A sign at the site says, "The Joseph Project is
an oil and gas exploration project based on
scripture and geological evidence".
But Zion Oil & Gas founder John Brown believes
biblical prophecies will point the way to
Israel's hidden oil wealth.
Brown first visited Israel 20 years ago. Inspired
by a few key Bible passages, Brown established
his company more than a decade later.
"He firmly believes we'll find oil here for the
benefit of Israel and restoration of the land,"
Zion Oil's Executive Vice President Glen Perry,"
recently told Cybercast News Service.
Brown has worked for years with the Israeli
Ministry of National Infrastructure, and in May
2000, he began drilling in an area encompassing
95,800 acres.
Perry, a petroleum engineer from Texas, has
worked in the oil and gas field for 25 years. He
said he met Brown, who had no background in the
oil industry, five years ago and admits he had
doubts at first about the Israeli project.
Perry said he and other experts discovered an
underground anomaly, called a reefal structure,
indicating possible oil reserves.
"There could be a tremendous amount, according to
published articles -- almost 500 million
barrels," Perry said. That works out to about
$2.5 billion worth of oil.
Zion has cleaned out the old well and drilled
much deeper than the original 7,500 feet. It
plans to drill to a depth of 15,000 feet, at a
cost of about $3 million.
Israel has one well off the coast of the Israeli
city of Ashkelon on the Mediterranean Sea, which
has been producing oil since 1956, he said. Its
output is very low -- only about 80-100 barrels a
day, Nimran, an oil geologist, said in a
telephone interview.
The U.S.-based Zion Oil & Gas Corporation, led by
an Evangelical Christian is using biblical
prophecy to search for oil in Israel.
Zion's 165-foot oilrig is located in an inland
field between the central and northern Israeli
cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. Israeli and Texas
State flags flutter at the entrance to the fenced
compound, where digging goes on 24-hours a day --
except on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.