Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. announces that it recently signed an agreement with Kibbutz Ma'anit, the leaseholder of the land containing Zion's planned next well, the Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well. Under the terms of the agreement, Kibbutz Ma'anit grants Zion access to Kibbutz land and permission to drill the Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well.
The Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well, scheduled to 'spud' (that is, begin drilling) in August 2010, is planned to be drilled below 18,000 feet and is targeted at the 'deep' Permian geologic formation. If successful, it will be the first well drilled to the Permian in Northern Israel. The commencement of the drilling program is still subject to receipt of various government permits.
Zion Oil & Gas also announced today that it has signed an agreement with the Geophysical Institute of Israel relating to the acquisition of a total of approximately 64 kilometers of two-dimensional seismic lines located within Zion's Issachar-Zebulun Permit area and Zion's Asher-Menashe License area.
Zion's Chief Executive Officer, Richard Rinberg, said:
'The signing of the agreement with Kibbutz Ma'anit allows us to move forward with our plans to drill our next well, the Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well. We are also pleased to have been able to come to terms with the Geophysical Institute of Israel regarding the field acquisition of additional seismic lines in our petroleum exploration areas. The proposed seismic acquisition should help us to evaluate the next steps we need to take with respect to our temporarily suspended Elijah #3 well and also to identify one or more prospects within our Issachar-Zebulun Permit area.'