A Biblical Treasure Hunt Part 3
April 26, 2010
What are these Blessings? How do the founders of these oil and gas exploration companies, many of them oil and gas professionals with years of industry experience, come to connect Biblical verses with potential petroleum reservoirs located deep underground? Is there any possible connection between the Blessings and the story of Elijah’s sacrifice? With other references appearing in historical texts concerning what may possibly be oil seeps in the area of the Carmel?
In what follows I have tried to collect and present the various Biblical and historical references that I understand have inspired the founders of these petroleum exploration ventures.
I. THE BIBLICAL CLUES
THE TRANSLATION: Except where otherwise noted, the translation used is that of The Jerusalem Bible (Koren, Jerusalem, 2000). The Jerusalem Bible is a Bible published with the original Hebrew text and an English translation printed on facing pages. In the words of the editors:
“The English Translation is not essentially new: it is rather a thoroughly corrected, modernized and revised version of those Anglo-Jewish Bibles which have long been accepted for home and synagogue use throughout the English-speaking world. As a basis for this edition, the ‘Jewish Family Bible’ of M. Friedlander, published with the sanction of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Dr. N. M. Adler in 1881, was selected. That version had two important merits: it was faithful to the MASORA, or received Hebrew text, and it retained as much as Jewish sentiment permitted of the unsurpassed language and rhythm of the ‘Authorized Version’ [King James] of 1611. These advantages have been preserved in the present version.
“In addition to the text of Friedlander, a comparison was made with the interesting nineteenth century Jewish Bible of Isaac Lesser, and with other later translations. As a result many fresh readings have been adopted. The language of the older versions has been modernized where it was felt that the ancient linguistic and grammatical forms would cause difficulty for the present-day reader. Also many points of detail have been corrected in the light of modern scholarship, or as a result of fresh application to the TARGUMIM and the classical Jewish commentators.”
For ease of use, proper names do not appear in transliteration from the Hebrew as in The Jerusalem Bible, but in traditional English spelling. Also, rather than using colons followed by small letters to show breaks between sentences as in The Jerusalem Bible which follows the traditional Hebrew punctuation, I follow the modern English tradition using periods followed by capital letters.
A. THE BLESSINGS OF JOSEPH
1. Jacob’s Deathbed Blessing of Joseph:
Genesis 49: 22-26:
“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers fiercely attacked him, and shot at him and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made supple by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from thence from the shepherd, the Stone of Israel), by the God of thy father who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of thy father are potent above the blessings of my progenitors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills, they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brothers.”
[Variant Translation: The Jerusalem Bible translation above is based on The King James Version. The Revised Standard Version translates the opening passage of verse 26: “The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills, ….” This translation is based on the Septuagint, the 3rd Century translation of the Bible into Greek by the Jews of Alexandria. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew “HOREI”, literally “parents”, as “mountains” based on the argument that the root “HOR” in this context can also mean mountain as in “HOR HA’HAR” (Numbers 20:22). The translation of the Septuagint was adopted by the Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir), the grandson of the noted Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), who lived in the Rhine Valley in the 12th Century. Olam Ha’Tanakh (Davidson–Eti, Tel-Aviv, 1993) [“Olam Ha’Tanakh”], vol. “Breishit” [Genesis], p. 253.]
2. Moses’ Deathbed Blessing of the Tribes of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim):
Deuteronomy 33 : 13-17:
“And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew and for the deep that couches beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of primordial hills, and for the precious things of the earth, and its fullness, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush. Let the blessings come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.”
B. THE BLESSING OF ASHER
Moses’ Deathbed Blessing of the Tribe of Asher
Deuteronomy 33 : 24:
“And of Asher he said, be Asher blessed above sons; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.”
C. MOSES’ SONG OF PRAISE TO GOD AND THE LAND OF ISRAEL AND DEATHBED TESTAMENT TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL
Deuteronomy 32 : 13:
“He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the produce of the fields; and he made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.”
II. THE LANDS OF JOSEPH (MANASSEH AND EPHRAIM) AND ASHER – THE MAP.
Cartographical Note: There is a dispute among scholars as to whether the southern border of Asher extended down the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea and included the northern parts of Mt. Carmel or it ran along the Kishon Stream which flows along the northeastern flank of Mt. Carmel. In all cases it is generally agreed that the Lands of Manasseh abutted on and lay just to the south of the Lands of Asher.
Geographical Note: In the context of appreciating the geological implications of the map of the northern portions of the Lands of Manasseh, it should be mentioned that running approximately from somewhat east of Caesarea in the West to Megiddo in the East and representing the southern boundary of the Mt. Carmel range is Wadi Ara, the Ara Valley or Nahal I’ron (part of the ancient Via Maris or Way of the Sea that ran between Egypt and Damascus) which, from dipping beds and seismic data, geologists infer to be a major fault feature. A fault the size of Wadi Ara in a tectonically active area, in which the Carmel range and the northern Samarian hills (including the Umm-el-Fahm anticline) are located, is a phenomenon which is of major interest to petroleum geologists and explorationists.
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Zion Oil Announces Rights Offering
April 26, 2010
Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – April 26, 2010 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: ZN), announced today that it will be launching a rights offering. Holders of Zion’s common stock will be entitled to purchase additional shares of its common stock at a price of $5.00 per share. In the rights offering, stockholders as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard time on the record date of May 6, 2010, will be issued, at no charge, one-half (0.5) of a non-transferable subscription right for each share of common stock owned by the stockholder on the Record Date. This is equivalent to one (1) subscription right for every two (2) shares of common stock held by the stockholder on the Record Date. The rights offering will be conducted under an existing effective shelf registration statement.
The Company plans to use the proceeds from the rights offering: (a) to purchase a 51% interest in a new company (Zion Drilling, Inc. that will own a 2,000 horsepower drilling rig), (b) to drill further ‘deep’ exploration wells on Zion’s licenses in Israel (in continuation of Zion’s oil and gas exploration efforts) and (c) for general corporate purposes.
If the rights offering is fully subscribed, then the gross proceeds of the offering will be approximately $46 million. The rights offering will also include an over-subscription privilege, that will entitle a stockholder who exercises all of their basic subscription privilege the right to purchase additional shares of common stock that remain unsubscribed at the expiration of the rights offering, subject to the availability and pro rata allocation of shares among stockholders exercising their over-subscription right. If the rights offering is over-subscribed, then Zion may, in its sole discretion, elect to offer a number of additional shares to fulfill over-subscription requests such that the maximum gross proceeds in the offering would be $50 million.
The subscription rights are not transferable and will be evidenced by subscription rights certificates. Zion will not distribute any fractional rights; fractional subscription rights will be rounded up to the next whole number. Each whole subscription right entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a purchase price of $5.00 per share. The rights may be exercised at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard time on June 30, 2010, the scheduled expiration of the offer; however, Zion may extend the offering period at its sole discretion.
As soon as possible after the Record Date, Zion plans to mail to holders of its common stock (as of the close of business on the Record Date) a prospectus and other items necessary for exercising the rights. Shareholders who hold their shares in a bank or broker name will receive the rights offering material from their bank or broker. The prospectus will contain a description of the rights offering and other information.
This announcement is neither an offer nor a solicitation of any offer. The securities are offered by prospectus only, and only within those States and other jurisdictions in which the securities may be sold, and this announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities of any such state or jurisdiction. The rights offering will be made by means of a prospectus supplement (File No. 333-164563).
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.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, drilling efforts, the successful establishment of the drilling subsidiary and the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements with Aladdin Middle East Ltd. (the current owner of the drilling rig) with respect thereto and potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon and the gross proceeds of the rights offering, 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.
For more information regarding the rights offering or to request copies of the prospectus supplement relating to the rights offering when it becomes available, you may contact us by calling toll free 1-888-TX1-ZION (1-888-891-9466) or by contacting the Dallas Office at Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., 6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75231; telephone 1-214-221-4610; email: dallas@zionoil.com. Copies of the prospectus supplement, when available, will be available for viewing on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission located at www.sec.gov.
Zion’s homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com
Contact:
Mike Williams
Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.
6510 Abrams Rd., Suite 300
Dallas, TX 75231
(1) 214-221-4610
Email: dallas@zionoil.com
Related posts:
- Zion Oil Rights Offering Declared Effective
- Zion Oil Files for New Rights Offering
- Zion Oil Oversells Stock Offering by $19 Million
SEC OK’s Zion’s $50 Million Shelf Offering Registration
April 26, 2010
Zion CEO Richard Rinberg, in his April 16, “Operations Update” told shareholders: “I am pleased to tell you that, today, our US$50 million Shelf Offering S-3 Registration Statement was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. So, through the S-3, we now have the possibility of raising the additional funds required to implement our plans.”
Zion’s Shelf Offering allows the company, “From time to time after the Registration Statement becomes effective” to raise up to $50 million through the sale of, “shares of common stock … debt securities [or] … warrants to purchase common stock or debt securities …”
Although the company hasn’t publicly announced dates for any possible offering, Rinberg also stated in his April 16 update that establishing Zion’s proposed subsidiary and purchasing the AME drilling rig was contingent upon “the raising of additional capital,” with the implication of Zion’s Shelf Offering as the mechanism.
The January 28, 2010 press release from Zion regarding the Shelf Registration states, “When declared effective by the SEC, Zion will have the option to offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, up to $50 million of common stock, debt securities, warrants to purchase any of these securities, or any combination of such securities. The securities may be offered in one or more offerings, and at prices subject to prevailing market conditions to be set forth in a supplemental prospectus filing with the SEC at the time of such offering, should such an offering occur. Zion Oil does not currently have any commitments or specific plans to sell securities.
Zion intends to use the net proceeds from any sale of securities under the shelf registration statement for Zion’s multi-well drilling plan, including costs associated with drilling operations, drilling equipment, completion operations, production equipment, seismic acquisition or general corporate purposes.”
Related posts:
- Zion Oil 2009 Annual Report
- Zion Oil Oversells Stock Offering by $19 Million
- Zion Oil Rights Offering Declared Effective
Zion Drilling Venture in Israel Signals New Era
April 26, 2010
Zion's 2,000 HP Rig
Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. announced last week that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Turkish drilling contractor Aladdin Middle East Ltd. to purchase AME’s 2,000 horsepower drilling rig (currently located at Zion’s Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 wellsite, in Israel). The proposed new company, Zion Drilling, Inc. (a subsidiary of Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.), will own and operate the drilling rig in Israel.
What the new company will mean for Zion Oil & Gas is that they will no longer need to rely on third party drilling contractors on future exploration wells. What the new company will mean for the State of Israel, now experiencing a gas and oil exploration boom, is that a rig, twice the size as has ever operated onshore in Israel, will now be permanently ‘in-country’ and possibly available for other (besides Zion Oil & Gas) Israeli exploration efforts. And that the rig will be owned and controlled by a company solely invested on Israeli oil and gas exploration.
During Zion’s drilling of the Ma’anit #1 well in 2005 operations were frustrated by the rig contracted for project. The Israeli owned 1,000 horsepower Ideco Super 7-11 (at that time the biggest in the country) just wasn’t up to the task of drilling to Zion’s estimated 18,000 foot Permian depth. Fearing they would lose the hole due to mechanical problems, Zion stopped drilling the Ma’anit #1 at 15,842 feet. Although they tested several zones above 15,842, noen produced commercial quantities of oil or gas. The well was abandoned and Zion went on the hunt for a rig capable of drilling to a depth greater than 18,000 feet.
After a year of searching, they discovered a rig owned by Aladdin Middle East in Turkey. The rig required refurbishment and transport to Israel, but at 2,000 horsepower it had the mechanical ability to drill beyond 18,000 feet. Zion brought the rig to Israel in the spring of 2009 and immediately began drilling the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2. In October of 2009 the AME rig was moved to Zion’s Asher license to begin the Elijah #3 well. Then in February of this year, Zion moved the rig back to the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 site to conduct completion testing. Zion’s next well, the Ma’anit-Joseph #3, will be in close proximity to the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2.
Zion Drilling will purchase AME’s drilling rig for an initial payment of US$ 7 million and a series of US$ 1 million additional payments that are anticipated to coincide with our drilling seven additional wells in Israel over the next few years. As the funds for the purchase of the rig are to be provided by Zion Oil & Gas, our plans are subject to a number of events, including due diligence, the raising of additional capital and the establishment of Zion Drilling.
Zion currently has seven new exploration wells planned and the establishment of a new drilling subsidiary signals not only a long term stability and commitment in Zion’s exploration efforts, but a substantial move forward in Israel’s deep onshore exploration capability and security.
Zion CEO Richard Rinberg’s comment as he announced plans of the new drilling venture speaks not only for Zion’s intention for future oil and gas exploration but can reasonably express the nation of Israel’s oil and gas exploration future as well: “We have both the patience and the firm resolve… and now, we expect to soon have the right tool to finish the job – a 2,000 Horsepower drilling rig in Israel on a permanent basis.”
Related posts:
- Zion Oil Announces Proposed New Drilling Subsidiary
- Zion Begins Drilling
- Zion Oil Begins Drilling Elijah #3
One Mustard Seed
April 26, 2010
“What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches” (Luke 13:18) Elaine and I are going on a little camping trip. [...]Zion Oil Announces Proposed New Drilling Subsidiary
April 20, 2010
Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – April 19, 2010 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: ZN) announced today that the Company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aladdin Middle East Ltd. (AME).
The MoU outlines Zion’s plan to establish a subsidiary, tentatively named “Zion Drilling, Inc.”, which will purchase AME’s 2,000 horsepower drilling rig (currently located at Zion’s Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 wellsite, in Israel) in exchange for an initial payment of US$ 7.0 million and a series of US$ 1.0 million additional payments that are anticipated to coincide with Zion’s drilling of seven (7) additional wells in Israel. Each of these payments is to be funded by Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. The MoU provides that Zion Drilling, Inc. will be 51% owned by Zion Oil & Gas and 49% owned by AME. AME will be responsible for the daily drilling operations of Zion Drilling, Inc.
Zion’s Founder and Chairman, John Brown, said today, “The signing of the MoU with AME marks a significant milestone in the life of Zion Oil & Gas. We are looking forward to establish Zion Drilling, Inc. as this will help us to drill as many wells as it takes, in order to recover the ‘treasures of the deep that lie beneath’.” (Deut. 33:13-16)
Zion’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Rinberg, noted, “By establishing Zion Drilling, Inc. we will clearly demonstrate our ability to continue to drill wells in Israel without dependence on any outside third party. We will have secured permanent control of a drilling rig for our planned future operations and consequently also raised Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.’s exploration business to a completely new level. We remain excited about the prospect of recovering hydrocarbons on the Ma’anit structure and on our other license and permit areas, especially due to the recent publication of a report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), containing their assessment that there may be 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable undiscovered oil in the Levant Basin. 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”.
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.
AME is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, incorporated in Delaware in 1962, with its head office in Wichita, Kansas. AME has drilled more than 130 exploration and development wells in Turkey and Egypt for major oil companies, including Exxon, Mobil, Wintershall AG, MOL, Placid Oil, Neste Oy, Burren Energy Inc. and Edison International spa. Its rig inventory includes 11 drilling and workover rigs.
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, the successful establishment of the drilling subsidiary and the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements with AME with respect thereto, 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.
Zion’s homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com
Contact:
Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.
Mike Williams, 214-221-4610
dallas@zionoil.com
Related posts:
Russia’s Gazprom considering Israeli gas?
April 15, 2010
JERUSALEM, April 14 (UPI) — Russian gas explorers have approached the Israeli government regarding possible offshore exploration activity, Israeli ministers said.
A delegation from Russian energy giant Gazprom arrived in Israel to meet with government ministers regarding offshore activity, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reports.
Gazprom officials met with Israeli Infrastructure Minister Yaakov Mimran to discuss possible work in the Mira and Sarah offshore gas fields.
Gazprom, Haaretz adds, expressed interest in the past in working as the operator in several Israeli oil and gas fields. Work in Israel could include gas transits from Turkey, the report added.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in February, however, said his country was losing interest in Russian gas because of offshore developments closer to home.
“We discovered very large deposits of gas on the shore of the sea close to Israel, very large,” he said. “So, whereas we had a very clear interest before in getting Russian gas, right now we are less enthusiastic because we simply found gas.”
A U.S.-Israeli team announced recently it discovered more than 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in deposits about 55 miles off the coast of Haifa.
For more on Gazprom’s attempts at Israeli gas read: ” Russia Tried to Buy in to Israel’s Gas Discovery”.
Related posts:
- Arab Murmuring Over Israeli Gas Already Begun
- Bontan Announces Two More Huge Israeli Gas Fields
- Bontan partners with Israeli investors
Zion’s Ottaviani Joins Board
April 15, 2010
ZION OIL & GAS APPOINTS NEW BOARD MEMBER
Dallas, Texas – April 12, 2010 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: ZN), of Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel, announced today that Mr. William L. Ottaviani has been appointed as a Director of Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. Mr. Ottaviani has been serving as the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company since January 31, 2010 and will continue to serve in these positions.
Mr. Ottaviani, a petroleum engineer by training, served as Chief Operating Officer at Rex Energy Corporation from November 2007 to September 2009. From September 2009 to January 2010, he worked as an independent consultant. From 1982 until 2007, Mr. Ottaviani served in various management, engineering, operational and staff assignments for Chevron and its affiliated companies, with assignments in California, Louisiana, Indonesia and Angola. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and his M.B.A. from California State University, Bakersfield.
Mr. John Brown, Chairman of the Board and Founder, said: “We are delighted to have Mr. Ottaviani joining our Board of Directors. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the petroleum industry to Zion and will serve as a tremendous asset as we continue our pursuit to recover hydrocarbons in Israel.”
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.
Related posts:
- Zion Announces New President/COO
- Zion Oil to Present at the NASDAQ-Oppenheimer Israeli Equities Conference in New York
- Zion Oil & Gas Rings the NASDAQ Bell
Dr. David Jeremiah Teaches “Crude Awakening”
April 15, 2010
Dr. David Jeremiah, author of the New York Times Best Seller, What In the World is Going On?, will be teaching on the “Crude Awakening” this coming Sunday, April 18, 2010 on his television program, Turning Point.
In this teaching, Dr. Jeremiah addresses such matters as the world’s oil supply and the biblical prophecy of an oil discovery in Israel. Please tune in to view this very important teaching.
Turning Point Television is broadcast on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting), TCC (The Church Channel), Daystar, INSP (Inspiration Network), FamilNet, ION and My Family TV (on Sky Angel). Please check your local listings for specific broadcast times on these networks or visit Dr. Jeremiah’s website for further information on show times.
Related posts:
- Steve Spillman on ‘The Jewish Voice’ Television Program
- Zion Oil Founder John Brown on Jewish Voice TV
- Naphtali and Bubblin’ Crude?
A Biblical Treasure Hunt Part 2
April 15, 2010
THE SEARCH FOR OIL IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL
By Philip Mandelker
(installment two of a series, for installment one click here)
Notwithstanding the desertion of the large international oil and gas companies following the establishment of the State, exploration continued in Israel over the ensuing 50 years, albeit in fits and starts, led by Israeli and a number of smaller American and Canadian companies. Among these companies have been at least seven, which have drilled or participated in the drilling of at least 11 exploratory wells, the founders of which were directly inspired by Biblical references they and many of their supporters interpreted as pointing to the existence of oil and gas reservoirs in particular areas in the Land of Israel. An eighth company, Hoshana Oil, directly inspired by Biblical references, acquired an exploration license, but never drilled a well. – A detailed listing of the companies, their founders and their activities is set out in the Appendix.
Interestingly, with the exception of one company, Ness Energy, founded by Texas oilman Harold “Hayseed” Stephens who, inspired by the stories in Genesis concerning the Cities of the Plain, was drawn to and active in the southwestern corner of the Dead Sea, all of the biblically inspired wildcatters have been drawn to areas in the Sharon Plain and on and around Mt. Carmel, just to its north.
Six of the wells drilled over the years by four companies (Asher Oil, Moriah Exploration, Camberly Exploration, Ness Energy) have been relatively shallow, drilled to targets in rocks of Jurassic age (150 million years old) and into younger rocks of Pliocene and Cretaceous age between 650 and 2,682 meters (2,136 and 8,800 feet) deep. These were all dry holes. Five of the wells drilled by another group of companies (Energy Exploration, Givot Olam Oil Exploration and Zion Oil & Gas) have been drilled to much deeper targets, between 3,500 and 6,531 meters (11,484 and 21,428 feet), into older rocks of Triassic age (200 to 250 million years ago). All these deeper wells – the Atlit #1 (known also as the Asher-Atlit well), the Meged #2, Meged #3, Meged #4 and the Ma’anit #1 (re-entry) – have had strong petroleum shows. Projects responsible for the drilling of four of these wells, the three Meged wells and the Ma’anit #1 well (re-entry) are in early 2006 still active: – the Meged wells drilled by Givot Olam, an Israeli public limited partnership, were recognized in 2004 by the Israeli Petroleum Commissioner as having resulted in a discovery although production has not yet been established; and the Ma’anit #1 (re-entry) well, drilled by Zion Oil & Gas, an American company, is undergoing appraisal and analysis.
What is it in the Bible that inspired the founders of these companies, mostly Christian evangelicals, but also a Jewish Habad Hasid, to spend years of their life and a good part of their personal fortunes on these activities? The founders of the companies that drilled the wells both on and at the foot of Mt. Carmel were generally inspired both by the story of Elijah’s sacrifice described in I Kings 18:30-40, believing that the water poured on Elijah’s offering was oil from oil seeps in the area – and also by the Blessing of Asher in Deuteronomy 33:24. The founders of the three companies who drilled and are drilling the deep wells in the central and northern parts of the Sharon Plain and on the Mediterranean coast north of the Plain of Sharon and west of Mt. Carmel were and continue to be inspired primarily by the Blessings of Joseph and Asher in Genesis 49:22-26 and Deuteronomy 33:13-17 and 24. The founder of Hoshana Oil, who was interested in the area just south and east of Mt. Carmel, was inspired by Blessings of Asher and Zebulon and Issachar in Deuteronomy 33:18-19 and 24.
(for a PDF Download of Philip Mandelker’s entire study go to: http://www.oilinisrael.net/resources/biblical-treasure-hunt-free-pdf)
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