Biblical clues

US and Israeli flags are seen at the oil field named Zion Oil & Gas near Kibbutz Maanit, 25 miles north of Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday 6 June.

Developer John Brown is using millions of dollars from American evangelicals to try to find oil. Photo: AP

The oil field is a project of developer John Brown, who two decades ago was mesmerized by an evangelical preacher’s theory that the Bible held clues to a major oil field deep under the soil of Israel.

Now, armed with unshakable faith and millions of dollars from American evangelicals, Mr. Brown is leading a major exploration he hopes will uncover a reservoir of black gold in a New Jersey-sized country that produces only 80 barrels of oil a day.