Zion Oil & Gas Inc (ZNOG)

[KyOil]

For illustration while we wait on test results, here is a chart of both MJ01 and MJ02 drill depth plotted against days since spud, with these notes:

1. MJ01 encountered a fractured formation in the Jurassic which made drilling difficult. The 3rd casing run was set early to solve this issue, which meant the final casing run had to go all the way to TD. Delay was about 2 months, from early Oct to early Dec.

2. At the beginning of the 3rd section, MJ02 began drilling at an angle so that the hole would be 700 m offset at the bottom. No problems so far!

3. At the time of the 2021 annual meeting, MJ02 had been drilled through the difficult formation encountered with MJ01 and was ready to begin drilling the 4th run of 1,600 meters to TD.

4. Shortly after the annual meeting, drilling became difficult in a shale formation. This was the last casing run, so setting casing early would not solve the problem. The delay was 3 to 4 months from sometime in late June or early July until late Oct or early Nov.

The July 26 update says "unique obstacles", "significant difficulties to keep proper stability with a shale formation", "we have moved forward with adjusted drilling parameters that enable us to keep shale integrity as we move toward our zones of interest".

Moved forward in July meant that they had a new plan as the Aug 23 update said "awaited specially ordered components needed for our modified drill plan — but we can thankfully confirm drilling is now proceeding effectively on all fronts of our updated plan." So, drilling resumed in late Aug with new drill bits.

The Nov 11 update confirmed drilling continued: "Active drilling of the Megiddo-Jezreel #2 (MJ02) project continues unimpeded"

The Nov 23 update announced reaching TD: "completion of the drilling phase for their Megiddo-Jezreel #2 (MJ-02) well."

The million dollar question is what happened between Aug 23 when drilling resumed and Nov 11 when drilling was confirmed again? It would not have taken 3 months to go 1,600 meters. A couple of possibilities I can think of: They found free flowing oil/gas before reaching TD and stopped to capture/analyze it. And/or, the formation caused trouble again so they had to stop and stabilize/clear the wellbore before proceeding. During this time there was not an update.

In any event, we are fortunate that both MJ01 and MJ02 reached TD. Drilling a deep well with unknown obstacles is a significant part of the venture's risk. That risk is now behind us.