CAESAREA, Israel, March 16, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZN) of Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel, filed on March 16, 2010, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. The Company reported a net loss of $(4,424,000) or $(0.40) per share for the 2009 year compared to a net loss of $(4,018,000) or $(.39) per share for the prior year. The Company had no revenues, as it is still an exploration stage company. As in prior years, the audit opinion from the Company's independent registered accounting firm, Somekh Chaikin (a Member of KPMG International), included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K a 'going concern' qualification.
This announcement is being made in compliance with NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5250(b)(2), which requires separate disclosure of an audit opinion that contains a going concern qualification. This announcement does not represent any changes or amendment to the Zion's 2009 financial statements or to the Form 10-K which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2010.
Upon release of the 2009 annual results, Zion's Chief Executive Officer, Richard J. Rinberg, commented: "During 2009, Zion's staff were successful in significantly moving Zion's business forward. We completed three offerings, comprised of a follow-on offering and two rights offerings, raising total gross proceeds in excess of $45 million. We were awarded a preliminary petroleum exploration permit (the Issachar-Zebulun permit) on approximately 165,000 acres onshore Israel. We drilled the Ma'anit-Rehoboth #2 well to a depth of 17,913 feet (5,460 meters) and recovered a small quantity of crude oil. We also drilled the Elijah #3 well to a depth of approximately 10,938 feet (3,334 meters). In September, we switched the listing of ZN common stock and common stock purchase warrants from the NYSE Amex to the NASDAQ Global Market."
For additional information regarding the 2009 results, please refer to the Company's latest Form 10-K which is available on the SEC's website www.sec.gov and at Zion's website www.zionoil.com.
Zion Oil & Gas, a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located on-shore between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and the Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya, in the south, and Haifa, in the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres and the Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area, adjacent to and to the east of Zion's Asher-Menashe license area, covering approximately 165,000 acres. Zion's total petroleum exploration rights area is approximately 327,000 acres.
The Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6850
The Company's financial statement information is summarized below:
(US$ In thousands, except for per share income)
| STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS | Twelve months ended December 31 | |
| 2009 | 2008 | |
| Revenues | -- | -- |
| Total Expenses | (4,424) | (4,018) |
| Net income (loss) | (4,424) | (4,018) |
| Earnings (loss) per common share – basic and diluted | (.40) | (0.39) |
| Weighted average shares issued and outstanding – basic and diluted | 11,046 | 10,326 |
| CASH FLOW DATA | Twelve months ended December 31 | |
| 2009 | 2008 | |
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | (3,774) | (3,398) |
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 41,310 | 3,229 |
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | (18,528) | (2,695) |
| BALANCE SHEET DATA | December 31, 2009 | December 31, 2008 |
| Current Assets | 22,342 | 2,289 |
| Total Assets | 46,225 | 7,676 |
| Total Liabilities | 2,786 | 2,121 |
| Total Shareholders Equity | 43,439 | 5,555 |
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion's operations and 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'' provision 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 home page may be found at: www.zionoil.com