regulatory bodies include Israel
Defense Forces, civil aviation, national road infrastructure,
Israel Electric Corporation, gas pipelines, communication/cable
lines, antiquities authority (archaeology), and petroleum and
engineering infrastructure.
Applications for Zion's rig crew visas were submitted in early
April to the Ministry of Interior, which has yet to approve them.
With the unforeseen effects of Covid-19, the Ministry of Health
became involved with the visa-issuance process, which is a new
development that continues to be very fluid with the Covid-19
environment. Zion's crews are prepared to travel once visas are
issued and quarantine measures and mitigation plans are in
place.
Zion Oil & Gas, a public company traded on NASDAQ (ZN),
explores for oil and gas onshore in Israel on their 99,000-acre Megiddo-Jezreel
license area. All press releases can be accessed on the Zion Oil
& Gas website located here:
https://www.zionoil.com/updates/category/press-releases/
"The Lord Himself goes before you and will be
with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be
afraid; do not be discouraged."
Deuteronomy 31:8
"Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious
things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and
sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of
Israel among you."
Isaiah 12:5-6
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains
forward-looking statements. Statements in this communication that
are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion's
planned operations, anticipated attributes of geological strata
that may be drilled or tested in the future, the effect, if any, on
Zion's operations of the dismissal of litigation reported
hereunder; importing the rig it purchased into Israel in a timely manner and Zion's ability
to successfully raise the funds needed to undertake all of its
planned exploration efforts; Zion's ability to continue as a going
concern; Zion's ability to have its common stock continue to be
listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market; the timing and completion of
the processing, interpretation of the results and plans
contingent thereon off the 3 D seismic survey, the timing of the
importation onto the well site of the purchased drilling rig,
approvals needed for the rig's erection and startup, the effect, if
any, of the coronavirus pandemic on the timing of the delivery and
start-up of the well, and operational risks in ongoing
exploration efforts, are forward-looking statements which are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 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 Item 1A
in Zion's annual report on Form 10-K, which is expressly
incorporated herein by reference, and other factors as may be
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 Info:
Andrew Summey
VP, Marketing and Investor Relations
Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZN)
12655 North Central Expressway, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75243
Telephone: 888-891-9466
Email: info@zionoil.com
www.zionoil.com
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SOURCE Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.