DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, Dec. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. ("Zion" or "Company") (Nasdaq:ZN) announced today that, on December 3, 2013, the State of Israel's Petroleum Commissioner awarded the Company the Megiddo-Jezreel Petroleum Exploration License No. 401. The Megiddo-Jezreel License covers an area of approximately 400,000 dunam (400 square kilometers or 98,842 acres), of onshore land south and west of Zion's existing Jordan Valley License. The new License has a three-year primary term, commencing December 3, 2013 and going through December 2, 2016. The License may be further extended for additional one-year periods up to a maximum of seven years as provided by the Israeli Petroleum Law.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=22664
Under the terms of the Megiddo-Jezreel License, the Company is to identify and submit a drilling prospect in the license area by July 1, 2015; enter into a contract for the drilling of such prospect by October 1, 2015; and begin drilling or "spud" a well to a minimum proposed total depth of approximately 4,000 meters (~ 13,125 feet) by December 1, 2015. Additional terms of the License require Zion to attain various geological and geophysical milestones during the primary term, including reprocessing and acquiring additional seismic data, all of which should be achievable before the stated deadlines.
The new license award follows the Company's submission in April of 2013 of a detailed and extensive application proposal seeking the Petroleum Exploration License in the Megiddo-Jezreel Valley area.
John Brown, Zion's CEO, said, "This is a key milestone in Zion's future exploration success. We are committed to stay the course and fulfill Zion's vision to render assistance to the Jewish people and Nation of Israel and to aid them in the Restoration of the Land by providing the oil and gas necessary to help the People of Israel maintain their political and economic independence."
Victor G. Carrillo, Zion's President and Chief Operating Officer, said, "Being awarded the 98,842 acre Megiddo-Jezreel Valley License is a critically important step for Zion's future exploration efforts. We have many prerequisite steps before we can drill our next deep exploratory well but we plan to get to that point as expeditiously as possible. This new area appears to have all of the geologic ingredients of an active petroleum system with good potential."
Zion's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ZN".
Zion Oil & Gas, a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas onshore in Israel. It currently holds three petroleum exploration licenses: the Asher-Menashe License (on approximately 79,000 acres), the Jordan Valley License (on approximately 56,000 acres), and the newly granted Megiddo-Jezreel License (on approximately 99,000 acres). Zion's total license area currently amounts to approximately 234,000 acres.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion's planned operations, plans to achieve certain milestones, and plans for future drilling, 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: http://www.zionoil.com
