Dallas, Texas and Caesarea, Israel – March 20, 2009 – Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (NYSE Amex: ZN) announced today that Zion has advised Aladdin Middle East Ltd (AME) that AME should proceed with mobilization of the 2,000 horsepower drilling rig that Zion plans to use to drill its Ma’anit-Rehoboth #2 well.

Zion anticipates that the required Turkish rig crew work visas will be granted soon and due to the time required to ship the drilling rig (which has already been packed into eighty loads) from Ankara, Turkey to Haifa, Israel, Zion has given notice to AME to proceed with mobilization of the drilling rig. It is anticipated that the drilling rig will arrive in Israel, clear customs and be fully rigged-up (i.e. erected) to begin drilling in April 2009.

Zion currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya on the south and Haifa on the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres. Zion has applied for a further permit area (tentatively named by Zion the Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area) and the application, if granted, will increase Zion’s total license area to over 400,000 acres.

Zion’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Rinberg, said today, “We eagerly anticipate the arrival of the 2,000 horsepower drilling rig and the drilling of Zion’s second well, on our Joseph License, to the Triassic Formation (down to a depth of 15,400 feet) and then, we plan, to the Permian Formation (down to a depth below 18,000 feet).”

Zion’s common stock trades on the NYSE Amex under the symbol “ZN” and Zion’s warrants trade under the symbol “ZN.WS”.

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located onshore between Tel-Aviv and Haifa.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion’s planned operations, potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon, including the importation of a drilling rig into Israel and the granting of various required permits, are forward-looking statements as defined in the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion’s periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion’s control. These risks could cause Zion’s actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements.

Zion’s homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com

Contact:

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.
Brittany Russell, 214-221-4610