Zion O&G reported 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."

Tags: Zion Oil & Gas