Israel Petroleum Company in Quest for Partners to Participate in Development of Sara and Myra Prospects


Israel Petroleum Company, Limited (“IPC”) announced that the transfer and registration of its ownership rights in the Sara and Myra offshore Israel licenses has been granted by the Petroleum Commissioner of the Israel Ministry of National Infrastructure (“MNI”).

Per the updated “Ownership in Petroleum Rights”, published by the MNI on June 30, 2010, all rights have been registered to IPC and its partners on the Sara and Myra licenses. IPC holds its interest in the Sara and Myra licenses through its wholly owned subsidiary, I.P.C. Oil and Gas (Israel) Ltd. Partnership.

Seismic data for Sara and Mira has been shot, acquired, and processed. The 3D seismic data in respect of the Sara and Myra licenses has been submitted to the MNI. The first phase of the interpretation of the results of the 3D seismic data is expected to be completed and a report submitted to the MNI the first week of August, 2010, as per the agreed work program.

Determination of a drilling prospect on each license and engineering for those prospects is expected by December 31, 2010. A contract with a drilling contractor is expected March 31, 2011 followed by an expected spud date of Q3 2011.

IPC is currently seeking interested parties to participate in the development of its 13.609% interest in the Sara and Myra licenses either through a farmout, option, partial sale of interest, assignment, or debt financing.

347/Myra and 348/Sara Licenses

Ownership of the licenses is held by a group comprised of I.P.C. Oil and Gas (Israel) Ltd. Partnership (13.609%), Emanuelle Energy Ltd. (24.161%), Emanuelle Energy Oil and Gas Limited Partnership (19.161%), Modiin Energy Limited Partnership (19.282%), and four other entities.

As previously announced by the working interest owners, a Prospective Resource Evaluation Report was prepared by Chapman Petroleum Engineering Ltd, an independent Calgary based consulting firm . Assuming a successful ultimate recovery of resources and using a discount rate of 10%, Chapman estimates the unrisked net present value of IPC’s 13.609% interest in the Sara and Myra licenses at between $677 million and $1.432 billion.

About The Offshore Israel Project

The Sara and Myra licenses cover approximately 310 square miles and are located 25 miles offshore Israel in the Levantine Basin near the recent 8.4 TCF Tamar 1, Tamar 2, and the Dalit natural gas discoveries by Noble Energy Inc.

In an article published in April 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey “estimated a mean of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and a mean of 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin Province.”

About Israel Petroleum Company

Israel Petroleum Company, Ltd. (IPC) is owned by Bontan Oil and Gas Corporation (Bontan), a subsidiary of the publicly traded Canadian company Bontan Corporation Inc., and the privately held Colorado based International Three Crown Petroleum, LLC. Bontan holds 76.79% interest and International Three Crown Petroleum, LLC holds the remaining 23.21%. IPC is managed and operated by H. Howard Cooper of International Three Crown Petroleum, LLC.

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Source: Businesswire, August 2, 2010: