CNSNews reports that Israel is taking advantage of higher oil prices to reopen wells in the south and to test for oil under the Dead Sea.

Recently, Ginko re-opened an old well that had been active from 1995-97. It was abandoned because international oil prices were very low at the time — $15-20 a barrel — and it was not financially viable.

“Since then, prices have quadrupled, and it might [now] be economical,” Tannenbaum said in a telephone interview.

What Ginko found when they re-opened the well was that the oil pressure was good, and oil flowed freely. But the significance of the well is not about the quantities that are produced there, Tannenbaum said.

The company is doing more comprehensive testing. About two kilometers north of the current well, Ginko found a “hydro-carbon trap” (a geological area where oil is found), and it could yield an estimated 4-6 million barrels of oil, he said.

Israel would make a nice non-OPEC, non-communist, non-fanatic exporter to the United States. I wish them megabarrels of success.