Exploratory oil drilling in Golan Heights approved | JPost | Israel News
▻http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Exploratory-oil-drilling-in-Golan-Heights-approved-368819
Green-lighting plans that remain contentious among environmentalists and area residents, the Northern District Committee for Planning and Building approved on Thursday a program for exploratory oil drilling in the Golan Heights.
The approved exploration plans, to be conducted by Afek Oil and Gas, involve three years of exploratory drilling for conventional oil, through 10 wells in the Golan Heights region. Following a favorable recommendation from the Petroleum Council in February 2013, Afek received its exploratory drilling license in April 2013 for a 395-sq. km. plot south of Katzrin. The company filed its plans with the Northern District Committee in November 2013 and ultimately received permit approval at Thursday’s meeting.
Afek Oil is a subsidiary of the New Jersey-based Genie Energy Ltd., which is also the parent company of Israel Energy Initiatives – the firm that holds the license for an in-situ oil shale project in the south-central Israel Shfela basin
Genie Energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
▻http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_Energy
Genie previously announced a strategic advisory board whose members provide strategic direction and council. Its members include former Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild, and Rupert Murdoch.[2]