Hayseed's dream now lying in Texas dust

TEN YEARS AGO,, I wrote about Harold (Hayseed) Stephens and his dream about finding a gusher in Israel. I then visited the area where the Texas oilman believed he would uncover the world's largest oil field atop a salt dome at the southwest end of the Dead Sea.
This was followed up by a number of Investigative Day reports, which were carried throughout the world, of his passion in finding 'black gold' in the supposedly oil-deprived region.
As I wrote in one article that "until now (1998), Israel's Islamic enemies have possessed 75 per cent of the world's oil reserves with Israel's supply only a fraction of that. It's reported that Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia, all sworn enemies of the tiny Jewish state, have trillions of barrels while Israel has only enough oil to supply itself for about one and a half days and depends on other countries for the remainder."
Then I continued to explain that Stephens, a one-time "hell-raiser" and former pro football quarterback with the New York Titans (now Jets) turned part-time preacher, had received approval of his lease in early September (1998) and drilling equipment would likely arrive at the site in the Dead Sea early in the New Year (1999).
"God has it all orchestrated," he said at the time.
As I also wrote, on Friday, June 26, 1999, in a hotel at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, history may have been changed forever.
The Israeli delegation was led by Yossi Levy, director/president of the Israel Oil Company, Inc. from Petach Tikvah, Israel and Haim Tsuff, chairman of the board of the Israel Oil Company.
Astonishing geological evidence led to the signing of an historical agreement between Israel Oil Company, Inc. and Stephens' 'Christian-owned' company, Ness Energy, International.
It was believed that there were vast amounts of oil in the Dead Sea region of Israel sufficient to be free of foreign energy sources and from the economic "pressure" to give up the land for peace.
The Dead Sea, once known as the Valley of Siddim, was in ancient times, a beautiful, lush region filled with bubbly lakes of oil, according to Genesis 13:10-11 and 14:10 with Jericho being its major trading center.
Then came the dramatic destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the formation of the Dead Sea.
The Hebrew translation of Isaiah 45:3 reads: "I will shoot up to you deposits stored in valuable dungeon -type containers, so you will know that I Am the Lord your God ..."
Stephens took that to mean that there were massive oil deposits in the area and he and his partners were meant to find it.
Hayseed reiterated that a portion of the profits from such a massive oil find would be used to re-build the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
In 1993, according to Stephens, more than 100 earthquakes in seven days had rocked the area from Mount Carmel down to the Red Sea, redistributing the massive oil deposits buried from the days of Lot.
When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, the southwest end of the Dead Sea turned into a mountain of salt, and that salt dome stretches nine miles long, 3/4 miles wide and 18,000 feet deep. The salt has acted as a preservative for the past 4,000 years. It doesn't allow oil to flow through it.
"This is the area where Sodom was located," explained Stephens. "In Genesis 19, God ignited all the oil and gas in that valley and it rained back down and blew a hole 40 miles long, eight miles wide and three miles across. Fire and brimstone fell into that hole and they eventually turned to salt. It made Sodom and Gomorrah oil boom towns."
Then, in May 2003 as Hayseed was preparing to return to Israel, he dropped dead on the front lawn of his Texas home.
The dream of finding oil in Israel didn't fade, however, as his son, Sha, took over as president and director of Ness Energy.
In the intervening years, despite optimistic and prophetic forecasts, stock in the company continued to decline dramatically into the penny range.
There was even talk about unsavoury stock manipulation, particularly, in an article entitled 'Let There Be Light Crude' in a recent issue of 'Mother Jones.'
In addition, Alan D. Stricklin, a veteran oilman headed a group of North Texas investors in taking over the company and Hayseed Stephens' dream. Besides shunting Sha Stephens to the sidelines, others let go were his mother, Mary Gene Stephens, and other family members.
Now, Hayseed's 'vision,' seemingly, has been left lying in the Texas dust, but then, again, it certainly could be resurrected. After all, Ness in Ness Energy means "miracle."