Zion drilled the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well to a depth of 17,913ft. The well penetrated geologic formations that have been preliminarily deemed to have hydrocarbon potential and a small quantity of crude oil has been recovered and analyzed.
Zion completed drilling the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well in September 2009 and decided to move its drilling rig to begin drilling its Elijah #3 well. The company’s intention was to attempt to test and complete the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well with a small workover rig. In December 2009, the company brought in a small workover rig to conduct swabbing operations on the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well, Zion said.
Due in part to personnel transitions and a shortage of equipment in Israel to conduct completion operations on the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well, the company was not planning to resume testing operations on the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well until sometime in March or April 2010.
Bill Ottaviani, president and chief operating officer of Zion, said: “Following the drilling of our Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well, we have continued to observe evidence of reservoir pressure and the presence of hydrocarbons at the surface. Our geologists have identified several potential hydrocarbon-bearing intervals from the diagnostic data acquired when the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well was drilled.
“We are currently fine-tuning our plans for production testing these intervals and are looking forward to resuming operations at the Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well. As we have stated in the past, we are unsure as to whether we have made a discovery of any hydrocarbon reservoir or, if such a reservoir exists, whether it would be commercially viable.”
