The find is raising hopes that Israel has enough natural resources to become energy independent
An oil exploration company has announced that it has found “significant quantities” of oil in Israel, buoying hopes that natural resources are prevalent in the Holy Land and could enable Israel to become energy independent.
An Israeli company, Givot Olam Oil Exploration, announced in December that it found oil at its drill site in Rosh Ha’Ayin, about 10 miles inland from the Tel Aviv coastline. It is unknown still whether the well contains a commercially viable amount of oil, but the company will continue its exploration.
The discovery comes almost a year after Israel announced the finding of a rich natural gas field 55 miles west of the Haifa port. With initial estimates at $15 billion, the gas field could meet Israel’s natural gas demand for 15 years and reduce its dependence on imports. Other companies that are banking on finding oil in the Holy Land found the news encouraging. “It is obvious there are hydrocarbons in Israel,” John Brown, Zion Oil & Gas founder and chairman of the board, told Charisma. “We’re very optimistic.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that in 1979 a former chief geologist of Shell determined that Israel has a potential of up to 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil. But large foreign fuel companies won’t drill in Israel due to threat of a boycott by Arab oil-producing nations. A vast, confirmed oil reserve would likely attract to Israel more foreign oil companies that currently avoid the Jewish state.
“If they [Israel] become an oil producer tomorrow it would change the Middle East,” Brown said. “It will bring an economic opportunity that will be unparalleled. ... Israel has a unique place in history where God is going to do a lot for the Jewish people.”
Some companies, both Christian and Jewish, believe the Bible points to vast amounts of petroleum deposits in Israel and use biblical prophecy to guide the location of their drill sites. In addition to geological research, Zion Oil & Gas, a Christian-owned company, determined drilling locations based on passages from Genesis and Deuteronomy that detail Jacob’s blessing of certain tribes.
The quest for oil based on biblical prophecy is not new. In 1972, James Spillman wrote The Great Treasure Hunt before there was any proof that oil or gas sat beneath the Holy Land. Nevertheless, critics maintain that the Hebrew word for oil used in the verse about Asher is shemen, which generally indicates olive oil. Rabbinic writings interpret it to mean olive oil as well.
—Nicole Schiavi in Israel
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