DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, Dec. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZN) announces they are actively sourcing a drilling rig for 2020 operations.

"We have started our initial phases of sourcing a drilling rig for our 2020 exploration plans," Zion's COO, Robert Dunn said. "We view this as an opportune time to move forward with our 2020 plans for further oil and gas exploration in onshore Israel."

"As we move forward with our exploration efforts, we were delighted to learn that the consolidated derivative suit filed against Zion in Delaware has been dismissed," stated Zion's President, Bill Avery. "In addition, we filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'), which was subsequently declared effective."

DRILLING RIG FOR 2020

Zion Oil and Gas is in the initial phases of sourcing a drilling rig, subject to securing adequate funding. Zion is currently working with logistics contractors on the importation framework, along with the identification of rigs within the Eastern Hemisphere. Zion views this as an opportune time for sourcing a rig due to the depressed state of the drilling market.

FORM S-1 FILED AND ACCEPTED BY THE SEC

On November 27, 2019, Zion submitted an application to the SEC to convert its existing S-3 registration statement to a new S-1 registration statement.  The SEC gave Zion a "no comment" letter on December 5, 2019, and Zion's new S-1 registration statement became effective on December 11, 2019, with the continuation of the DSPP.

DERIVATIVE SUIT DISMISSED

On November 26, 2019, Richard G. Andrews, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, signed an Order dismissing the consolidated derivative suit filed against certain current and former directors of Zion as well as Zion as a nominal defendant.  The Plaintiffs' deadline to appeal the Order was on December 26, 2019, and Plaintiffs did not appeal.

Judge Andrews issued an eighteen-page Memorandum Opinion holding that Plaintiffs had not sufficiently demonstrated the futility of making demand on Zion's Board of Directors prior to filing suit, noting "I do not find that the Plaintiffs have pleaded with particularity any facts that suggest the Director Defendants acted in bad faith or otherwise consciously disregarded their oversight responsibilities in regard to Zion's prospects for discovery and extraction of oil."

The securities-class-action and books-and-records-demand matters on which Zion has previously reported remain pending.

SEISMIC PROCESSING AND INTERPRETATION CONTINUES

With Agile Seismic (Houston, Texas, and Belgrade, Serbia) continually applying state of the art processing techniques to Zion's seismic data, Zion is beginning to see answers to its previous questions from the drilling of the MJ-1 well. Zion is pleased with the current progress and quality of the data to date and looks forward to the final product.

BRAD DACUS APPOINTED INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

Effective December 1, 2019, Brad Dacus (J.D.) has been appointed Zion's 8^th independent director.

Mr. Dacus is the president and founder of the Pacific Justice Institute ("PJI"), which specializes in defense of religious freedom and parental rights. Mr. Dacus is licensed to practice law in both Texas and California. He received his Bachelor's in Business Administration and Finance at Texas A&M University in 1986, and he attended Law School at the University of Texas in Austin, where he received his Juris Doctorate in 1991.

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.

"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: 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, Zion's ability to successfully source a qualified drilling rig, Zion's ability to successfully raise the funds needed to undertake its exploration efforts; Zion's ability to continue as a going concern; Zion's ability to comply with the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market; the timing and completion of the 3-D seismic survey processing, interpretation of the results and plans contingent thereon, and operational risks in ongoing exploration efforts, 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.

Contact Info:
Andrew Summey
VP, Marketing and Investor Relations
Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZN)
12655 North Central Expressway, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75243
Telephone: 888-891-9466
Email: info@zionoil.com
www.zionoil.com

SOURCE Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.zionoil.com