Map of exploration area

The nation of Israel's energy dependence on its unfriendly neighbors and the United States could be vastly reduced if a project being developed by Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. reaches its full potential, according to officials announcing an Initial Public Offering to raise funds for that work.

Karen Soltero, a spokeswoman for the company, said this week's IPO is intended to raise the support necessary to more fully explore a region in Israel where there have been very promising early signs of the presence of oil and gas.

Israel is an importing nation now, and "by and large the assumption across the board has been that there isn't oil in Israel," she told WND.

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However, the company's initial tests certainly have given positive indications, and that could very well affect Israel's "independence and power in the region," she said. Having its own energy source would provide relief for the U.S., which provides some supplies to Israel, too, she said.

"We believe we are at the tip of the iceberg," she said, because the area is largely unexplored.

"We have seen promising evidence in what we've done so far," she said.

The IPO announcement was made by John Brown, chairman of Zion. He said the plans are to offer a minimum of 350,000 shares, up to a maximum of two million, of common stock at $7 per share.

The offering is being placed through Network 1 Financial Securities Inc., of Red Bank, N.J., and other selected NASD broker-dealers, the company said.

"Zion has been conditionally approved for listing of its common stock on the American Stock Exchange subject to timely completion of the minimum offering of $2,450,000," the announcement said.

The ticker symbol, on listing, will be ZN.

More details about the specifics of the offering are at the company's website.

CEO Gene Saltero said Israel's economy stabilized quickly after the cease-fire with Hezbollah, and his company has petroleum rights in the north central part of Israel, an area that has been vastly under-explored.

Israel has had some production since the 1950s and 1960s, but nothing significant. The biggest developments lately have been in offshore drilling, he said.

The company, a U.S. and Israel-based Delaware corporation, hunts for oil and gas on Israel's Ma'anit-Joseph License and Asher Permit areas, which cover about 219,000 acres between Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Those areas, in Biblical times, "were in the territories of the tribes of Manasseh and Asher," the company.

During 2005 Zion drilled an exploratory well to 15,842 feet with "encouraging, but inconclusive, results." The company said over a 2,100-feet interval starting at about 12,500 feet, it found what appears to be a discovery of both oil and gas in a number of different zones.

The proceeds from the IPO will be used mainly to complete work on that well, and if funds are available, to drill an appraisal well nearby.

"If sufficient funding is available, Zion plans to drill this well to targets even deeper than the Triassic Age targets drilled by the Ma'anit #1," the company said.

Should the effort be successful, the company has announced plans to donate six percent of its gross revenues to two charitable trusts to be established by Zion in Israel and the U.S., the company said.

Additional information about the IPO also is available at the Securities and Exchange Commission website.

The approval from the SEC came on Tuesday and sales were launched yesterday, officials said. The IPO is set up to launch with a minimum order of 100 shares, officials said.

If the minimum sales figure isn't reached by Dec. 26, investors will receive refunds on their investments.

The company said it tried to raise a minimum of $6.5 million in 2004, but was unable to do that. However, private investors have raised more than that for the company since.

Information downloads are available online.

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