U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-KSB
[X] Annual Report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange
act of 1934
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001
OR
[ ] Transition Report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange
act of 1934
AMG Oil Ltd.
(Name of Small Business Issuer in its charter)
NEVADA N.A.
(State or other jurisdiction (I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation) Identification No.)
Suite 1400, 700 - 4th Avenue,
Calgary, AB, T2P-3J4
(Address and Zip code of Principal Executive Offices)
(403) 508-2421
Issuer's telephone number, including area code
Securities registered under Section 12(b) of the Act:
NONE
Securities registered under Section 12(g) of the Act:
NONE
(Title of class)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was
required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days. [X] YES [ ] NO
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405
of Regulation S-B is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the
best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-KSB or any amendment to
this Form 10-KSB. [ ] YES [X] NO
As of December 18, 2001, the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by
non-affiliates of the registrant was $490,000 based upon a $0.025 per share
trading price on that date.
The registrant's revenues for its most recent fiscal year were $15,568.
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant's classes of
common stock, as of the latest practicable date: Class A Common Stock 19,600,000
Shares Outstanding $.00001 par value
Documents Incorporated By Reference:
Certain Exhibits indicated in response to ITEM 13
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PART 1
ITEM 1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
GLOSSARY OF INDUSTRY TERMS
Currency and Measurement
All currency amounts in this Form 10-KSB are stated in United States dollars
unless otherwise indicated.
Metric and Imperial Units
Conversion from metric units into imperial equivalents is as follows:
Metric Units Imperial Units
hectare 2.471 acres
meter (m) 3.281 feet
kilometer (km) 0.621 miles (3,281 feet)
Geologic Time
Number of Years
Name of Era Name of Period before Present (Millions)
Quaternary Holocene 0 to 0.4
Pleistocene 0.4 to 1.8
Tertiary Pliocene 1.8 to 5.0
Miocene 5.0 to 24
Oligocene 24 to 38
Eocene 38 to 56
Paleocene 56 to 66
Mesozoic Cretaceous 66 to 140
Jurassic 140 to 200
Triassic 200 to 250
Paleozoic Permian 250 to 290
Carboniferous 290 to 365
Devonian 365 to 405
Silurian 405 to 425
Ordovician 425 to 500
Cambrian 500 to 570
Precambrian Precambrian > 570
Other Geological Expressions
"Anticline" is a geologic structure in which the sedimentary strata are folded
to form an arch or dome.
"Appraisal Well" is a well drilled after an existing discovery well to determine
the extent of the resources of the field.
"Basin" is a segment of the crust of the Earth in which thick layers of
sediments have accumulated over a long period of time.
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"Condensate" refers to hydrocarbons associated with natural gas which are liquid
under surface conditions but gaseous in a reservoir before extraction.
"Depletion" is the reduction in petroleum reserves due to production.
"Development" refers to the phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought
into production by drilling and completing production wells and the wells, in
most cases, are connected to the petroleum gathering system.
"Discovery" is the location by drilling of a well of an accumulation of gas,
condensate or oil reserves, the size of which may be estimated but not precisely
quantified and which may or may not be commercially economic, depending on a
number of factors.
"Dry Hole" is a well drilled without finding commercially economic quantities of
hydrocarbons.
"Exploration Well" is a well drilled in a prospect without knowledge of the
underlying sedimentary rock or the contents of the underlying rock.
"Farm In" or "Farm Out" refers to a common form of agreement between or among
petroleum companies where the holder of the petroleum interest agrees to assign
all or part of an interest in the ownership to another party that is willing to
fund agreed exploration activities which may be more or less than the
proportionate interest assigned to such other party.
"Fault" is a fracture in a rock or rock formation along which there has been an
observable amount of displacement.
"Field" is an area that is producing, or has been proven to be capable of
producing, hydrocarbons.
"Formation" is a reference to a group of rocks of the same age extending over a
substantial area of a basin.
"Frontier Exploration" is exploration in an area that has seen little previous
exploration but offers the potential for the discovery of large reserves of
hydrocarbons.
"Geology" is the science relating to the history and development of the Earth.
"Hydrocarbon" is the general term for oil, gas, condensate and other petroleum
products.
"Lead" is an inferred geological feature or structural pattern which on further
investigation may be upgraded to a prospect.
"Participating Interest" or "Working Interest" is an equity interest, compared
with a royalty interest, in an oil and gas property whereby the participating
interest holder pays its proportionate or agreed percentage share of development
and operating costs and receives its proportionate share of the proceeds of
hydrocarbon sales after deduction of royalties due on gross income.
"Pay Zone" is the stratum or strata of sedimentary rock in which oil or gas is
found.
"Permit" or "License" is an area that is granted for a prescribed period of time
for exploration, development or production under specific contractual or
legislative conditions.
"Pipeline" is a system of interconnected pipes that gather and transport
hydrocarbons from a well or field to a processing plant or to a facility that is
built to take the hydrocarbons for further transport, such as a gas liquefaction
plant.
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"Play" is a combination of geologic features that have the potential for the
accumulation of hydrocarbons.
"Prospect" is a potential hydrocarbon trap which has been confirmed by
geological and geophysical studies to warrant the drilling of an exploration
well.
"Reservoir" is a porous and permeable sedimentary rock formation containing
adequate pore space in the rock to provide storage space for oil, gas or water.
"Royalty" is the entitlement to a stated or determinable percentage of the
proceeds received from the sale of hydrocarbons calculated as prescribed in
applicable legislation or in the agreement reserving the royalty to the owner of
the royalty.
"Seal" is an impervious sedimentary rock formation overlying a reservoir that
prevents the further migration of hydrocarbons.
"Seep" is the natural flow of oil or gas to the Earth's surface from a formation
or through cracks and faults indicating that a formation containing hydrocarbons
may be located somewhere nearby.
"Seismic" refers to a geophysical technique using low frequency sound waves to
determine the subsurface structure of sedimentary rocks.
"Show" is the detectable presence of hydrocarbons during the drilling of a well.
"Source Rock" is sedimentary rock, usually fine-grained shale rich in organic
matter, the geologic conditions, including conditions of temperature, pressure
and time, and history of which is favourable for the formation of hydrocarbons.
"Top Seal" is a rock formation through which hydrocarbons cannot move which lies
above a trap and below which hydrocarbons accumulate to form a pool.
"Trap" is a geological structure in which hydrocarbons build up to form an oil,
condensate or gas field.
THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS REGARDING EVENTS
AND FINANCIAL TRENDS WHICH MAY AFFECT THE REGISTRANT'S FUTURE OPERATING RESULTS
AND FINANCIAL POSITION. SUCH STATEMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
THAT COULD CAUSE THE REGISTRANT'S ACTUAL RESULTS AND FINANCIAL POSITION TO
DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. THESE
FACTORS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, LACK OF REVENUES, COMPETITION, NEED FOR
ADDITIONAL CAPITAL, RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPLORING, DEVELOPING, AND OPERATING
AN OIL AND NATURAL GAS FIELD, AND FLUCTUATIONS IN THE MARKET FOR OIL AND NATURAL
GAS.
(a) Business Development
AMG Oil Ltd. (the "Registrant"), a junior natural resource company engaged in
the acquisition and exploration of mineralized properties, was incorporated on
February 20, 1997 under the name "Trans New Zealand Oil Company" by filing its
Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of Nevada. The Registrant
changed its name to AMG Oil Ltd. on July 27, 1998. The Registrant's fiscal year
end is September 30.
The Registrant's operations are conducted through its wholly-owned subsidiary,
AMG Oil (NZ) Limited (the "NZ Subsidiary") and an exploration office in
Wellington, New Zealand maintained by Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd., the operator of
Petroleum Exploration Permit 38256 ("PEP 38256"or the "Permit"), further
described below. The Registrant intends to participate in the exploration and,
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where warranted, development of its property and to investigate and to acquire
interests in other oil and gas properties in the Austral-Pacific region.
Shares of Common Stock of the Registrant became quoted through the facilities of
the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board ("OTCBB"), United States, on May 19, 1997,
where its shares continued to be quoted through that facility under the symbol
"AMGO" until August 1, 1999. On August 1, 1999, the Registrant's shares
discontinued from trading on the OTCBB due to the Registrant's failure to become
a "Reporting Issuer" under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act"). Since August 1, 1999, the Registrant's shares have been quoted
on the "Pink Sheets", operated by the National Quotation Bureau, under the
symbol "AMGO".
At December 15, 2001, the authorized capital of the Registrant was 100,000,000
shares of Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share, of which 19,600,000 common
shares were outstanding (undiluted).
(b) Business of the Issuer
The Registrant is a Calgary, Alberta, Canadian based oil and gas exploration
company with a participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Permit 38256
("PEP 38256"or the "Permit"), a hydrocarbon exploration permit located on the
South Island of New Zealand. Petroleum Exploration Permit 38256 was previously
divided into two areas: (a) the North Area which contains the Arcadia Prospect
and (b) the South Area which contains the Ealing Prospect (collectively "PEP
38256" or the "Permit"), however after the Company and the other joint venture
partners drilled unsuccessfully, both the Arcadia Prospect and Ealing Prospect,
certain participants reorganized their equity interests in the permit to combine
both the North and the South areas into one to streamline permit operations
area. (See PART I ITEM 2 - DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY). The permit ownership
interests of the Registrant and its joint venture partners in these two areas is
the following:
Company
- -------
AMG Oil Ltd. 52.5%
Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. 20%
Magellan Petroleum Australia Limited 7.5%
Durum Cons. Energy Corp. 10%
Orion Exploration Ltd. 10%
The assessment of the potential of this property to contain petroleum reserves
involves, among other things, a consideration of discoveries made by third
parties on properties adjacent to, or, depending on circumstances, in the area
of the Registrant's properties. Geological conditions are, however,
unpredictable. The discovery of reserves on properties adjacent to, or in the
area of, properties of the Registrant is no assurance that commercially
recoverable reserves of oil and gas will be discovered on the Registrant's
properties.
The Registrant has received no revenue from oil & gas operations to date, is in
a start-up phase with its existing assets and has no significant assets,
tangible or intangible, other than the opportunities for its interest in PEP
38256 disclosed herein. The Registrant has no significant future obligations
with respect to PEP38256.
The Registrant proposes to raise additional financing through the sale of equity
securities during the next fiscal year, although there can be no assurance that
such funding will be available. In the event that future equity financing
cannot be raised or negotiations for joint venture funding are not successful,
the Registrant's activities may be curtailed and this may adversely affect the
Company's ability to carry out the required level of expenditures to earn a
larger equity interest in the Permit or ultimately to maintain its concession in
good standing under the laws of New Zealand (as explained below) or both.
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None of the Registrant's current officers are employed directly by the
Registrant, and all officers devote less than 20% of their time to the
Registrant's business. All of the Registrant's officers and directors devote a
significant amount of their time to other interests or competing businesses,
which may conflict with the operations and business of the Registrant.
There is no assurance that the Registrant will earn revenue, operate profitably
or provide a return on investment to its security holders. The Registrant's
activities to date have consisted primarily of efforts to raise funds, acquire
an interest in PEP 38256, currently its sole exploration permit, conduct
preliminary seismic and geological studies over the Permit and participate in
drilling the Ealing-1 and Arcadia -1 exploration wells which occurred in the
fall of 2000. Neither of these exploration wells discovered hydrocarbons. As
currently structured, the Registrant proposes to derive all of its revenue from
a discovery of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons in PEP 38256. By drilling
the two exploration wells the Registrant and its joint venture partners have met
all the work obligations under which the Permit was granted by the government of
New Zealand. The Registrant and its joint venture partners are now in the
process of evaluating the information gained from drilling the Arcadia-1 and
Ealing-1 exploration wells in order to determine what, if any, future
exploration programs should be conducted on the Permit.
Should the Registrant and its joint venture partners decide that future
exploration is warranted, a critical part of the Registrant's business plan will
require it to fund its share of future seismic and drilling exploratory costs.
There can be no assurance that the Registrant will be able to successfully raise
the capital required, when required, to meet its proportionate costs, or that it
will successful in discovering commercial quantities of hydrocarbons, or that it
will have access to capital to develop a successful discovery without
significant dilution or cost to the Registrant's stockholders.
New Zealand Petroleum Exploration Permits
Under the Crown Minerals Act of 1991 ("CMA"), the exploration permit grants the
right to explore for hydrocarbons for a term of five years and may be extended
for up to a further five (5) years over half its area on conditions the Minister
of Economic Development considers appropriate. If the Registrant and its permit
partners (collectively referred to as the "Holder") discover a deposit or
occurrence of petroleum, and satisfies the Minister that the results of
exploration justify granting a production permit, the Holder may, on application
before the expiry of the exploration permit, obtain a production permit for up
to 40 years for such part of the land as the deposit or occurrence relates to.
Changes to the conditions prescribed in a permit may be made by application to
the Minister, provided the Holder is in substantial compliance with the
conditions of the Permit. The Holder is presently in compliance with the permit
conditions.
PEP 38256 was originally granted on August 25, 1997. The exploration permit was
issued for a term of five years. The Holder is required to relinquish at least
50% of the permit area at the end of three years or by August 25, 2000. This
relinquishment has been made and approved by the Minister of Economic
Development.
The Holder is required to complete a work program, disclosed herein, to maintain
the permit in good standing.
The Permit terms consist of three schedules, which define the permit area, work
program and milestones, and the royalties payable to the New Zealand government
upon commercial discovery. PEP 38256 encompasses an area of 11,183 square
kilometers on the western coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The
activities under the work program must be completed prior to the dates specified
in the second schedule in order to maintain the Permit in good standing.
The second schedule specifies that within 15 months of the commencement date of
the Permit, the Holder must:
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1. locate and analyze petroleum sweeps within the permit area;
2. model existing gravity data and acquire new gravity data as required to
provide proper control on density models derived from gravity modeling;
3. acquire, model and interpret a minimum of 10 new magnetotelluric
stations;
4. scan and process existing seismic data;
5. complete surface geological work on source and other sequences as
appropriate;
6. integrate reprocessed onshore and existing offshore seismic data with
wells and new seismic data acquired.
Within 24 months and 30 months respectively from the commencement date of the
Permit, the Holder must additionally acquire, process and interpret 80
kilometers and 120 kilometers of new seismic data. The Holder is also required
to drill one exploration well within 36 months of the commencement date to the
lesser of 1200 meters, or the proposed target depth, unless geological or
engineering constraints encountered during drilling render completion
impractical. Concurrent with the drilling of the exploration well, the Holder
must submit a work program satisfactory to the Minister of Economic Development
for the remainder of the Permit term.
Non-compliance with any of the above noted requirements may result in revocation
of the Permit at the sole option of the Minister of Economic Development. The
Minister of Economic Development must first issue a notice of default to the
Holder and the Holder has 60 days to cure the default. The Registrant its permit
partners have satisfied all of the obligations of the permit by drilling the
Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 exploration wells and are, therefore, recognized by the
Minister of Economic Development as being in good standing until August 25,
2002. Thereafter the Registrant and its partners have rights to retain 50% of
the remaining area of the permit for a further 5 year term, under a work program
yet to be defined.
A holder may also apply for an extension of time with respect to any of the
second schedule requirements but the Minister of Economic Development will
generally only consider delays related to local government environmental reviews
and insurmountable logistics problems such as the non-availability of a suitable
rig to drill at the required time.
The Permit's third schedule specifies royalties payable to the New Zealand
government under the Crown Minerals Program for Petroleum of 1995. When an
exploration permit is exchanged for a production permit upon a commercial
discovery, the Holder is obligated to pay royalties at the higher of 5% of net
sales revenues or 20% of accounting profits. The 5% royalty on net sales is
payable within 30 days of the calendar quarter end. Net sales are calculated as
gross sales plus hydrocarbons produced but not yet sold, less transportation,
storage costs and certain other adjustments to sales. The comparison of the 5%
royalty to the 20% accounting profits is calculated on an annual basis and
payable 90 days subsequent to the end of the calendar year. Accounting profits
is defined as the excess of net sales revenues over the total of allowable
deductions. Allowable deductions are the sum of the following costs incurred in
the current year less any capital proceeds received during the year;
1. Production costs
2. Capital costs (exploration and development costs, permit acquisition
costs and feasibility costs)
3. Indirect costs
4. Abandonment costs
5. Operating and capital overhead allowances
6. Operating losses and capital costs carried forward to future reporting
periods
7. Abandonment costs carried back to prior reporting periods
New Zealand Environmental Regulation
The Registrant's interest in PEP38256 is governed under the Resource Management
Act of 1991; ("RMA") which includes lands and waters within twelve miles of
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coastal areas. The RMA controls users of natural and physical resources, with a
view to managing resource usage in ways that will not compromise future
utilization. The RMA places the emphasis on the assessment of the proposed
activities' impact on the environment and sustainable management of the
environment.
Under the RMA, regional and district councils govern resource management.
Regional and district councils have each established their own rules and
standards for environmental assessments and required degrees of consultation.
These rules may limit industries to designated areas or stipulate terms related
to land use or development of a natural resource, depending on the environmental
or social effects. Applications, such as the Registrants application to drill
within PEP38256, may require public notice and allow public involvement in the
assessment process. Adverse decisions made by a regional or district council may
be appealed to the Environmental Court.
Risk Factors
The common shares of the Registrant must be considered a speculative purchase
due to a number of factors. Readers should carefully consider the risks
described below before deciding whether to purchase the Registrant's common
stock within the trading market. If the Registrant does not successfully address
any of the risks described below, there could be a material adverse effect on
the Registrant's business, financial condition or results of operations, and the
trading price of the Registrant's common stock may decline and investors may
lose all or part of their investment. The Registrant cannot assure any
shareholder that it will successfully address these risks.
1. Limited History of Operations, Reliance on Expertise of Certain Persons
and Substantial Other Interests
The Registrant has a limited history of operations and the management of
the Registrant and the growth of the Registrant's business depends on the
continued involvement of Mr. Bennett and Mr. Cameron Fink who may not be
easily replaced if either of them should leave the Registrant. The
Registrant does not have employment agreements in place with Mr. Bennett or
Mr. Fink nor does the Registrant carry key-person insurance for Mr. Bennett
or Mr. Fink. Mr. Bennett has other business interests which results in him
devoting, approximately 85% of his time to such other interests (See PART
III ITEM 9-DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, PROMOTERS AND CONTROL PERSONS and
PART III ITEM 12-CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS) while the
remaining 15% of his time is devoted to the business of the Registrant. Mr.
Fink has other business interests which results in him devoting,
approximately 90% of his time to such other interests while the remaining
10% of his time is devoted to the business of the Registrant (See PART III
ITEM 9-DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, PROMOTERS AND CONTROL PERSONS).
2. Limited Financial Resources
The Registrant has limited financial resources and will have to raise
additional funds to sustain, continue and expand its business. At the end
of the Registrant's last completed fiscal year, dated September 30, 2001,
the Registrant, after paying its share of the drilling costs of the
Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 wells, had $263,272 in working capital. The
Registrant's required future expenditures for the period up to December 31,
2002 are approximately $135,000 and relate to the evaluation of the permit
area following the drilling of the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 wells plus
accounting, legal and administrative costs. The Registrant and its permit
partners have satisfied the five-year obligations under which the permit
was granted by completing the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 explorations wells.
The Registrant and its permit partners will now review and remap the permit
in light of the information gained from drilling the exploration wells.
After the expiry of the first term of the permit on August 25, 2002 the
Registrant and its partners will have the option to retain 50% of the
permit area under a new work program which had yet to be identified. As the
work program has yet to be negotiated with the Government of New Zealand,
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the capital necessary to carry out the work program cannot be determined at
this time. However, the Registrant considers it probable that any such work
program will require an amount of capital that exceeds the Registrant's
current working capital. It is therefore likely that the Registrant
currently does not have sufficient capital to satisfy the expected
expenditures, has no revenues and will rely principally on the issuance of
common shares to raise funds to finance the expenditures that are expected
to be incurred beyond December 31, 2002. There is no assurance that market
conditions will continue to permit the Registrant to raise funds when
required, and any additional equity financing could be dilutive to existing
shareholders of the Registrant (See Risk Factor #14- Dilution and Low
Priced Shares Eligible for Future Sales). Should the Registrant fail to
raise additional capital the Registrant will be unable to carry out its
plan of operations and will be forced to abandon PEP 38256, after August
25, 2002, which is currently the Registrant's sole property.
3. Consequences of Failure to Satisfy Prescribed Permit or License Terms and
Conditions
Varying circumstances, including an inadequacy in the financial resources
available to the Registrant to pay for the work required by the permit
terms and conditions as outlined above or, the inability of the Registrant
to secure the required equipment such as a drilling rig at the time
required, and or circumstances beyond the control or influence of the
Registrant may result in the failure to satisfy the terms and conditions of
the permit and could therefore result in the complete loss or surrender of
the interest in the permit or license without compensation to the
Registrant. Permit terms and conditions may, in certain cases, be
renegotiated with applicable regulatory authorities, but there is no
assurance that if a term or condition of the Permit that is required to be
satisfied will not, or has not been met and may result in the loss of the
interest in such permit or license, that such term or condition will be
renegotiated with the applicable authority.
While the Registrant and its permit partners have met all the permit
conditions up to August 25, 2002, if they decide to renew their permit over
PEP 38256 a new work program will be attached to the permit. If the
Registrant does not have sufficient working capital to satisfy the future
work conditions of PEP 38256, the Registrant will have to raise additional
working capital to fund its portion the future exploration costs.
Alternatively the Registrant can reduce its costs to fund the exploration
by farming out part of its interest to a third party, as it has done in the
past, in exchange for the third party contributing to the costs of
exploration. If the permit obligations are not satisfied by the specified
due dates the Registrant and its partners would be in non-compliance with
the PEP 38256 permit terms. Non-compliance may result in revocation of the
permit at the sole option of the Minister of Economic Development of New
Zealand. The Minister of Economic Development must first issue a notice of
default to the Holder, after which the Holder has 60 days to cure the
default. As the interest in PEP 38256 is the sole property held by the
Registrant, the revocation or loss of the permit would be extremely
detrimental to the Registrant's business.
4. No Assurance of Earnings and Accumulated Losses
The Registrant currently has no oil or gas producing properties nor has the
Registrant ever generated any revenue from oil or gas sales. The Registrant
has no history of earnings and there is no assurance that the business of
the Registrant will be profitable. As at the end of the Registrant's fiscal
year dated September 30, 2001, the Registrant has an accumulated deficit of
$2,263,665 and the Registrant is expected to continue incurring operating
losses and accumulating deficits in future periods. This will happen
because there are expenses associated with the research and exploration of
PEP 38256. The Registrant cannot guarantee that it will be successful in
generating revenues in the future. A failure to generate revenues will
likely cause the Registrant to go out of business.
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5. No Intention to Pay Dividends
The Registrant has not paid any dividends to its shareholders since
inception and, due to its lack of earnings, is not in a position to declare
a dividend to its shareholders and even if the Registrant's business is
profitable there is no assurance that the board of directors will declare
dividends on the Registrant's common shares.
6. No Known Petroleum Reserves
The Registrant has no known hydrocarbon reserves. If the Registrant does
not find a hydrocarbon reserve containing oil or gas or if the Registrant
cannot develop the reserve, either because the Registrant does not have
sufficient capital to do it or because it will not be economically feasible
to do it, the Registrant will have to cease operations and anyone who has
purchased the Registrant's shares would lose their investment.
7. Competition with Other Companies
Other companies with greater financial resources are in competition with
the Registrant. The Registrant must compete with such companies in bidding
for the acquisition of petroleum interests from various state authorities,
in purchasing or leasing equipment necessary to explore for, develop and
produce hydrocarbons and in obtaining the services of personnel in the
exploration for, and development and production of, hydrocarbons. While the
Registrant has acquired various rights to explore, there is no assurance
that personnel and equipment will be available to carry out the programs
planned by the Registrant.
8. Failure to Locate Commercial Quantities of Hydrocarbons and Geological
Risks
There is no assurance that commercial quantities of hydrocarbons will be
discovered and prices for hydrocarbons may vary, rendering any deposit
discovered uneconomic. In addition, even if hydrocarbons are discovered,
the costs of extraction and delivering the hydrocarbons to market may
render any deposit found uneconomic. Geological conditions are variable and
unpredictable. Even if production is commenced from a well, the production
will inevitably decline and may be affected or terminated by changes in
geological conditions that cannot be foreseen or remedied by the
Registrant. The sole property owned by the Registrant is at the exploration
stage and without known, commercial reserves of oil or gas. Oil and gas
exploration and development involves a high degree of risk and few
properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing and
profitable properties.
9. Oil & Gas Price Fluctuations
In the past few years, the price of oil & gas has been volatile. At the
present time the price of oil is around the long run average price, but
lower than the average for the last two years, while the price of natural
gas is also low compared to the last year. There can be no assurance that
in the future prices for oil & gas production will not drop lower or
stabilize at the current low rates. This general downturn in the prices of
oil & gas may lead the Registrant to reduce its exploration efforts on PEP
38256 which in turn could lead to an abandonment of PEP 38256.
10. Governmental Laws and Local Conditions
Claims of Aboriginal peoples in New Zealand may adversely affect the rights
or operations of the Registrant. Currently the Registrant has no knowledge
of any actual or potential claims with Aboriginal peoples in New Zealand
with respect to PEP 38256 nor has there been any such claims initiated
against the Registrant or PEP 38256 in the past. The Registrant is subject
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to numerous foreign governmental regulations that relate directly and
indirectly to its operations (See PART I ITEM 1- New Zealand Petroleum
Exploration Permits and PART I ITEM 1- New Zealand Environmental
Regulation). These government regulations may impact the Registrant's
operations by denying the Registrant certain permits and land use licenses
that are necessary for the Registrant to continue its work program on PEP
38256. There is no assurance that the laws relating to the ownership of
petroleum interests and the operation of the business of the Registrant in
the jurisdictions in which it currently operates will not change in a
manner that may materially and adversely affect the business of the
Registrant.
While conducting seismic exploration and exploration drilling activities,
the Registrant is subject to laws and regulations that control the
discharge of materials into the environment, require removal and cleanup in
certain circumstances, require the proper handling and disposal of waste
materials or otherwise relate to the protection of the environment.
Subsequent to drilling a specific site, the Registrant will be required to
conduct and pay for reclamation activities to return the site to its
natural state as much as possible should the results of drilling not
warrant further development of the site. In operating and owning petroleum
interests, the Registrant may be liable for damages and the costs of
removing hydrocarbon spills for which it is held responsible. Laws relating
to the protection of the environment have in many jurisdictions become more
stringent in recent years and may, in certain circumstances, impose strict
liability, rendering the Registrant liable for environmental damage without
regard to negligence or fault on the part of the Registrant. Such laws and
regulations may expose the Registrant to liability for the conduct of, or
conditions caused by, others or for acts of the Registrant that were in
compliance with all applicable laws at the time such acts were performed.
The application of these requirements or the adoption of new requirements
could have a material adverse effect on the business of the Registrant. The
Registrant believes that it has conducted its business in substantial
compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. To date
the costs incurred by the Registrant to comply with these laws and
regulations have not been of a material amount.
11. Possible Lack of or Inadequacy of Insurance
The Registrant maintains insurance against certain public liability,
operational and environmental risks, but there is no assurance that an
event causing loss will be covered by such insurance, that such insurance
will continue to be available to, or carried by, the Registrant or, if
available and carried, that such insurance will be adequate to cover the
Registrant's liability.
12. Marketing of Petroleum Products
The ability of the Registrant to sell any future oil or gas production may
be restricted or rendered unavailable due to factors beyond the control of
the Registrant, such as a change in laws which regulate petroleum licensing
and permitting within New Zealand or governmental confiscation without
compensation. The Registrant's profitability will largely depend on its
ability to market any commercial quantities of oil & gas that may be found
within PEP 38256. Therefore, any restriction on the Registrant's ability to
market its production would have a detrimental effect on the Registrant's
ability to generate revenues and ultimately its ability to continue
operating.
13. Currency Fluctuation Risk
Even if the Registrant makes discoveries in commercial quantities,
development of a discovery may take a number of years and financial
conditions at that time cannot be determined. The Registrant holds its cash
reserves in US dollars but incurs a significant proportion of its expenses
in New Zealand denominated dollars. Although over the past year the New
Zealand dollar has weakened, as the table below shows, against the US
dollar, an increase in value of the New Zealand dollar versus the US dollar
would have a detrimental effect to the Registrant as the Registrant's
expenses incurred would, in turn, increase in US dollars. While certain
Page 12
fluctuation can be expected to continue into the future there can be no
assurance that in the future the exchange rate will stabilize at current
rates.
Fluctuations on a monthly basis in the New Zealand dollar versus the U.S.
dollar during the last year are as follows:
---------------------------------
Date Exchange Ratio
---------------------------------
Sep 2000 0.4188
---------------------------------
Oct 2000 0.4006
---------------------------------
Nov 2000 0.4000
---------------------------------
Dec 2000 0.4293
---------------------------------
Jan 2001 0.4444
---------------------------------
Feb 2001 0.4343
---------------------------------
Mar 2001 0.4188
---------------------------------
Apr 2001 0.4071
---------------------------------
May 2001 0.4222
---------------------------------
Jun 2001 0.4143
---------------------------------
Jul 2001 0.4087
---------------------------------
Aug 2001 0.4248
---------------------------------
Sep 2001 0.4175
---------------------------------
14. Inadequacy of Public Market and Removal from Exchange Act Reporting
Status
The Registrant's Common Stock is quoted through the facilities of the
National Quotation Bureau. Management's strategy is to develop a public
market for its Common Stock by soliciting brokers to become market makers
of the Registrant's Common Stock. To date, however, the Registrant has only
approached one market maker directly while a limited number of other
securities brokers have on their own volition become market makers. The
Registrant has only 43 shareholders of record as at December 14, 2001, and,
therefore, no real market for the trading of its Common Stock. There can be
no assurance that a stable market for the Registrant's Common Stock will
ever develop or, if it should develop, be sustained. It should be assumed
that the market for the Registrant's Common Stock will continue to be
highly illiquid, sporadic and volatile. These securities should not be
purchased by anyone who cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. As
of August 1999, the Registrant was required to become and maintain status
as a reporting issuer under the Exchange Act, in order to be traded on the
OTCBB by broker-dealers regulated by the National Association of Securities
Dealers. If the Company is delayed in becoming a reporting issuer under the
Exchange Act, or fails to continue to be a reporting issuer, management may
encounter difficulty in maintaining or expanding a trading market in the
near term, if at all, and shareholders may not be able to sell their shares
in the public market. Management has determined that the excess costs to
the Registrant to maintain its reporting status under the Exchange Act are
not warranted at this early stage in the Registrant's development as the
capital otherwise expended on legal and accounting costs associated with
being a reporting issuer could be spent on further exploration. As a
result, it is expected that the Registrant's Common Stock will continue to
trade on the Pink Sheets and will not be listed on the OTCBB in the near
future. The Company is continuing to consider removing itself as a
reporting issuer, and if it does remove itself the Registrant will no
longer be filing an annual Form 10-KSB or a quarterly Form 10-QSB, nor will
the directors, officers and affiliates of the Registrant be required to
file a Form 3 or a Form 4 to disclose their shareholdings and trades. Other
than information provided by the Registrant directly in the way of press
releases, little or no information regarding the Registrant, its financial
status and its business will be available to the public if the Registrant
removes itself from the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.
Page 13
15. Dilution and Low Priced Shares Eligible for Future Sales
The Registrant's Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of
100,000,000 shares of common stock. The Registrant's Board of Directors has
the power to issue any or all of such shares that are not yet issued
without stockholder approval. The Registrant's Board of Directors will
likely issue some or all of such shares to acquire further capital in order
to carry out its intended operations or expand its current operations, or
to provide additional financing in the future. The issuance of any such
shares may result in a reduction of the book value or market price of the
outstanding shares of the Registrant's common shares. If the Registrant
does issue any such additional shares, such issuance also will cause a
reduction in the proportionate ownership and voting power of all other
shareholders. Further, any such issuance may result in a change of control
of the Registrant.
The Registrant has adopted a stock option plan authorizing the purchase of
up to 3,000,000 shares and has issued options to acquire up to 217,500
shares of Common Stock exercisable at $1.50 per share and 15,000 shares of
Common Stock exercisable at $2.00 per share. The Registrant had options
expire during the year to purchase up to 800,000 shares exercisable at a
price of US$0.50 per share. The Registrant has 5,000,000 warrants
outstanding exercisable at a price of $1.00 per common share and a further
400,000 warrants exercisable at $2.25 per share. The existence of below-
market priced options, warrants or Common Stock issuances could adversely
affect the market price of the Registrant's Common Stock and could impair
the Registrant's ability to raise additional capital through the sale of
its equity securities or debt financing.
Approximately 5,000,000 common shares of restricted common stock became
eligible for sale under Rule 144 on approximately April 10, 2001 and
additional shares of Common Stock will become eligible for resale into the
market if the Registrant issues more equity, and there is no assurance or
agreement that these holders will not sell any of their shares. If a
substantial number of these shares were to be offered for sale or sold in
the market, the market price of the Registrant's Common Stock would likely
be adversely affected.
16. No Title Insurance
Although the Registrant has done a review of titles to PEP 38256 it has not
obtained title insurance with respect to the property and there is no
guarantee of title. Although the Registrant is not aware of any, the area,
which is covered by PEP 38256, may be subject to prior unregistered
agreements or transfers or native land claims, and title may be affected by
undetected defects.
17. Penny Stock Regulation and Difficulties in Selling Shares
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has adopted rules that
regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions in "penny
stocks." Penny stocks generally are equity securities with a price of less
than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national
securities exchanges or quoted on the NASDAQ National Market System,
provided that current price and volume information with respect to
transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). The
penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a
penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized
risk disclosure document prepared by the SEC that provides information
about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock
market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with bid and offer
quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and
its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing
the market value of each penny stock held in the customer's account. In
addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a
penny stock not otherwise exempt from such rules, the broker-dealer must
Page 14
make a special written determination that a penny stock is a suitable
investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser's written agreement
to the transaction. These disclosure requirements often have the effect of
reducing the level of trading activity in any secondary market for a stock
that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The Registrant's common
stock is currently subject to the penny stock rules, and accordingly,
investors may find it difficult to sell their shares, if at all.
18. Concentration of Ownership and Ineffective Voting Powers
The directors, officers and other affiliates of the Registrant beneficially
own a sufficient number of the outstanding shares of Common Stock of the
Registrant to be in control with respect to matter which may require a
majority vote of the Registrant's shareholders, such as the election
members of the board of directors or the sale of all or substantially all
of the Registrant's assets. Should the directors, officers and affiliates
vote their shares in a like manner on a matter requiring a majority vote of
the Registrant's shareholders, it is most likely that their position on the
matter would control the outcome of the vote. Additionally, because the
directors, officers and affiliates control the Registrant through their
significant shareholdings, the value attributable to the right to vote is
essentially gone. This could result in a reduction in the market value to
the shares owned by a shareholder because of the ineffective voting power.
19. Conflicts of Interest Among Other Companies with Common Directors and
Common Controlling Shareholder.
Mr. David Bennett is also a director of Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. a company
who is currently the operator of and a partner in PEP 38256 pursuant to the
terms of the PEP 38256 joint venture operating agreement. Additionally, Mr.
Guidi is a controlling shareholder of both the Registrant and Indo-Pacific
Energy Ltd. and was previously a director of Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. Due
to their roles in both the management of the Registrant and the management
of Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd., a conflict of interest could conceivably arise
between the best interests of the Registrant and the best interests of
Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. In a situation where a conflict of interest exists
between the best interests of the Registrant and Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd.,
any decision by Mr. Guidi or Mr. David Bennett, which furthers the best
interests of Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. may be harmful to the business
conducted by the Registrant.
Mr. Michael Hart and Mr. Alex Guidi are also directors of Trans-Orient
Petroleum Ltd. Mr. Guidi is also an executive officer and the controlling
shareholder of Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd., while Mr. Bennett also owns
common shares and options in Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd., Trans-Orient
Petroleum Ltd. is an affiliate and a controlling shareholder of the
Registrant. Due to their roles in both the management of the Registrant and
the management of Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. a conflict of interest could
conceivably arise between the best interests of the Registrant and the best
interests of Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. In a situation where a conflict of
interest exists between the best interests of the Registrant and Trans-
Orient Petroleum Ltd. any decision by these persons, which furthers the
best interests of Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. may be harmful to the
business conducted by the Registrant.
Employees and Consultants
The Registrant is in the start up stage and none of the Registrant's executive
officers have employment agreements with the Registrant. Mr. Cameron Fink
(President) and Mr. David Bennett (Vice-President of Exploration) devote less
than 20% of their time to the Registrants business. The Registrant does not have
any employees, as the operator, Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd., of which Mr. Bennett
is the President and CEO, conducts exploration activities on PEP 38256 on behalf
of the joint venture. As the operator incurs expenses on the permit, the
operator submits cash calls on a periodic basis to the Registrant. The dollar
value of the cash calls submitted by the operator to the Registrant will be
based upon the Registrant's percentage interest in PEP 38256. All of the
Page 15
Registrant's geological, exploration and technical services are provided by
consultants who bill their services to the joint venture. The Registrant also
receives corporate services from DLJ Management Corp., a subsidiary of
Trans-Orient Petroleum Corp. The services consist of shareholder relations and
communications, administrative and accounting support. DLJ Management Corp.
provides their services on an hourly basis and has devoted less than 25% of
their time to matters related to the Registrant. DLJ Management Corp. bills
monthly for its services on a cost recovery basis for labor and rent, office
costs, and employee benefits.
ITEM 2. DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY
The Registrant maintains a 120 square foot head office space on a rent free
basis located at Suite 1400, 700 - 4th Avenue, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, from
which the President of the Registrant conducts business on behalf of the
Registrant. The operator conducts business on behalf of the Registrant directly
related to PEP 38256 in a 4000 square foot operations office in Wellington, New
Zealand. This office space is shared with the operator of PEP 38256,
Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. and two other exploration companies and the operator
bills the Registrant monthly for the facility on the basis of actual hours
worked in a given month for activities directly related to the Permit.
The Registrant currently has no oil or gas producing properties and at present,
no known deposits of oil or gas. Currently, the sole asset owned by the
Registrant is its 52.5% interest of PEP 38256. Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. is the
operator on PEP 38256 and is carrying out the required exploration programs on
behalf of the joint venture pursuant to an operating agreement dated June 25,
1998 and under which the Registrant's initial interest in the Permit was
acquired. Under the terms of the operating agreement, each participant in the
Permit is entitled to a specified equity share or percentage in the Permit
provided each participant pays for its pro rata share of expenditures or cash
calls related to the development of the Permit. The level of expenditures and
the work program are determined by agreement between the members of the joint
venture, who vote pro rata with respect to their equity share with respect to
expenditure proposals. The Registrant holds a veto vote over expenditure
proposals, and other than work which is obligatory under the conditions of the
Permit, cannot be forced into any expenditure it does not approve. If any
participant, including the operator, does meet its required obligations or pay
its portion of the cash calls, that participant will automatically relinquish
its interest to the other participants in the Permit.
On June 25, 1998, Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. and Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd.
granted two options to the Registrant. The first option was for the Registrant
to acquire a 30% interest upon payment of past costs and a 125-mile seismic
program designed to identify two drilling prospects. This option was exercised
on August 4, 1998. The second option entitles the Registrant to acquire up to a
further 50% interest on payment of any additional required seismic and for the
cost of drilling up to two exploratory wells.
The option agreement was modified by three subsequent agreements dated December
3, 1998, October 26, 1999 and February 23, 2000, which extended the period of
time in which the Registrant must exercise its option to acquire a further
interest in PEP 38256 to June 16, 2000.
On March 31, 2000, Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. and Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd.
concluded a transaction under which all of the oil and gas assets of
Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. were sold to Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd., including
Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd.'s interest in PEP 38256. After the transaction was
concluded the interest holders in PEP 38256 was the Registrant (30%) and
Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. (70%).
On June 8, 2000 Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd., the operator of PEP38256, and the
Registrant completed the processing and interpretation of the third stage of the
planned seismic to further detail drilling locations for the Arcadia and Ealing
prospects. The Arcadia prospect is situated in the North Area of the permit
area, adjacent to the Rangiora Trough, where sedimentary rocks covering an area
of approximately 25,000 acres are buried at sufficient depth to provide a
potential hydrocarbon charge. The Ealing prospect is located in the South Area
of the permit and has been mapped as a potential hydrocarbon trap over
approximately 15,000 acres. The target is adjacent to the main fault that bounds
the Ealing structure.
Page 16
On June 28, 2000 the Registrant exercised its option to acquire an additional
50% participating interest PEP38256 from Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. Under the
terms of the option agreement, the Registrant would earn the interest by funding
the entire costs of drilling and testing two exploration wells. The planned
depth for each of the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 wells was 6000 feet to reach the
potential targets, with several targets both above and below the Homebush
Sandstones that reside as a geological formation at 6000 feet. The costs to
drill the two wells, including the mobilization cost of the drilling rig, was
$1,550,000.
In order to fund the costs of drilling the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 wells, the
Registrant entered into three farm out agreements with third parties under which
the Registrant assigned a portion of its 80% interest in exchange for each of
the third parties paying a portion of the drilling costs on the two wells.
The first farm out agreement was entered into with Orion Exploration Limited
("Orion"), a subsidiary of the Orion Group, on October 9, 2000. Pursuant to the
agreement Orion earned a 10% interest in both the South Area and North Area of
PEP 38256 by reimbursing the Company for a portion of past exploration costs,
and by contributing 20% to the cost of drilling both the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1
wells. The Registrant previously reported this transaction through the filing of
a Form 8K which included a copy of the farm out agreement as an exhibit all of
which was filed on October 24, 2000, the contents of which were incorporated by
reference in the Registrant's 2000 10-KSB.
The second farm out agreement was entered into with Magellan Petroleum Australia
Limited ("Magellan") on October 23, 2000. Pursuant to the agreement the
Registrant granted Magellan a twenty percent (20%) beneficial interest in the
South Area of PEP 38256, which includes the site of the Ealing- 1 well. In
consideration for the interest, Magellan reimbursed the Company for a portion of
past exploration costs, and by contributing 34% to the cost of drilling the
Ealing-1 well. The agreement also provided Magellan with the opportunity to
acquire up to a 20% interest in the North Area, including the Arcadia-1 well,
after the results of the Ealing-1 well were determined, and in exchange Magellan
would be required to pay the Registrant for a portion of past exploration costs,
and contribute 40% to the cost of drilling the Arcadia-1 well
Based upon the unsuccessful results from drilling the Ealing-1 well, Magellan
chose not to exercise their option to acquire an interest in the North Area; and
pursuant to the terms of the farm in agreement, Magellan chose to reduce its
beneficial interest in the South Area to twelve percent (12%). The Registrant
previously reported this transaction through the filing of a Form 8K which
included a copy of the farm out agreement as an exhibit all of which was filed
on November 7, 2000, the contents of which were incorporated in the Registrant's
2000 10-KSB.
The third farm out agreement occurred on November 20, 2000 when the Registrant's
board of directors ratified a letter agreement earlier entered into with Durum
Cons. Energy Corp. ("Durum"). Pursuant to the agreement, the Registrant granted
Durum a twenty percent (20%) beneficial interest in the North Area of PEP 38256,
which includes the site of the Arcadia-1 well, with effect from the date on
which the Arcadia-1 well spudded. Pursuant to the agreement Durum earned a 20%
interest in the North Area of PEP 38256 by reimbursing the Registrant for a
portion of past exploration costs, and by contributing 40% to the cost of
drilling the Arcadia-1 well. (See PART III, ITEM 12 "CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND
RELATED TRANSACTIONS" for a description of the relationship between Durum Cons.
Energy Corp. and the Registrant).
During the 2001 fiscal year, as approved by the Minister of Energy of New
Zealand, the Registrant, Magellan, and Durum reorganized their equity interests
in PEP 38256 to streamline permit operations. Under the new terms, the north and
south beneficial acreages were combined into one.
After giving effect to these farm outs and the reorganization, the interests in
PEP 38256 are the following:
Page 17
Company
- -------
AMG Oil Ltd. 52.5%
Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. 20%
Magellan Petroleum Australia Limited 7.5%
Durum Cons. Energy Corp. 10%
Orion Exploration Ltd. 10%
Petroleum Exploration Permit 38256, South Island
The Canterbury Basin is located both onshore and offshore in the area
surrounding Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand. The total area of
the Canterubury basin is approximately twelve million acres. The sediments in
the Canterbury Basin range in age from Middle Cretaceous to Miocene. PEP 38256,
which contains a portion of the Canterbury Basin, was granted on August 25, 1997
to Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. and Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. The permit area is
situated in the onshore area surrounding Christchurch and encompasses 2,760,120
acres or (11,183 square kilometers). The permit term is five years, but a
minimum of 50% must be relinquished within three years. On August 25, 2000 the
participants in PEP 38256 relinquished back to the government of New Zealand 50%
of the PEP 38256 permit area that was considered to be of lesser prospectivity.
After the relinquishment the PEP 38256 permit covers an area of approximately
1.3 million acres which contains all the prospects and exploration leads so far
identified by the Company and its joint venture partner in the permit. Any
production permits granted will be for a term of up to 40 years from the date of
issue. The Crown in right of New Zealand has reserved a royalty of the greater,
in any one year, of five per cent of net sales revenue from the sale of
petroleum products or 20% of accounting profits. (See PART I ITEM 1- New Zealand
Petroleum Exploration Permits).
Prior to the Registrant acquiring its interest, five exploration wells had been
drilled on PEP 38256 since 1914. Four exploration wells in the offshore part of
the Canterbury Basin have been drilled since 1970, two of which resulted in
gas-condensate discoveries. Neither of the gas-condensate discoveries proved to
be economic. The data gathered from these past activities is relevant in
interpreting the geology of PEP 38256, but generally, the area is lightly
explored. The basement rocks are Paleozoic and Mesozoic metasediments. Overlying
these in places are Cretaceous coal measure formations, and Paleocene and Eocene
terrestrial sediments which gradually become of marine origin towards the
eastern part of the basin. Overlying these formations are Oligocene limestone
and sandstone formations, which are principally marine in origin. The early
Miocene period saw the deposition of marine sandstones and mudstones with a
gradation to nonmarine sediments in the late Miocene period. The Pliocene and
Quaternary strata are principally gravels derived from the formation of the
Southern Alps with some volcanics.
The sandstones in the Miocene, Paleocene and late Cretaceous formations are
considered to be potential reservoirs, with lesser emphasis placed on the Eocene
and Oligocene limestones. Interbedded mudstones would provide seals for the
reservoirs. Source formations are thought to be Late Jurassic to Upper
Cretaceous coal formations, and Late Cretaceous Whangai mudstones and Paleocene
Waipawa Black Shale formations, which are identified as source rocks in other
New Zealand basins.
Under the terms of the permit, the participants completed a work program to
locate and analyse petroleum seeps within the permit area, model existing
gravity data and acquire new gravity data, collect and interpret a minimum of
ten magnetotelluric stations, process existing seismic data and complete surface
geological work by November 25, 1998. Additionally, the participants met the
requirement to collect, process and interpret 48 miles of new seismic data by
August 25, 1999. The participants also acquired, processed and interpreted a
further 25 miles of additional seismic data, required by February 25, 2000, and
committed to drilling the first exploratory well. In addition to the work
required to be completed under the terms of the permit, the participants also
acquired in April 2000, a further 100 miles of seismic in order to define a
suitable drilling location.
Page 18
Several sizable leads and prospects, including the Ealing, Arcadia and Chertsey
South Leads, were identified by the 125 miles of seismic data collected in 1998,
and by the 165 miles of seismic data collected in 1999. The seismic acquired in
April 2000 focused on the Ealing and Arcadia Prospects with the goal of
determining suitable drilling locations. In June/July 2000 the drilling
locations had been determined on the Ealing and Arcadia Prospects. On October
19, 2000 the Ealing-1 exploration well was spudded. The main objective
sandstones were encountered near the predicted depth and are well developed, but
there is no evidence for commercial hydrocarbons. The well was plugged and
abandoned. After competing the Ealing-1 well, the Drilling rig moved to the
Arcadia Prospect and on November 12, 2000 the Arcadia-1 well was spudded. On
November 20, 2000 it was announced that the Arcadia-1 reached its TD of 1479m (
4852 feet ). While reservoir quality sandstones were encountered, no effective
top seal to these was present, and there was no evidence for commercial
hydrocarbons. The Arcadia-1 well was plugged and abandoned.
The Registrant and the other participants in PEP 38256 have completed the work
program for the entire five-year term of the permit to August 2002. The Company
and the other participants are required to commit to a new work program or
relinquish the permit, however no work program has been implemented to date. If
an acceptable work program cannot be agreed on by the participants and the
Minister of Energy of New Zealand, the participants will be required to
relinquish the permit.
ITEM 3 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
There are no material legal proceedings to which the Registrant is subject to or
which are anticipated or threatened.
ITEM 4 SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
There were no matters submitted to a vote of the Registrant's shareholders in
the fourth quarter of the Registrant's fiscal year.
PART II
ITEM 5 MARKET FOR COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS
The Registrant's shares trade on the "Pink Sheets" interdealer quotation
operated by the National Quotation Bureau under the symbol "AMGO." Prior to
August 2, 1999, the Registrant's shares traded on the OTCBB under the trading
symbol "AMGO". Summary trading by quarter for the 2001 and 2000 fiscal years are
as follows:
Fiscal Quarter High Bid(1) Low Bid(1) Volume
- -------------- ----------- ---------- ------
2001
First Quarter 3.00 0.10 3,107,600
Second Quarter 0.28 0.03 3,783,500
Third Quarter 0.095 0.04 1,388,200
Fourth Quarter 0.10 0.059 1,144,900
2000
First Quarter .625 .25 43,700
Second Quarter 1.50 .25 1,383,600
Third Quarter 3.35 .625 1,346,700
Fourth Quarter 3.60 2.70 2,443,900
Page 19
Note:
(1) These quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up,
mark-down or commission and may not represent actual transactions.
At December 14, 2001 there were 19,600,000 shares of Common Stock of the
Registrant issued and outstanding.
No cash dividends have been declared by the Registrant nor are any intended to
be declared. The Registrant is not subject to any legal restrictions respecting
the payment of dividends, except that they may not be paid to render the
Registrant insolvent. Dividend policy will be based on the Registrant's cash
resources and needs and it is anticipated that all available cash will be needed
for property acquisition, exploration and development for the foreseeable
future.
As of December 14, 2000 there were 48 holders of record and the Registrant
closing share price on that date was $0.12.
During the 2001 fiscal year the Registrant did not issue any securities.
During the 2000 fiscal year the Registrant issued the following securities at
the following prices. There were no underwriters engaged and no underwriting
discounts or commissions paid. All issuances were made pursuant to exemptions
from registration contained in Regulation S, promulgated pursuant to the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").
Type of
Date Security Number Proceeds Exemption
- ---- -------- ------ -------- ---------
10/04/00 Units 5,000,000 $250,000 Rule 903(b)(3) of Reg. S (1)(2)
28/08/00 Units 400,000 $900,000 Rule 903(b)(3) of Reg. S (3)(4)
(1) The shares of Common Stock were issued to Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd.
(see PART I ITEM 7- CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS) at a
price of $0.05 per share for total proceeds of $250,000. In relying on the
exemption claimed, the Registrant relied on the following facts: (i) at
the time of the issuance, the Registrant was not a reporting company
subject to section 13 or 15d of the Exchange Act (ii) the shares of Common
Stock were fully paid for and (iii) the company which received the shares
of Common Stock was not resident in the United States of America.
(2) Each Unit consists of one share of Common Stock and one warrant to
purchase an additional share of Common Stock at any time until April 10,
2005 at a price of $1.00 per share.
(3) The shares of Common Stock were issued to Carerra Investments Ltd. at a
price of $2.25 per share for total proceeds of $900,000. In relying on the
exemption claimed, the Registrant relied on the following facts (i) at the
time of the issuance, the Registrant was a reporting company subject to
section 13 or 15d of the 1934 Exchange Act (ii) the shares of Common Stock
were fully paid for and (iii) the company which received the shares of
Common Stock was not resident in the United States of America.
(4) Each Unit consists of one share of Common Stock and one warrant to
purchase an additional share of Common Stock at any time until August 28,
2002 at a price of $2.25 per share.
The Registrant established a stock option plan (the "Plan") for directors,
officers, employees and consultants who provide services to the
Registrant. ?,000,000 shares are reserved for issuance under the Plan. Any
options issued under the Plan will expire on the earlier of (i) 10 years from
the establishment of the Plan, or (ii) the expiry date assigned to the
individual option grant.
Page 20
On June 20, 2000 the Registrant's board of directors granted options to acquire
up to 217,500 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share to
directors, officers and individuals providing services to the Registrant and the
PEP 38256 joint venture. Additionally, on October 31, 2000 the Registrant's
Board of Directors granted options to acquire up to 15,000 shares of Common
Stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per share to Arthur Evans. The options
granted are subject to a vesting schedule whereby 1/6 of the total granted vests
every six months from the date of granting. Additionally the options carry
restrictions on resale whereby a maximum of 25% of the amount vested can be
resold in any 30-day period. The directors and officers who were granted options
are the following:
Name Title Total Amount First Vesting Date
Cameron Fink President 20,000 December 20, 2000(1)
David Bennett Director 50,000 December 20, 2000(2)
Arthur Evans Director 15,000 May 1, 2000(3)
Michael Hart Director 15,000 December 20, 2000(4)
Mark Katsumata Officer 10,000 December 20, 2000(5)
(1) On December 20, 2001 of the total amount under option, 10,000 shares of
Common Stock may be acquired under the vesting schedule.
(2) On December 20, 2001 of the total amount under option, 25,000 shares of
Common Stock may be acquired under the vesting schedule. An option to
acquire up to 10,000 shares of Common Stock was granted to Mr. David
Bennett's spouse Jenni Lean. Both Mr. Bennett's options and Jenni Lean's
options are held within a family trust of which Mr. Bennett and Jenni
Lean are beneficiaries.
(3) On May 1, 2001 of the total amount under option, 7,500 shares of Common
Stock may be acquired under the vesting schedule.
(4) On December 20, 2001 of the total amount under option, 7,500 shares of
Common Stock may be acquired under the vesting schedule.
(5) On December 20, 2001 the options expired as Mr. Katsumata resigned as an
officer of the Company.
ITEM 6. PLAN OF OPERATIONS
The Registrant has been principally involved in the acquisition, interpretation
and mapping of seismic on PEP 38256 during the past three years and hence has
not yet received revenues from operations, profitability or break-even cash
flow. As of the date of the Registrant's last completed fiscal period ending
September 30, 2001 a total of $ 1,820,860 was spent by the Registrant on the
Permit. The Registrant currently has no oil or gas producing properties nor any
known deposits of oil or gas. The Registrant and its permit partners have
recently satisfied the five year obligations under which the permit was granted
by completing the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 explorations wells. The Registrant and
its joint venture partners are required or plan to carry out the following work
during the calendar year 2002:
Review seismic, drilling and geological data in PEP 38256 in light of the
results of Arcadia-1 and Ealing-1 wells.
In more detail, this will consist of:
a) Geochemical and petrological review of cuttings from the wells, to
determine petroleum source potential and reservoir quality
b) Petrophysical analysis of electric logs and integration with well
lithology
c) Completion of a data trade with the permit holder of the adjacent
offshore area, in order to construct regional synthesis of stratigraphic
and lithologic correlations and to better identify petroleum source and
migration parameters
d) Reinterpretation of permit seismic data in light of the wells, in order
to identify and rank other exploration prospects and leads within PEP 38256
Page 21
Total cost of this work is budgeted at US$50,000, of which the Registrant's
share is US$26,250. After paying for its share of the recent drilling costs
associated with the Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 wells, the Registrant has
approximately $260,000 in working capital. The Registrant's required future
expenditures for the period up to December 31, 2001 are approximately $135,000
and relate to the evaluation of the permit area following the drilling of the
Ealing-1 and Arcadia-1 wells and accounting, legal and administrative expense.
After the expiry of the first term of the permit on August 25, 2002 the
Registrant and its partners will have the option to retain 50% of the permit
area under a new work program which had yet to be identified. As the work
program has yet to be negotiated with the Government of New Zealand, the capital
necessary to carry out the work program cannot be determined at this time.
However, the Registrant considers it probable that any such work program will
require an amount of capital that exceeds the Registrant's current working
capital. It is therefore likely that the Registrant currently does not have
sufficient capital to satisfy the expected expenditures, has no revenues and
will rely principally on the issuance of Common Stock to raise funds to finance
the expenditures that are expected to be incurred beyond December 31, 2002.
Failure to raise additional funds would result in the relinquishment of the
Registrants interest in the permit, currently the Registrants sole asset. The
Registrant has relied principally on the issuance of Common Stock by private
placements to individuals known to officers and directors of the Registrant,
Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd. and Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd., companies which are
related through a common controlling shareholder and participants in PEP38256,
(See PART III ITEM 12- CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS) to raise
funds to support the business. There can be no assurance that the Registrant
will be successful in raising additional funds through the issuance of
additional equity nor that the parties that provided funds in the past will
continue to do so.
The Registrant does not expect any significant purchases of plant & equipment
nor any increase in the number of employees in the near future.
Page 22
ITEM 7 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
TELFORD SADOVNICK, P.L.L.C.
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of AMG Oil Ltd. (formerly Trans New
Zealand Oil Company) (A Development Stage Enterprise)
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of AMG Oil Ltd.
(formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company) (a development stage enterprise) as of
September 30, 2001 and 2000 and the related consolidated statements of
operations, changes in stockholders' equity and cash flows for the years ended
September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999 and for the period from inception on February
20, 1997 to September 30, 2001. These consolidated financial statements are the
responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards
in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, these consolidated financial statements referred to above
present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of AMG Oil Ltd.
(formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company) (a development stage enterprise) as of
September 30, 2001 and 2000 and the results of its operations and its cash flows
for the years ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999 and for the period from
inception on February 20, 1997 to September 30, 2001 in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company
will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial
statements, the Company is a development stage enterprise and has yet to
establish any revenues from business operations. As a result, there is
substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Management's plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The
financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the
outcome of this uncertainty.
/s/ TELFORD SADOVNICK, P.L.L.C.
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
Bellingham, Washington
December 12, 2001
Page 23
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Consolidated Balance Sheets
================================================================================
As at September 30, 2001 2000
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets
Current
Cash $ 277,641 $ 850,808
Accounts receivable 137 163
Prepaid expenses 2,912 6,403
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
280,690 857,374
Investments 11,919 31,041
Property and equipment 4,043 5,378
Oil and gas interest 274,671 497,987
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Assets $ 571,323 $ 1,391,780
================================================================================
Liabilities
Current
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 7,518 $ 15,012
Due to related parties 9,900 23,404
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Liabilities 17,418 38,416
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commitments and Contingencies
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock, $0.00001 par value
100,000,000 shares authorized
Issued and outstanding at September 30,
2001: 19,600,000 shares
2000: 19,600,000 shares 196 196
Additional paid-in capital 2,817,374 2,723,059
Deficit accumulated during the development stage (2,263,665) (1,369,891)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Stockholders' Equity 553,905 1,353,364
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 571,323 $ 1,391,780
================================================================================
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements
Page 24
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Consolidated Statements of Operations
================================================================================
Cumulative
from Inception
on February 20,
Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended 1997 to
September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30,
2001 2000 1999 2001
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expenses
General and administrative $ 178,587 $ 264,370 $ 43,786 $ 532,856
Loss on sale of investments - - 16,135 16,135
Write-down of investments 19,122 21,835 48,551 233,854
Write-down of oil and gas interest 711,633 834,396 160 1,546,189
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
909,342 1,120,601 108,632 2,329,034
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Income
Interest income 15,568 14,131 11,467 58,430
Gain on sale of oil and gas interest - - - 6,939
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15,568 14,131 11,467 65,369
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net loss for the period $ (893,774) $ (1,106,470) $ (97,165) $ (2,263,665)
============================================================================================================================
Basic and diluted loss per
share $ (0.05) $ (0.07) $ (0.01) $ (0.12)
============================================================================================================================
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements
Page 25
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
================================================================================
Cumulative
from Inception
on February 20,
Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended 1997 to
September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30,
2001 2000 1999 2001
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Activities
Net loss for the period $ (893,774) $ (1,106,470) $ (97,165) $ (2,263,665)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to
cash applied to operating activities:
Depreciation 1,436 410 - 1,846
Compensation expense from stock options 94,315 42,255 - 136,570
Loss on sale of investments - - 16,135 16,135
Write-down of investments 19,122 21,835 48,551 233,854
Write-down of oil and gas interest 711,633 834,396 160 1,546,189
Gain on sale of oil and gas interest - - - (6,939)
Changes in non-cash working capital:
Accounts receivable 26 (71) 825 (137)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (7,494) 8,940 334 7,518
Due to related party (13,504) 23,404 - 9,900
Prepaid expenses 3,491 (6,403) - (2,912)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash used in operating activities (84,749) (181,704) (31,160) (321,641)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financing Activities
Common shares issued for cash - 1,150,000 600,000 2,681,000
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash provided by financing activities - 1,150,000 600,000 2,681,000
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investing Activities
Purchase of investments - - - (324,856)
Proceeds from sale of investments - - 72,948 72,948
Oil and gas exploration expenditures (488,317) (369,829) (539,407) (1,823,921)
Purchase of property and equipment (101) (5,788) - (5,889)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash used in investing activities (488,418) (375,617) (466,459) (2,081,718)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase (decrease) in cash
during the period (573,167) 592,679 102,381 277,641
Cash position - Beginning of year 850,808 258,129 155,748 -
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash position - End of year $ 277,641 $ 850,808 $ 258,129 $ 277,641
============================================================================================================================
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash
investing activities:
Purchase of investments $ - $ - $ - $ (10,000)
============================================================================================================================
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements
Page 26
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deficit
Accumulated
Additional during the Total
Common Stock Paid-in Development Stockholders'
----------------------------
Shares Amount Capital Stage Equity
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance at September 30,
1998 13,000,000 $ 130 $ 930,870 $ (166,256) $ 764,744
Common stock issued for
cash at $0.50 per share 1,200,000 12 599,988 600,000
Net loss during the year (97,165) (97,165)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance at September 30,
1999 14,200,000 142 1,530,858 (263,421) 1,267,579
Common stock issued for
cash at $0.05 per share 5,000,000 50 249,950 250,000
Common stock issued for
cash at $2.25 per share 400,000 4 899,996 900,000
Net compensation expense
from stock options 42,255 42,255
Net loss during the year (1,106,470) (1,106,470)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1,106,470) (1,106,470)
Balance at September 30,
2000 19,600,000 196 2,723,059 (1,369,891) 1,353,364
Net compensation expense
from stock options 94,315 94,315
Net loss during the year (893,774) (1,106,470)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(893,774) (1,106,470)
Balance at September 30,
2001 19,600,000 $ 196 $ 2,817,374 $ (2,263,665) $ 553,905
==================================================================================
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements
Page 27
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE 1 - NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada as Trans New
Zealand Oil Company on February 20, 1997. The Company's name was subsequently
changed to AMG Oil Ltd. on July 27, 1998. The business of the Company is the
acquisition and exploration of oil and gas interests.
The Company is a development stage enterprise and is required to identify that
these consolidated financial statements are those of a development stage
enterprise in accordance with paragraph 12 of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 7. However, the Company is primarily engaged in the exploration
of PEP 38256, its only oil and gas interest, and is not engaged in the
development of PEP 38256, as that term is defined in the oil and gas industry.
The Company has yet to determine whether PEP 38256 contains oil and gas reserves
that are economically recoverable. Further, there can be no assurance that the
Company will ever discover commercial quantities of oil and gas or obtain proved
reserves. The recoverability of the amounts capitalized for oil and gas
property is dependent upon the completion of exploration work, the discovery of
oil and gas reserves in commercial quantities and the subsequent development of
such reserves.
The Company does not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fund its
entire exploration activities and has therefore relied principally upon the
issuance of securities for financing. Additionally, the Company may reduce its
exposure in its oil and gas interest by farming out to other participants. The
Company intends to continue relying upon these measures to finance its
operations and exploration activities to the extent such measures are available
and obtainable under terms acceptable to the Company. These conditions raise
substantial doubt regarding the Company's ability to continue as a going
concern.
Refer to Note 7
NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
a) Basis of Consolidation
These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of AMG Oil
Ltd. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, AMG Oil Holdings Ltd., AMG Oil (NZ)
Limited and Trans New Zealand Oil (PNG) Limited. All significant
intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
b) Accounting Principles and Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires
management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and
liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported
amounts of revenues and expenses during the fiscal year. Actual results may
differ from those estimates.
c) Translation of Foreign Currencies
The Company's foreign operations through its subsidiaries are of an
integrated nature and accordingly, the functional currency of the Company's
foreign subsidiaries, is the United States dollar.
Page 28
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)
Revenues and expenses arising from foreign currency transactions are
translated into United States dollars at the average rate for the year.
Monetary assets and liabilities are translated into United States dollars
at the rates prevailing at the balance sheet date. Other assets and
liabilities are translated into United States dollars at the rates
prevailing on the transaction dates. Exchange gains and losses are recorded
as income or expense in the year in which they occur.
d) Financial Instruments and Financial Risk
Cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities and due
to related parties are carried at cost which approximates fair value due to
the short-term nature of these instruments. Investments are carried at
fair value.
e) Joint Operations
The Company's oil and gas activities are conducted jointly with other
companies and accordingly, these financial statements reflect only the
Company's proportionate interest in these activities.
Refer to Note 5
f) Investments
Investments are classified as available-for-sale securities and reported at
fair value, based on quoted market prices, with any unrealized losses from
temporary declines or unrealized gains reported as a component of
"Cumulative Comprehensive Adjustment" in stockholders' equity. An other-
than-temporary impairment requires the cost basis of the individual
security to be written down to the fair value with the amount of the write-
down accounted for as a realized loss and included in earnings.
Refer to Note 6
g) Property and equipment
Property and equipment consist of furniture, leasehold improvements and
office equipment and are recorded at cost and depreciated over their
estimated useful lives on a declining balance basis at annual rates of 20%
to 30%.
Refer to Note 4
Page 29
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)
h) Oil and Gas Interest
The Company follows the full cost method of accounting for oil and gas
operations whereby all costs associated with the acquisition, exploration
and development of oil and gas interests are capitalized in cost centers on
a country-by-country basis. Such costs include property acquisition costs,
geological and geophysical studies, carrying charges on non-producing
properties, costs of drilling both productive and non-productive wells, and
overhead expenses directly related to these activities.
The Company is primarily engaged in the exploration of PEP 38256, an
unproved oil and gas interest, and has yet to determine whether PEP 38256
contains oil and gas reserves that are economically recoverable. The
Company does not have any other oil and gas interests. PEP 38256 is
assessed for impairment on an annual basis by applying factors that rely on
historical experience. In general, the Company may write-off all, or a
portion of, PEP 38256 under one or more of the following conditions:
i) there are no firm plans for further drilling on the unproved interest;
ii) negative results were obtained from studies of the unproved interest;
iii) negative results were obtained from studies conducted in the vicinity
of the unproved interest; or
iv) the remaining term of the unproved interest does not allow sufficient
time for further studies or drilling.
Calculations for depletion and the ceiling test are required under the full
cost method. Although these calculations are summarized below, they may not
apply to the Company and may never apply to the Company unless proved
reserves are discovered or acquired, which may never happen.
Depletion is calculated for producing interests by using the unit-of-
production method based on proved reserves, before royalties, as determined
by management of the Company or independent consultants. Sales of oil and
gas interests are accounted for as adjustments to capitalized costs,
without any gain or loss recognized, unless such adjustments significantly
alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves of oil
and gas attributable to a cost center. Costs of abandoned oil and gas
interests are accounted for as adjustments to capitalized costs and written
off to expense.
A ceiling test is applied to each cost center by comparing the net
capitalized costs to the present value of the estimated future net revenues
from production of proved reserves discounted by 10%, net of the effects of
future costs to develop and produce the proved reserves, plus the costs of
unproved interests net of impairment, and less the effects of income taxes.
Any excess capitalized costs are written off to expense.
i) Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach
that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for
the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in
the Company's financial statements or tax returns. In estimating future tax
consequences, all expected future events other than enactment of changes in
the tax laws or rates are considered.
Page 30
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE 3 - INVESTMENTS
Investments comprise of 6,616 common shares (79,400 shares prior to a 1 for 12
share consolidation) (September 30, 2000: 6,616 shares) of Trans-Orient
Petroleum Ltd. ("Trans-Orient") acquired at a cost of $235,773 (September 30,
2000: $235,773) and having a fair value of $1,919 (September 30, 2000: $21,041)
and 600,000 common shares (September 30, 2000: 600,000) of Gondwana Energy, Ltd.
("Gondwana") acquired at a deemed cost of $10,000 and having a fair value of
$10,000 (September 30, 2000: $10,000). During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company
recorded a write-down of investments of $19,122 (2000 fiscal year: $21,835 and
1999 fiscal year: $48,551) resulting from an other-than-temporary impairment in
the fair value of Trans-Orient. The amount of the write-down was accounted for
as a realized loss and included in earnings. At September 30, 2001 and 2000,
gross unrealized holdings gains/(losses) are Nil.
The Company has the right to a further 600,000 common shares of Gondwana if a
commercial discovery is located in Petroleum Exploration Permit 38723.
Refer to Note 6
NOTE 4 - PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
Property and equipment are comprised as follows:
2001 2000
------------- -------------
Furniture and office equipment $ 4,832 $ 4,760
Leasehold improvements 1,057 1,028
------------- -------------
5,889 5,788
Accumulated depreciation (1,846) (410)
------------- -------------
$ 4,043 $ 5,378
============= =============
NOTE 5 - OIL AND GAS INTEREST
As at September 30, 2001, the Company has a 52.5% participating interest in
Petroleum Exploration Permit 38256 ("PEP 38256"), which was granted on August
25, 1997. PEP 38256 is located in New Zealand and provides for the exclusive
right to explore for petroleum for an initial term of five years, renewable for
an additional five years. One-half of the original area was relinquished on
August 25, 2000, and a further one half of the remaining area is required to be
relinquished upon renewal of PEP 38256, by August 25, 2002. The other
participants in PEP 38256 are Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. ("Indo-Pacific") (20%),
as the operator, Durum Cons. Energy Corp. ("Durum") (10%), Magellan Petroleum
Australia Limited ("Magellan") (7.5%) and Orion Exploration Limited ("Orion")
(10%).
By an agreement dated June 25, 1998, the Company acquired a right to earn up to
an 80% participating interest in PEP 38256 from Indo-Pacific and Trans-Orient
Petroleum Ltd. ("Trans-Orient"). In December 1998, the Company earned a 30%
participating interest in PEP 38256 by funding all of the costs of acquiring,
processing and interpreting 200 kilometers of seismic data.
Page 31
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE 5 - OIL AND GAS INTEREST (continued)
During the 2001 fiscal year the Company earned an additional 50% participating
interest by funding all of the costs of required seismic and drilling for two
exploration wells.
The Company entered into farm in agreements during the 2001 fiscal year with
Orion (10%), Magellan (20% of the South Area) and Durum (20% of the North Area),
resulting in the Company's interest in the permit being reduced to 50% of the
North Area of PEP 38256 and 50% of the South Area of PEP 38256. The farm out
agreements required Orion, Magellan and Durum to pay drilling and related costs
of 20%, 34% of the South area and 40% of the north area, respectively.
During the 2001 fiscal year, Magellan reduced its interest of 20% of the south
area of the permit to 12% of the south area of the permit, increasing the
Company's interest to 58% of the South Area, per certain conditions in the farm
in agreement dated October 19, 2000.
During the 2001 fiscal year, as approved by a director's resolution dated May
29, 2001 and by the Minister of Energy of New Zealand, certain participants
reorganized their equity interests in the permit to streamline permit
operations. Under the new terms, the north and south beneficial acreages were
combined into one. As a result of the reorganization, effective July 2, 2001 the
Company holds a 52.5% interest in the entire permit.
During the period a ceiling test was performed by the Company and the operator
of PEP 38256 and as a result the Company has written off capitalized costs of
$711,633 relating to the property.
The Company and the other participants have completed the work program required
for the entire five-year term.
At September 30, 2001, PEP 38256 is in good standing with respect to its work
commitments and does not require the Company to incur minimum exploration
expenditures for the 2002 fiscal year. However, the Company estimates costs of
$25,000 for exploration expenditures to be incurred in the 2002 fiscal year.
Refer to Notes 6 and 7
NOTE 6 - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Certain transactions of the Company involve publicly traded companies having
directors, officers and/or principal shareholders in common with the Company.
These companies are Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. ("Indo-Pacific"), Trans-Orient
Petroleum Ltd. ("Trans-Orient"), Durum Cons. Energy Corp. ("Durum"), Gondwana
Energy, Ltd. ("Gondwana") and Verida Internet Corp. ("Verida").
a) Investments
Investments consist of common shares of Trans-Orient and Gondwana. During
the 1998 fiscal year, the Company sold its 20% participating interest in
Petroleum Exploration Permit 38723 ("PEP 38723") to Gondwana in exchange
for 600,000 common shares of Gondwana at a deemed value of $0.01667 per
share. If a commercial discovery is located in PEP 38723 before October
30, 2002, an additional 600,000 common shares of Gondwana will be issued to
the Company.
Refer to Note 3
Page 32
================================================================================
AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
================================================================================
For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE 6 - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (continued)
b) Oil and Gas Interest
During the 1998 fiscal year, Indo-Pacific granted the Company a right to
earn up to an 80% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Permit
38256 ("PEP 38256").
During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company entered into a farm in agreement
with Durum, whereby Durum earned a 20% interest in the North Area of the
permit for paying 40% of the costs of drilling and the plugging and
abandoning or the setting of casing of the Arcadia-1 well and thereafter
paying 20% of all costs of the joint operations ongoing in the North Area.
During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company entered an agreement with Indo-
Pacific, Durum and other joint venture partners to amend its interest in
PEP 38256.
Refer to Note 5
c) Private Placements and Stock Options
During the 2000 fiscal year, the Company issued 5,000,000 shares at a price
of $0.05 per share to Trans-Orient, pursuant to a private placement
agreement for total proceeds of $250,000. Additionally, each share
purchased included one warrant to purchase an additional share of common
stock exercisable at a price of $1.00 per share expiring on April 10, 2005.
During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company granted stock options to purchase
15,000 shares, exercisable at a price of $2.00 per share to a director of
the Company. As these stock options were not compensatory in nature, the
calculations of compensation cost under APB 25 and SFAS 123 do not apply.
During the 2001 fiscal year, options to purchase 200,000 shares and 600,000
shares at a price of $0.50 per share, held by Source Rock and Reservoir
Rock, respectively, expired, as they were not exercised.
Refer to Note 8
d) Consulting Agreements
During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company paid $7,879 (2000 fiscal year:
$7,175 and 1999 fiscal year: $4,483) in consulting fees to directors of the
Company. During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company incurred $ 9,968 (2000
fiscal year: $51,868 and 1999 fiscal period: $18,288) in consulting fees
and for website services to a Company having directors, officers and/or
principal shareholders in common with the Company.
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AMG OIL LTD. (Formerly Trans New Zealand Oil Company)
(A Development Stage Enterprise)
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
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For the Years Ended September 30, 2001, 2000 and 1999
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NOTE 6 - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (continued)
e) Due to Related Parties
At September 30, 2001 the Company owed Indo-Pacific $6,381 (September 30,
2000: $23,404). This amount is non-interest bearing and has no fixed terms
of repayment.
During the 2001 fiscal year the Company incurred $58,257 (2000 fiscal year:
$56,100 and 1999 fiscal year: Nil) of mainly general and administrative
costs through DLJ Management Corp., ("DLJ"), a wholly owned subsidiary of
Trans-Orient. This amount represents costs incurred by DLJ on behalf of the
Company. At September 30, 2001 the Company owes DLJ $3,519 (September 30,
2000: Nil).
NOTE 7 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Company participates in oil and gas exploration and development activities
as a joint venturer with related parties and is contractually committed under
agreements to complete certain exploration programs. The Company's management
estimates that the total commitments under various agreements are approximately
$25,000.
The Company is not aware of any events of noncompliance in its operations with
any environmental laws or regulations nor of any potentially material
contingencies related to environmental issues. However, the Company cannot
predict whether any new or amended environmental laws or regulations introduced
in the future will have a material adverse effect on the future business of the
Company.
NOTE 8 - COMMON STOCK
a) Authorized and Issued Share Capital
The authorized share capital of the Company is 100,000,000 shares of common
stock with a par value of $0.00001 per share. At September 30, 2001, there
were 19,600,000 shares (September 30, 2000: 19,600,000 shares) issued and
outstanding.
b) Share Issuances
During the 2000 fiscal year, the Company issued 5,400,000 shares pursuant
to private placements for total cash proceeds of $1,150,000.
Refer to Note 6
c) Stock Options
The Company applies Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25: Accounting
for Stock Issued to Employees ("APB 25") to account for all compensatory
stock options granted. Further, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 123: Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation ("SFAS 123") requires
additional disclosure to reflect the results of the Company had it elected
to follow SFAS 123.
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