Within hours of announcing that "significant quantities" of oil had been measured in the mud at the Meged 5 well, Givot Olam Oil Exploration Limited Partnership (TASE:GIVO.L) issued a clarification: "The report referred to gas and oil seen and measured in the mud at the well during the drilling. The report did not refer to gas and oil reserves in the Meged field."
Givot Olam added that as far as assessments about gas and oil reserves in the Meged field are concerned, "read the shelf prospectus of May 19, 2009." The company said, "The general partner wishes to reiterate and stress that at this stage it is not possible to analyze the significance of said findings." It repeated the statement from the morning that the drilling is ongoing, and only when the drilling and tests are completed will it be possible to know whether there are commercial quantities of oil.
In another odd development during the afternoon, teams from television news stations and websites invited to the Meged 5 well by Givot Olam's general partner and chief geologist Tovia Luskin to film the well and interview him were unable to do so. The well is located in an IDF firing zone, and Luskin promised to arrange an entry permit from the IDF.
However, upon the teams' arrival, Luskin refused to be interviewed or allow pictures to be taken. He said, "Only one person at the IDF is allowed to give me permission to let you in, and he won't return my calls." He persisted in his refusal, even after the teams obtained their own entry permits from the IDF. The teams, including news staffs from Channel 1 and 2, were forced to leave without pictures.
By 4 pm, Givot Olam's share was up 177% to NIS 0.07.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 24, 2009
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