Genie Energy finds oil in Israel

Genie Energy said yesterday that it has found significant quantities of oil and gas in its exploration site in Northern Israel.

The resource is present at multiple strata and in some of the explored portion of the license area is up to 350 meters thick – a finding consistent with the company’s geological model. The thickness of the resource is one of many factors considered in making a determination of the commercial potential of this or any resource.

“We remain optimistic given the results to date,” said Howard Jonas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genie Energy. “In term of quantity, our log results indicate that this could be a significant find if analogous conditions are present over a significant portion of the license area. We are now working diligently to determine the production costs and total quantity of the resource.”

The Company has completed drilling two exploratory wells within its license area and begun drilling a third pursuant to a ten well exploratory program. Analysis of data obtained from these exploratory wells is ongoing.