Press Release: July 30, 2020 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. Receives Drilling Plan Approval for Next Well in Israel

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Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. Receives Drilling Plan Approval for Next Well in Israel

 

Drilling plan approved and site preparation to commence

   

DALLAS, Texas, and CAESAREA, Israel, July 30, 2020

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.