Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. announces the appointment of Dustin Guinn as Chief Executive Officer of Zion Oil & Gas, effective September 1, 2018. 

"I am very excited about the continued opportunity to help Zion fulfill its vision of helping Israel become energy independent," expressed, Dustin Guinn. "I have been intimately involved in the Megiddo Jezreel #1 (MJ #1) Project as President and COO, and my optimism remains high.  I am fully aware of the investment, both financially and emotionally, that our shareholders have made in Zion's current MJ #1 Project, and I do not take that lightly. I also understand the challenges that we face to fulfill the vision and am accepting the position as CEO, in part, as a response to those challenges. I view these challenges as an opportunity to overcome and succeed.  I believe in Zion, the MJ #1 Project and look forward to our best days ahead."  

John Brown, Zion's Founder and Chairman of the Board, states, "Dustin's background as a former CEO of an international oil and gas service company in which he oversaw the growth of a regionally focused company to one that had over 1,500 employees with peak annualized revenues in excess of $400 million with an asset base of over $600 million help give Zion the operational and organizational experience we need at this time.  His alignment with Zion's vision, and his leadership over the last two years, have proven to me that he is uniquely gifted to help lead Zion."

Zion's petrophysical analysis, in conjunction with observations while drilling the MJ #1 well, has identified five additional primary zones of interest above the Mohilla formation that, contingent upon adequate financial resources, Zion plans to test. As has been previously reported, there are naturally fractured carbonates in the shallower zones that have effective reservoir potential. That, coupled with internal and 3rd party petrophysical analysis of Zion's open hole logs, gives Zion optimism and confidence to proceed with further testing, and Zion believes that it is imperative to test these zones of interest.

Zion remains committed to observing local customs such as Shabbat and holidays, and, as a result of 2018's holiday schedule, it is impractical, inefficient, and cost prohibitive to try to operate through the holiday season in September. Zion's service providers have all generously agreed to steeply discount their standby rates to accommodate Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of the Tabernacles) holidays.  

"We are grateful to our service providers for their willingness to partner with us in this effort," expressed Dustin Guinn. "We believe this shows good stewardship, both financially and culturally." Zion plans to resume operations on October 14th, 2018 and recommence testing of the identified zones of interest.