DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, July 11, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZN) reported today that the Israeli Petroleum Commissioner has awarded the company a one-year extension on its Asher-Menashe petroleum exploration license in Northern Israel.
Zion's Asher-Menashe license covers an area of approximately 78,824 acres located on the Israeli coastal plain and the Mount Carmel range between Caesarea in the south and Haifa in the north. The Asher-Menashe License had an initial three-year term, from June 10, 2007 to June 9, 2010 and, in May 2010, the License term was extended by one year, until June 9, 2011. On July 11, 2011, Zion received notification from the Israeli Petroleum Commissioner extending the term of the Asher-Menashe License by a further year, until June 9, 2012.
Richard Rinberg, Zion's Chief Executive Officer, commented that, "In recent months, we submitted applications to the Israeli Petroleum Commissioner for three further exploration areas: the Dead Sea License Application (covering an area of approximately 74,925 acres), the Asher-Joseph Permit Application (covering an area of approximately 80,000 acres) and the Zebulun Permit Application (covering an area of approximately 157,480 acres). If all of our applications are granted, the total petroleum exploration area under Zion's control would be approximately 530,346 acres.
The Asher-Menashe License extension carries a commitment to acquire additional seismic data and to begin drilling a well in the License Area no later than June 1, 2012.
The Jordan Valley License carries a commitment to acquire additional seismic data and to drill a well in the License Area no later than April 13, 2013.
We remain excited about the possibility of recovering hydrocarbons on our license and permit areas, onshore Israel, especially due to the U.S. Geological Survey report, published in April 2010, containing their assessment that there may be 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable undiscovered oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin, as all of 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 and ZNWAZ".
Zion Oil & Gas, a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located onshore between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It currently holds three petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph License (on approximately 83,272 acres) and the Asher-Menashe License (on approximately 78,824 acres) between Netanya, in the south, and Haifa, in the north and the Jordan Valley License (on approximately 55,845 acres), just south of the Sea of Galilee. The total license area amounts to approximately 217,941 acres.
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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 and the effects of non-procurement of pending license and permit applications and 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.
NOTICE
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 will send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll free 1-888-TX1-ZION (1-888-891-9466.
Zion's homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com