Photo Release -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. Names New Interim Chief Executive Officer

DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, Oct. 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. ZN announced today that, effective October 18, 2012, Zion's Board of Directors unanimously appointed Mr. John Brown, Zion's Executive Board Chairman, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, replacing Richard J. Rinberg who resigned from Zion on the same day by mutual and amicable agreement. Mr. Brown will also maintain his current responsibilities as Executive Board Chairman until a permanent Chief Executive Officer has been selected.

John Brown, Zion's Founder and Interim CEO

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15409

Mr. Brown is Zion's founder and has been a director and Chairman of the Board of Directors since the Company's organization in April 2000. From the Company's inception he also served as President until October 2001 and Chief Executive Officer until September 2004. Prior to founding Zion, Mr. Brown actively sought a license for oil and gas exploration in Israel for many years where his efforts led to the Israeli government's grant in May 2000 of the Ma'anit License in the Joseph Project, the precursor to Zion's current Joseph License.

In addition to his leadership experience with Zion, Mr. Brown has extensive management, marketing and sales experience, having held senior management positions in two Fortune 100 companies - GTE Valeron, a GTE Corporation subsidiary, where he served as Corporate Director of Purchasing, and Magnetek, Inc., where he served as Corporate Director of Procurement.

In addition, Zion would like to announce the following key personnel additions:

• Mr. Lee R. Russell has joined Zion as a Geoscience Consultant. Mr. Russell, a PhD geologist and geophysicist from Texas Tech University, has over 30 years' experience in exploration play development, basin and petroleum systems analysis, seismic stratigraphy, and tectonics. He has a proven track record in positively impacting the ongoing business of exploration organizations in both domestic and international environments. He has prior work experience with Shell Oil, Arco Exploration, and a variety of other oil and gas companies.
   
• Mr. Glen H. Perry has rejoined Zion as an Operations Consultant in our Israel office. Mr. Perry was a founding member of Zion, serving on the Board of Directors and as President and Chief Operating Officer until 2009. Mr. Perry has a Master of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has 40 years' experience in the domestic and international petroleum energy field, specializing in project evaluation and development, as well as senior management of oil and gas exploration and production companies. 

Victor Carrillo, Zion's President and Chief Operating Officer, says, "The appointment of John Brown as Interim CEO, along with the recent additions of Lee Russell and Glen Perry to our overall team, positions us well to better manage the company with highly experienced oil and gas professionals at the top."  

Zion's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ZN" and Zion's warrants trade under the symbol "ZNWAW" and "ZNWAZ".

Zion Oil & Gas, a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located onshore between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It currently holds three petroleum exploration licenses: the Joseph License (on approximately 83,272 acres) and the Asher-Menashe License (on approximately 78,824 acres) between Netanya, in the south, and Haifa, in the north, and the Jordan Valley License (on approximately 55,845 acres), just south of the Sea of Galilee. The total license area amounts to approximately 218,000 acres.

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

The Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6850

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.