The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 RELATIONSHIP WITH AND OWNERSHIP OF VIKING ENERGY GROUP, INC.
On December 23, 2020 Camber Energy, Inc. (“Camber”, the “Company”) acquired a 51% interest in Viking Energy Group, Inc. (“Viking”). On January 8, 2021 and on July 29, 2021 the Company acquired additional interests in Viking resulting in the Company owning approximately 60.9% of the outstanding common shares of Viking at December 31, 2022. The Company accounts for its investment in Viking under the equity method of accounting because the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of Viking, but not control. The December 2020, January 2021 and July 2021 transactions and a merger agreement signed between Camber and Viking in February 2021 are described further below.
December 23, 2020 Transaction
On December 23, 2020, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Viking, pursuant to which Camber acquired 26,274,510 shares (“Camber’s Investment”) of Viking common stock (“Camber’s Viking Shares”), which constituted 51% of the total outstanding common stock of Viking, in consideration of (i) Camber’s payment of $10,900,000 to Viking (the “Cash Purchase Price”), and (ii) cancellation of $9,200,000 in promissory notes issued by Viking to Camber (“Camber’s Viking Notes”). Pursuant to the purchase agreement, Viking was obligated to issue additional shares of Viking common stock to Camber, if necessary, to ensure Camber owned at least 51% of the common stock of Viking through July 1, 2022.
In connection with Camber’s Investment, the Company and Viking terminated their previous merger agreement, dated August 31, 2020, as amended, and the Company assigned its membership interests in the Company’s unconsolidated subsidiary, Elysium Energy Holdings, LLC (“Elysium”), to Viking. Also in connection with Camber’s Investment, effective December 23, 2020, the Company (i) borrowed $12,000,000 from an institutional investor; (ii) issued the investor a promissory note in the principal amount of $12,000,000, accruing interest at the rate of 10% per annum and maturing December 11, 2022 (the “Camber Investor Note”); (iii) granted the Investor a first-priority security interest in Camber’s Viking Shares and Camber’s other assets pursuant to a pledge agreement and a general security agreement, respectively; and (iv) entered into an amendment to the Company’s $6,000,000 promissory note previously issued to the investor dated December 11, 2020 (the “Additional Camber Investor Note”), amending the acceleration provision of the note to provide that the note repayment obligations would not accelerate if the Company increased its authorized capital stock by March 11, 2021 (and the Company increased its authorized capital stock in February 2021 as required). In order to close Camber’s Investment, effective December 23, 2020, Viking entered into a Guaranty Agreement, guaranteeing repayment of the Camber Investor Note and the Additional Camber Investor Note.
On December 23, 2020, the Camber Investor Note was funded, and the Company and Viking closed Camber’s Investment, with the Company paying the Cash Purchase Price to Viking and cancelling Camber’s Viking Notes, as additional consideration. In exchange, Viking issued 26,274,510 shares of its common stock to Camber, representing 51% of Viking’s total outstanding common shares, the Viking Shares. At the closing, James Doris and Frank Barker, Jr., Viking’s CEO and CFO, respectively, at the time, were appointed the CEO and CFO of Camber, and Mr. Doris was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Camber.
Acquisition of Additional Viking Shares
On January 8, 2021, the Company entered into another purchase agreement with Viking pursuant to which the Company agreed to acquire an additional 16,153,846 shares of Viking common stock (the “Shares”) in consideration of (i) the Company issuing 1,890 shares of Camber’s Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock to EMC Capital Partners, LLC (“EMC”), one of the Viking’s lenders which held a secured promissory note issued by Viking to EMC in the original principal amount of $20,869,218 in connection with the purchase of oil and gas assets on or about February 3, 2020 (the “EMC Note”); and (ii) EMC considering the EMC Note paid in full and cancelled pursuant to the Cancellation Agreement described below.
Simultaneously, on January 8, 2021, Viking entered into a Cancellation Agreement with EMC (the “Cancellation Agreement”) pursuant to which Viking agreed to pay $325,000 to EMC, and EMC agreed to cancel and terminate in the EMC Note and all other liabilities, claims, amounts owing and other obligations under the Note. At the same time, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with EMC pursuant to which (i) the Company agreed to issue 1,890 shares of Camber’s Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock to EMC, and (ii) EMC agreed to enter into the Cancellation Agreement with Viking to cancel the EMC Note.
February 2021 Merger Agreement with Viking
On February 15, 2021, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Viking. The Merger Agreement provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary of Camber (“Merger Sub”) would merge with and into Viking (the “Merger”), with Viking surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), each share: (i) of common stock, of Viking (the “Viking Common Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, other than shares owned by Camber, Viking and Merger Sub, will be converted into the right to receive one share of common stock of the Company; and (ii) of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock of Viking (the “Viking Preferred Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will be converted into the right to receive one share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of the Company (the “Camber Series A Preferred Stock”). Each share of Camber Series A Preferred Stock will convert into 890 shares of common stock of Camber (subject to a beneficial ownership limitation preventing conversion into Camber common stock if the holder would be deemed to beneficially own more than 9.99% of the Company’s common stock), will be treated equally with the Company’s common stock with respect to dividends and liquidation, and will only have voting rights with respect to voting: (a) on a proposal to increase or reduce the Company’s share capital; (b) on a resolution to approve the terms of a buy-back agreement; (c) on a proposal to wind up Camber; (d) on a proposal for the disposal of all or substantially all of Camber’s property, business and undertaking; (f) during the winding-up of Camber; and/or (g) with respect to a proposed merger or consolidation in which Camber is a party or a subsidiary of Camber is a party. Holders of Viking Common Stock and Viking Preferred Stock will have any fractional shares of Camber common stock or preferred stock after the Merger rounded up to the nearest whole share.
At the Effective Time, each outstanding Viking equity award, will be converted into the right to receive the merger consideration in respect of each share of Viking Common Stock underlying such equity award and, in the case of Viking stock options, be converted into vested Camber stock options based on the merger exchange ratio calculated as provided above (the “Exchange Ratio”).
The Merger Agreement provides, among other things, that effective as of the Effective Time, James A. Doris, the current Chief Executive Officer of both the Company and Viking, shall continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer following the Effective Time. The Merger Agreement provides that, as of the Effective Time, the Combined Company will have its headquarters in Houston, Texas.
The Merger Agreement also provides that, during the period from the date of the Merger Agreement until the Effective Time, each of Viking and the Company will be subject to certain restrictions on its ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties, to provide non-public information to third parties and to engage in discussions with third parties regarding alternative acquisition proposals, subject to customary exceptions. Viking is required to hold a meeting of its stockholders to vote upon the adoption of the Merger Agreement and, subject to certain exceptions, to recommend that its stockholders vote to adopt the Merger Agreement. The Company is required to hold a meeting of its stockholders to approve the issuance of Viking Common Stock and Viking Preferred Stock in connection with the Merger (the “Share Issuance”).
The completion of the Merger is subject to customary conditions, including (i) adoption of the Merger Agreement by the Company’s stockholders and approval of the Share Issuance by the Company’s stockholders, (ii) receipt of required regulatory approvals, (iii) effectiveness of a registration statement on Form S-4 for the Company’s common stock to be issued in the Merger (the “Form S-4”), and (iv) the absence of any law, order, injunction, decree or other legal restraint preventing the completion of the Merger or making the completion of the Merger illegal. Each party’s obligation to complete the Merger is also subject to certain additional customary conditions, including (i) subject to certain exceptions, the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the other party, (ii) subject to certain exceptions, performance by the other party of its obligations under the Merger Agreement and (iii) the absence of any material adverse effect on the other party, as defined in the Merger Agreement.
Additional closing conditions to the Merger include that in the event the NYSE American determines that the Merger constitutes, or will constitute, a “back-door listing”/”reverse merger”, the Company (and its common stock) is required to qualify for initial listing on the NYSE American, pursuant to the applicable guidance and requirements of the NYSE as of the Effective Time.
The Merger Agreement can be terminated (i) at any time with the mutual consent of the parties; (ii) by either the Company or Viking if any governmental consent or approval required for closing is not obtained, or any governmental entity issues a final non-appealable order or similar decree preventing the Merger; (iii) by either Company or Viking if the Merger shall not have been consummated on or before August 1, 2021; (iv) by the Company or Viking, upon the breach by the other of a term of the Merger, which is not cured within 30 days of the date of written notice thereof by the other; (v) by Company or Viking is unable to obtain the affirmative vote of its stockholders for approval of the Merger; (vi) by Viking if Company is unable to obtain the affirmative vote of its stockholders required pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement; and (vii) by Company or Viking if there is a willful breach of the Merger Agreement by the other party thereto.
The Merger Agreement contains customary indemnification obligations of the parties and representations and warranties.
As of March 17, 2023, neither the Company nor Viking had advised of its intention to terminate the Merger Agreement. However, given the lapse of time since the date of the Merger Agreement, the Company believes it is reasonably likely that certain terms would need to be modified by the parties in order for the parties to proceed with the Merger.
On or about March 14, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors resolved to enter into negotiations with Viking to modify certain terms of the Merger and to re-engage a valuation firm in connection with securing a fairness opinion or any other valuation report, analyses or presentations that might be necessary or appropriate regarding the Merger. As of March 17, 2023, the Company had not determined the revised terms upon which it would be prepared to proceed with the Merger. Any modifications to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement would be subject to the written agreement of both the Company and Viking, and there is no assurance that the Company and Viking will agree on any such proposed modifications. Moreover, the satisfaction of conditions, whether existing or new, may be outside of the Company’s control.
July 2021 Transaction
On July 29, 2021, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Viking to acquire an additional 27,500,000 shares of Viking common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $11,000,000. The proceeds from the transaction were used by Viking to (i) acquire an approximate 60.5% interest Simson-Maxwell, Ltd, a Canadian company engaged in the manufacture and supply of industrial engines, power generation products, services and custom energy solutions; (ii) acquire a license of a patented carbon-capture system for exclusive use in Canada and for a specified number of locations in the United States; and (iii) for general working capital purposes.
Accounting for the Viking Investment
As noted above, in accordance with the terms of the Viking Investment, Mr. James A. Doris became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, resulting in Mr. Doris being the President and Chief Executive Officer of each of the Company and Viking. Mr. Doris does not own any shares of the Company but he owns or controls shares of Series C Preferred Stock of Viking with significant voting rights. Such voting rights were suspended until July 1, 2022 or if Mr. Doris were no longer the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The Company has determined that it has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operations and policies of Viking, but not control of Viking given the voting rights associated with Mr. Doris’ Series C Preferred Stock. Consequently, the Company accounts for the Viking Investment under the equity method.
NOTE 2 – ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS OF THE COMPANY
Camber’s aim is to become a growth-oriented diversified energy company. The Company owns minority, non-operated working interests in certain oil & gas wells in Texas and/or Louisiana, and through its investment in Viking, the organization provides custom energy & power solutions to commercial and industrial clients in North America. Viking also holds an exclusive license in Canada to a patented carbon-capture system, and has a majority interest in: (i) an entity with intellectual property rights to a fully developed, patented, proprietary Medical & Bio-Hazard Waste Treatment system using Ozone Technology; and (ii) entities with the intellectual property rights to fully developed, patent pending, proprietary Electric Transmission and Distribution Open Conductor Detection Systems.
NOTE 3 – LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN CONSIDERATIONS
The Company’s consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company generated a net loss of $107,741,965 for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to a net loss of $253,831,624 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The 2022 loss was comprised of, among other things, certain non-cash items with a total net impact of $99,122,826 including: (i) a loss on derivative liability of $89,523,091 (ii) loss in earnings of unconsolidated entity of $9,461,874 (iii) stock-based compensation of $123,754; and (iv) depreciation, depletion and accretion of $14,107.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company has a stockholders’ deficit of $17,123,633 and total long-term debt of $33,927,760, net of debt discount.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company has a working capital deficiency of approximately $16.6 million. The largest components of current liabilities creating this working capital deficiency are a derivative liability of $7.6 million and a warrant liability of $5.9 million.
Management believes it will be able to continue to leverage the expertise and relationships of its operational and technical teams to enhance existing assets and identify new development and acquisition opportunities in order to improve the Company’s financial position. The Company may have the ability, if it can raise additional capital, to acquire new assets in a separate division from existing subsidiaries.
Nonetheless, recent oil and gas price volatility as a result of geopolitical conditions and the global COVID-19 pandemic have already had and may continue to have a negative impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations. Negative impacts could include but are not limited to: The Company’s ability to sell our oil and gas production, reduction in the selling price of the Company’s oil and gas, failure of a counterparty to make required hedge payments, possible disruption of production as a result of worker illness or mandated production shutdowns, the Company’s ability to maintain compliance with loan covenants and/or refinance existing indebtedness, and access to new capital and financing.
These conditions raise substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to utilize the resources in place to generate future profitable operations, to develop additional acquisition opportunities, and to obtain the necessary financing to meet its obligations and repay its liabilities arising from business operations when they come due. Management believes the Company will be able to continue to develop new opportunities and will be able to obtain additional funds through debt and / or equity financings to facilitate its development strategy; however, there is no assurance of additional funding being available. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the recorded assets or liabilities that might be necessary should the Company have to curtail operations or be unable to continue in existence.
The Company entered into a Loan Agreement on December 24, 2021 with the investor named therein (the “Investor”) pursuant to which the Investor agreed to loan the Company $25,000,000 subject to, among other things, the Company having increased its authorized capital of common shares on or before December 31, 2021, which increase occurred on December 30, 2021.
On January 3, 2022 the Company received $25,000,000 (the “Loan Proceeds”) from the Investor, and in connection therewith executed and delivered the following in favor of the Investor: (i) a promissory note dated on or about December 31, 2021 in the principal amount of $26,315,789, representing a 5% original issue discount (the “Investor Note”), accruing interest at a rate equal to the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate, payable at maturity, and maturing January 1, 2027; (ii) a Security Agreement-Pledge (the “Pledge Agreement”) granting the Investor a first-priority security interest in Camber’s common shares of Viking Energy Group, Inc.; and (iii) a general security agreement (the “Security Agreement”) granting the Investor a first-priority security interest in Camber’s other assets. The Investor may convert amounts owing under the Investor Note into shares of common stock of Camber at a fixed price of $1.50 per share, subject to beneficial ownership limitations. The obligations under the Investor Note are supported by a Guaranty from Viking Energy Group, Inc.
The majority of the Loan Proceeds of the loan were used to: (i) redeem shares of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock of the Company not owned by the Investor or its affiliates; and (ii) pay in full the secured loan disclosed by the Company in a Current Report Filed on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 17, 2021.
NOTE 4 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for consolidated financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-K as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, these consolidated financial statements include all of the disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete consolidated financial statements.
Basis of Consolidation
The financial statements presented herein reflect the consolidated financial results of the Company, its wholly owned subsidiaries, Camber Permian LLC, a Texas limited liability company, CE Operating, LLC, an Oklahoma limited liability company, C E Energy LLC, a Texas limited liability company, which was assigned to PetroGlobe in July 2020 as discussed below under “Note 11 – Commitments and Contingencies” – “Legal Proceedings. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. The Company’s investment in Viking is accounted for under the equity method.
Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and timing of revenues and expenses, the reported amounts and classification of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Significant areas requiring the use of management estimates relate to the determination of fair value of the Company’s Series C Preferred stock, impairment of long-lived assets, stock-based compensation, asset retirement obligations, and the determination of expected tax rates for future income tax recoveries.
The estimates of proved, probable and possible oil and gas reserves are used as significant inputs in determining the depletion of oil and gas properties and the impairment of proved and unproved oil and gas properties. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in the estimation of quantities of proved, probable and possible reserves and in the projection of future rates of production and the timing of development expenditures. Similarly, evaluations for impairment of proved and unproved oil and gas properties are subject to numerous uncertainties including, among others, estimates of future recoverable reserves and commodity price outlooks. Actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions utilized.
Financial Instruments
Accounting Standards Codification, “ASC” Topic 820-10, “Fair Value Measurement” requires disclosure of the fair value of financial instruments held by the Company. ASC Topic 820-10, defines fair value, and establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosures of fair value measurement that enhances disclosure requirements for fair value measurement. The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for deposits, accrued expenses and other current liabilities, accounts payable, derivative liabilities, amount due to director, and convertible notes each qualify as financial instruments and are a reasonable estimate of their fair values because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and their current market rate of interest. The three levels of valuation hierarchy are defined as follows:
| · | Level 1: inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets. |
| · | Level 2: inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument. |
| · | Level 3: inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs to measure fair value of assets and liabilities for which there is little, if any market activity at the measurement date, using reasonable inputs and assumptions based upon the best information at the time, to the extent that inputs are available without undue cost and effort. |
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the significant inputs to the Company’s derivative liability relative to the Series C Preferred Stock were Level 3 inputs.
Assets and liabilities measured at fair value as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 are classified below based on the three fair value hierarchy described above:
Description | | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) | | | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | | | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | | | Total Gains (Losses) | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Financial liabilities: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Derivative liability- Series C Preferred Stock | | $ | | | | $ | | | | $ | 7,592,744 | | | $ | (89,523,091 | ) |
| | $ | - | | | $ | - | | | $ | 7,592,744 | | | $ | (89,523,091 | ) |
Assets and liabilities measured at fair value as of December 31, 2021 and losses for the year ended December 31, 2021 are classified below based on the three fair value hierarchy described above:
Description | | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) | | | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | | | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | | | Total Gains (Losses) | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Financial liabilities: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Derivative liability - Series C preferred Stock | | $ | | | | $ | | | | $ | 93,108,568 | | | $ | (152,831,568 | ) |
| | $ | - | | | $ | - | | | $ | 93,108,568 | | | $ | (152,831,568 | ) |
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in banks and financial instruments which mature within three months of the date of purchase. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents in bank deposit accounts, which at times may exceed federally insured limits of $250,000. At December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company’s cash in excess of the federally insured limit was $916,596 and $5,604,382, respectively. Historically, the Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts. The Company had no cash equivalents at December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable, net, include amounts due for oil and gas revenues from prior month production. The allowance for doubtful accounts is the Company’s best estimate of the probable amount of credit losses in the Company’s existing accounts receivable. At December 31, 2022 and 2021 there were no allowances for doubtful accounts.
Investment in Unconsolidated Entities
The Company accounts for its investment in unconsolidated entities under the equity method of accounting when it does not own a controlling financial interest and it has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the entity. The Company accounts for its investments in Viking under the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and the investment is reduced for dividends or distributions it receives and increased or decreased for its proportionate share of earnings or losses of the entity.
We assess the potential for other-than-temporary impairment of our equity method investments when impairment indicators are identified. We consider all available information, including the recoverability of the investment, the earnings and near-term prospects of the affiliate, factors related to the industry, conditions of the affiliate, and our ability, if any, to influence the management of the affiliate. We assess fair value based on valuation methodologies, as appropriate, including the present value of estimated future cash flows, estimates of sales proceeds, and external appraisals. If an investment is considered to be impaired and the decline in value is other than temporary, we record an appropriate write-down.
Limitation on Capitalized Costs
Under the full-cost method of accounting, we are required, at the end of each reporting date, to perform a test to determine the limit on the book value of our oil and natural gas properties (the “Ceiling” test). If the capitalized costs of our oil and natural gas properties, net of accumulated amortization and related deferred income taxes, exceed the Ceiling, this excess or impairment is charged to expense. The expense may not be reversed in future periods, even though higher oil and natural gas prices may subsequently increase the Ceiling. The Ceiling is defined as the sum of:
| (a) | the present value, discounted at 10 percent, and assuming continuation of existing economic conditions, of 1) estimated future gross revenues from proved reserves, which is computed using oil and natural gas prices determined as the unweighted arithmetic average of the first-day-of-the-month price for each month within the 12-month hedging arrangements pursuant to SAB 103, less 2) estimated future expenditures (based on current costs) to be incurred in developing and producing the proved reserves, plus |
| | |
| (b) | the cost of properties not being amortized; plus |
| | |
| (c) | the lower of cost or estimated fair value of unproven properties included in the costs being amortized, net of |
| | |
| (d) | the related tax effects related to the difference between the book and tax basis of our oil and natural gas properties. |
No impairment expense was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Oil and Gas Properties
The Company uses the full cost method of accounting for its investment in oil and natural gas properties. Under this method of accounting, all costs associated with acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas reserves, including directly related overhead costs, are capitalized. General and administrative costs related to production and general overhead are expensed as incurred.
All capitalized costs of oil and gas properties, including the estimated future costs to develop proved reserves, are amortized on the unit of production method using estimates of proved reserves. Disposition of oil and gas properties are accounted for as a reduction of capitalized costs, with no gain or loss recognized unless such adjustment would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves of oil and gas, in which case the gain or loss is recognized in operations. Unproved properties and major development projects are not amortized until proved reserves associated with the projects can be determined or until impairment occurs. If the results of an assessment indicate that the properties are impaired, the amount of the impairment is included in loss from operations before income taxes
Oil and Gas Reserves
Reserve engineering is a subjective process that is dependent upon the quality of available data and the interpretation thereof, including evaluations and extrapolations of well flow rates and reservoir pressure. Estimates by different engineers often vary sometimes significantly. In addition, physical factors such as the results of drilling, testing and production subsequent to the date of an estimate, as well as economic factors such as changes in product prices, may justify revision of such estimates. Because proved reserves are required to be estimated using recent prices of the evaluation, estimated reserve quantities can be significantly impacted by changes in product prices.
Income (loss) per Share
Basic and diluted income (loss) per share calculations are calculated on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per share give effect to all dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method and convertible preferred stock using the if-converted method. In computing diluted earnings per share, the average stock price for the period is used to determine the number of shares assumed to be purchased from the exercise price of the options and warrants. Purchases of treasury stock reduce the outstanding shares commencing on the date that the stock is purchased. Common stock equivalents are excluded from the calculation when a loss is incurred as their effect would be anti-dilutive.
Revenue Recognition
Sales of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) are included in revenue when production is sold to a customer in fulfillment of performance obligations under the terms of agreed contracts. Performance obligations primarily comprise delivery of oil, gas, or NGLs at a delivery point, as negotiated within each contract. Each barrel of oil, million BTU (MMBtu) of natural gas, or other unit of measure is separately identifiable and represents a distinct performance obligation to which the transaction price is allocated. Performance obligations are satisfied at a point in time once control of the product has been transferred to the customer. The Company considers a variety of facts and circumstances in assessing the point of control transfer, including but not limited to: whether the purchaser can direct the use of the hydrocarbons, the transfer of significant risks and rewards, the Company’s right to payment, and transfer of legal title. In each case, the time between delivery and when payments are due is not significant.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements. Under this method, the Company determines deferred tax assets and liabilities on the basis of the differences between the consolidated financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities by using estimated tax rates for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse.
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities to the extent that we believe that these assets and/or liabilities are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If we determine that the Company would be able to realize our deferred tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, we would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes.
In assessing the realizability of its deferred tax assets, management evaluated whether it is more likely than not that some portion, or all of its deferred tax assets, will be realized. The realization of its deferred tax assets relates directly to the Company’s ability to generate taxable income. The valuation allowance is then adjusted accordingly.
The Company recognizes the benefits, if any, of uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in tax returns in the provision for income taxes only for those positions that are more likely than not to be realized. The Company follows a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company considers many factors when evaluating and estimating tax positions and tax benefits, which may require periodic adjustments and which may not accurately forecast actual outcomes. The Company’s policy is to include interest and penalties associated with income tax obligations in income tax expense.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company may issue stock options to employees and stock options or warrants to non-employees in non-capital raising transactions for services and for financing costs. The cost of stock options and warrants issued to employees and non-employees is measured on the grant date based on the fair value. The fair value is determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The resulting amount is charged to expense on the straight-line basis over the period in which the Company expects to receive the benefit, which is generally the vesting period.
The fair value of stock options and warrants is determined at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Black-Scholes option model requires management to make various estimates and assumptions, including expected term, expected volatility, risk-free rate, and dividend yield. The expected term represents the period of time that stock-based compensation awards granted are expected to be outstanding and is estimated based on considerations including the vesting period, contractual term and anticipated employee exercise patterns. Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s stock. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in relation to the contractual life of stock-based compensation instrument. The dividend yield assumption is based on historical patterns and future expectations for the Company dividends.
Derivative Liabilities
The Series C Preferred Stock and Series G Preferred Stock contain provisions that could result in modification of the conversion price that is based on a variable that is not an input to the fair value of a “fixed-for-fixed” option as defined under FASB ASC Topic No. 815 - 40, “Derivatives and Hedging”.
The Series C Preferred Stock are convertible into shares of common stock at a fixed $3.25 conversion rate. Upon conversion, the holder is entitled to dividends as if the shares had been held to maturity, which is referred to as the Conversion Premium. The Conversion Premium may be paid in shares or cash, at the option of the Company. If the Conversion Premium is paid in cash, the amount is fixed and not subject to adjustment. If the Conversion Premium is paid in shares, the conversion ratio is based on a volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) calculation based on the lowest stock price over the Measurement Period. The Measurement Period is 30 trading days (or 60 trading days if there is a Triggering Event) prior to the conversion date and 30 trading days (or 60 trading days if there is a Triggering Event) after the conversion date. The VWAP calculation is subject to adjustment if there is a Triggering Event and the Measurement Period is subject to adjustment in the event that the Company is in default of one or more Equity Conditions provided in the COD. For example, the Measurement Period may be extended one day for every day the Company is not in compliance with one or more of the Equity Conditions. Trigger events are described in the designation of the Series C Preferred Stock, but include items which would typically be events of default under a debt security, including filing of reports late with the SEC.
At the conversion date, the number of shares due for the Conversion Premium is estimated based on the previous 30-day VWAP (or 60 trading days if there is a Triggering Event). If the Company does not elect to pay the Conversion Premium in cash, the Company will issue all shares due for the conversion and the estimated shares due for the conversion premium. If the VWAP calculation for the portion of the Measurement Period following the date of conversion is lower than the VWAP for the portion of the Measurement Period prior to the date of conversion, the holder will be issued additional common shares, referred to as True-Up shares. If the VWAP calculation is higher, no True-Up shares are issued.
The Company has determined that the Series C Preferred Stock contains an embedded derivative liability relating to the Conversion Premium and, upon conversion, a derivative liability for the potential obligation to issue True-Up Shares relating to Series C shares that have been converted and the Measurement Period has not expired, if applicable.
The fair value of the derivative liability relating to the Conversion Premium for any outstanding Series C Shares is equal to the cash required to settle the Conversion Premium. The fair value of the potential True-Up share obligation has been estimated using a binomial pricing mode and the lesser of the conversion price or the lowest closing price of the Company’s stock subsequent to the conversion date, and the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock.
The Series G Convertible Preferred stock is redeemable or convertible into a variable number of common shares, at the option of the Company. The conversion rate is determined at the time of conversion using a VWAP calculation similar to the Series C Stock described above. As a result, the Series G Preferred Stock contains an embedded derivative that is required to be recorded at fair value. The Company has determined that the fair value of the embedded derivative as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is negligible due to the restrictions on conversion. The embedded derivative associated with the Series G Stock is marked to market at each reporting date with changes in fair value recorded in income.
Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations
Asset retirement obligations (“ARO”) primarily represent the estimated present value of the amount the Company will incur to plug, abandon and remediate its producing properties at the projected end of their productive lives, in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The Company determined its ARO by calculating the present value of estimated cash flows related to the obligation. The retirement obligation is recorded as a liability at its estimated present value as of the obligation’s inception, with an offsetting increase to proved properties.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
There were no recently adopted accounting standards that management expects to have a material impact on the Company.
Subsequent events
The Company has evaluated all subsequent events from December 31, 2022 through the date of filing of this report.
NOTE 5 – OIL AND GAS PROPERTIES
The following table summarizes the Company’s oil and gas activities by classification and geographical cost center for the year ended December 31, 2022. The allocation between the classifications is based on the relationships summarized in the Company’s annual analysis of reserves as of December 31, 2022. The Adjustments column reflects depletion and all other increases or decreases that occurred during the year ended December 31, 2022:
| | December 31, 2021 | | | Depletion and Adjustments | | | December 31, 2022 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Proved developed producing oil and gas properties | | | | | | | | | |
United States cost center | | $ | 78,433,316 | | | $ | - | | | $ | 78,433,316 | |
Accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization | | | (78,364,432 | ) | | | (5,617 | ) | | | (78,370,049 | ) |
Proved developed producing oil and gas properties, net | | $ | 68,884 | | | $ | (5,617 | ) | | $ | 63,267 | |
Camber uses the full cost method of accounting for oil and natural gas producing activities. Costs to acquire mineral interests in oil and natural gas properties, to drill and equip exploratory wells used to find proved reserves, and to drill and equip development wells including directly related overhead costs and related asset retirement costs are capitalized.
Under this method, all costs, including internal costs directly related to acquisition, exploration and development activities are capitalized as oil and natural gas property costs on a country-by-country basis. Costs not subject to amortization consist of unproved properties that are evaluated on a property-by-property basis. Amortization of these unproved property costs begins when the properties become proved or their values become impaired. Camber assesses overall values of unproved properties, if any, on at least an annual basis or when there has been an indication that impairment in value may have occurred. Impairment of unproved properties is assessed based on management’s intention with regard to future development of individually significant properties and the ability of Camber to obtain funds to finance its programs. If the results of an assessment indicate that the properties are impaired, the amount of the impairment is added to the capitalized costs to be amortized.
Sales of oil and natural gas properties are accounted for as adjustments to the net full cost pool with no gain or loss recognized, unless the adjustment would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves. If it is determined that the relationship is significantly altered, the corresponding gain or loss will be recognized in the statements of operations.
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company did not record any impairments.
NOTE 6 – INVESTMENT IN UNCONSOLIDATED ENTITIES
The Company accounts for its investment in Viking under the equity method. The Company owns approximately 60.9% of the outstanding common shares of Viking at December 31, 2022.
Table below shows the changes in the investments in unconsolidated entities for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Carrying amount – beginning | | $ | 36,299,592 | | | $ | 15,830,538 | |
Investment in Viking | | | - | | | | 29,900,000 | |
Proportionate share of (losses) | | | (9,461,874 | ) | | | (9,430,946 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Carrying amount – ending | | $ | 26,837,718 | | | $ | 36,299,592 | |
NOTE 7 – ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
The following table presents the reconciliation of the beginning and ending aggregate carrying amounts of long-term legal obligations associated with the future retirement of oil and natural gas properties for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Carrying amount at beginning of year | | $ | 53,055 | | | $ | 46,748 | |
Accretion | | | 8,490 | | | | 6,307 | |
Carrying amount at end of year | | $ | 61,545 | | | $ | 53,055 | |
NOTE 8 – LONG TERM DEBT
Long-term debt obligations of Camber Energy, Inc.: | | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
| | | | | | |
Note payable to Discover Growth Fund, pursuant to a Secured Promissory Note dated December 24, 2021 and funded on January 3, 2022 in the original amount of $26,315,789 with interest and principal due at maturity on January 1, 2027. The note bears interest at a rate equal to the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate and is secured by lien on substantially all of the Company’s assets. | | $ | 26,315,789 | | | $ | - | |
| | | | | | | | |
Note payable to Discover Growth Fund, pursuant to a 10.0% Secured Promissory Note dated December 11, 2020 in the original amount of $6,000,000 with interest and principal due at maturity on January 1, 2027. The Note is secured by lien on substantially all of the Company’s assets. | | | 6,000,000 | | | | 6,000,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Note payable to Discover Growth Fund, pursuant to a 10.0% Secured Promissory Note dated December 22, 2020 in the original amount of $12,000,000 with interest and principal due at maturity on January 1, 2027. The Note is secured by first lien on the Company’s ownership in Viking. | | | 12,000,000 | | | | 12,000,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Note payable to Discover Growth Fund, LLC pursuant to a 10.0% Secured Promissory Note dated April 23, 2021 in the original amount of $2,500,000 with interest and principal due at maturity on January 1, 2027. The Note is secured by lien on substantially all of the Company’s assets. | | | 2,500,000 | | | | 2,500,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Note payable to Discover Growth Fund, LLC pursuant to a 10.0% Secured Promissory Note dated December 9, 2021 in the original amount of $1,000,000 with interest and principal due at maturity on March 8, 2022. The Note is secured by lien on substantially all of the Company’s assets. The note was paid in full on January 4, 2022. | | | - | | | | 1,000,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Principal value of debt | | | 46,815,789 | | | | 21,500,000 | |
Less: unamortized debt discount | | | (12,888,029 | ) | | | - | |
Total long-term debt, net | | | 33,927,760 | | | | 21,500,000 | |
Less current portion | | | - | | | | | |
| | $ | 33,927,760 | | | $ | 21,500,000 | |
The Company entered into a Loan Agreement on December 24, 2021 with Discover Growth Fund, LLC (“Discover”) pursuant to which the agreed to loan the Company $25,000,000 subject to, among other things, the Company having increased its authorized capital of common shares on or before December 31, 2021, which increase occurred on December 30, 2021.
On January 3, 2022 the Company received $25,000,000 representing a 5% original issue discount of the loan face value of $26,315,790. The Company granted the lender a first-priority security interest in Camber’s common shares of Viking and a first-priority security interest in Camber’s other assets. The notes are convertible into shares of common stock of Camber at a fixed price of $1.50 per share, subject to beneficial ownership limitations. The obligations under the Investor Note are supported by a Guaranty from Viking.
As an incentive to enter into the Note agreement, Camber granted the lender warrants to purchase 500,000 shares of Camber common stock at an exercise price of $500.00 and 500,000 warrants with an exercise price of $1,000. The warrants expire on December 31, 2026. The Company allocated the net proceeds received of $500,000 to the notes and the warrants based on relative fair value and recorded the loan proceeds allocated to the warrants as an additional debt discount of $14,763,393. The fair value of the warrants was determined based on a Black-Scholes model. Debt discounts on the Note are amortized over the life of the Note using the interest method.
The majority of the Loan Proceeds of the loan were used to: (i) redeem shares of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock of the Company not owned by the Investor or its affiliates; and (ii) pay in full the secured loan disclosed by the Company in a Current Report Filed on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 17, 2021.
Principal maturities of long-term debt for the next five years and thereafter are as follows:
Year ended December 31, | | | |
| | | |
2023 | | $ | - | |
2024 | | | - | |
2025 | | | - | |
2026 | | | - | |
2027 | | | 33,927,760 | |
Thereafter | | | - | |
| | | | |
| | $ | 33,927,760 | |
Interest expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $1,514,470 and $1,979,290, respectively.
The above notes were in default at various times, but have been resolved through settlement (see Note 13 - Stockholders Deficit)
NOTE 9 – DERIVATIVE LIABILITIES
The Series C Preferred Stock contains an embedded derivative due to the potential conversion into a variable number of common shares. Upon conversion of the Series C Preferred share into common shares, the Company has a potential obligation to issue additional common shares to satisfy the True-Up obligation. Both the Conversion Premium and the True-Up obligation are derivatives and are required to be recorded at fair value. On April 20, 2021, the Company and the holder agreed to modify the COD to require all redemptions and conversions to be satisfied in common shares, which changed the accounting treatment for the embedded derivative.
Issuance of the Series C Stock (prior to April 20, 2021)
Conversion of the face value of the Series C preferred stock is fixed at $3.25 per common share and, because the conversion is generally outside the control of the Company, the face value of the Series C Stock is considered temporary equity and recorded at redemption value. The Conversion Premium is convertible into common shares based on a variable that is not an input to fair value of a fixed-for-fixed option as defined in FASB ASC 815-40 and is a derivative liability and is recorded at fair value.
The Company determined the redemption value of the face value of the Series C Stock to be the fair value of the common shares issuable to satisfy the conversion of the face value of the Series C Stock. The fair value of the Conversion Premium is determined to be the lesser of the amount of cash required to satisfy the Conversion Premium or the fair value of the shares required to satisfy the Conversion Premium since the Company has the option to satisfy the conversion of the Conversion Premium in cash or shares. To the extent that consideration paid for the Series C Stock was less than the redemption value plus the fair value of the derivative liability, consideration was first allocated to the derivative liability. The consideration received never exceeded the fair value of the derivative liability. Consequently, no proceeds were allocated to the redemption value. The derivative liability was recorded at fair value and a loss on derivative liability was recorded as the difference between the fair value of the derivative liability and the consideration received. The redemption value was recorded as temporary equity and a deemed dividend.
Conversion of the Series C Stock
The Company receives notice of conversion from the holder with a calculation of the number of common shares required to be issued to satisfy the redemption value plus the Conversion Premium. The Company has never elected to satisfy the conversion premium in cash. The Company then issues the number of common shares determined by the holder using a VWAP calculation for the Measurement Period before the conversion date. The shares may be issued over time due to ownership limitations of the holder. Upon conversion of the Series C Stock, the Company reduces the derivative liability by the amount that was originally recorded for the number of Series C Stock converted. Any difference between the current fair value of the common shares issued to satisfy the conversion premium and the originally recorded derivative liability was recorded as a loss on derivative liability. Temporary equity is also reduced by the fair value of the common shares issued to satisfy the redemption value (amounts recorded in temporary equity). Any difference is recorded as additional deemed dividend or an equity contribution.
The holder may be entitled to additional shares subsequent to the conversion date If the VWAP calculation for the portion of the Measurement Period following the date of conversion is lower than the VWAP for the portion of the Measurement Period prior to the date of conversion, referred to as True-Up shares. If the VWAP calculation is higher, no True-Up shares are issued.
The potential obligation to issue True-Up shares creates an additional derivative liability. The determination of the number of True-Up shares due, if any, is based on the lowest VWAP calculation over the Measurement Period that extends beyond the conversion date. In addition, if the Company has not complied with certain provisions of the COD, the Measurement Period does not end until the Company is in compliance. The potential obligation to issue True-Up shares after the conversion date is a derivative liability.
The derivative liability for the True-Up Shares at the end of each period represents Series C Stock conversions in respect of which the Measurement Period had not expired as of the period end. The fair value of the derivative liability has been estimated using a binomial pricing model, the estimated remaining Measurement Period, the share price and the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock.
Adjustments to the Carrying value of the Series C Stock and the Derivative Liability
At each reporting period the Company determined the fair value of the common shares required to satisfy the redemption of the face value of the outstanding Series C Stock and recorded an additional deemed dividend or an equity contribution for any differences between the recorded value and the period end fair value. The redemption Conversion Premium was assumed to be settled in cash because cash settlement is more favorable to the Company. The fair value of the common shares required to satisfy the redemption of the Series C Stock was determined generally using the closing share price of the Company’s stock as of the reporting date. The amount of cash required to settle the Conversion Premium was generally fixed at the time of issuance. Consequently, the fair value of the derivative liability relating to the cash obligation to satisfy the Conversion Premium is generally unchanged until conversion.
The cash required to settle the conversion premium was unchanged until the dividend rate of 24.95% was increased in accordance with the terms of the Series C Stock to 34.95% due to covenant violations. The increase in the conversion premium was recorded as an increase in the derivative liability and a loss on change in fair value of derivative liability.
The fair value of the derivative liability relating to the potential obligation to issue true-up shares is subject to adjustment as the Company’s stock price changes. Such changes are recorded as changes in fair value of derivative liability.
April 20, 2021 Amendment to the Series C Stock COD
On April 20, 2021, the Company amended the Series C Stock COD to require all conversions to be in common shares, thus removing the cash option for redemption of the Conversion Premium. The amendment required reclassification of the Series C Stock recorded in temporary equity to permanent equity with no further period end adjustments.
Effect on derivative liability
The removal of the cash option for conversion of the Conversion Premium changed the cash redemption assumption to assume, in all cases, share redemption. Therefore, the derivative liability is required to be recorded at the fair value of the equivalent number of common shares issuable to satisfy the Conversion Premium. We recorded an adjustment to derivative liability and loss on derivative on April 20, 2021 and we will record changes in fair value of the derivative liability each quarter thereafter as long as any Series C Stock are outstanding. We estimated the fair value of the derivative liability for the outstanding Series C Stock Conversion Premium generally using the period end number of shares required to satisfy the Conversion Premium at the period end closing share price of the Company’s common stock.
Limitations on using the closing price of the Company’s common stock to determine fair value
The Company is a smaller reporting company and is traded on the NYSE American exchange. Historically, the Company’s stock price has been extremely volatile and subject to large and sometimes unexplained price variations on a daily or weekly basis. In addition, the Company declared four reverse stock splits in 2018 and 2019 and the Company’s common stock generally trades at less than $1.00 per share. These factors have exacerbated daily volatility of our stock price. Consequently, the closing price of the Company’s stock on the reporting date may not, in all cases, represent the fair value of the common share required to satisfy the redemption of the Series C Stock. Recognizing that the closing share price of our publicly traded stock is an observable input to fair value, such price was used for determining fair value in most cases and the Company only considered an alternative measure of fair value when the closing price of the Company’s common stock varied by more than 30% from the five-day moving average immediately prior to the measurement date. In such cases, an average closing price of the previous 30-day period was used as an estimate of fair value, adjusted for stock splits if applicable.
In addition, conversion of the Series C shares may require a significant number of common shares to be issued in relation to the total number of shares outstanding. The market price of the Company’s common stock may not appropriately reflect the potential for significant dilution caused by a large conversion and may not be representative of market value. In cases where the number of common shares required to satisfy a conversion of the Series C shares into common stock was significant in relation to the total number of shares outstanding (approximately 30% or greater) fair value of the embedded features was determined based on the historical market capitalization of the Company.
Activities for derivative Series C Preferred Stock derivative liability during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Carrying amount at beginning of year | | $ | 93,108,568 | | | $ | 93,981,234 | |
Issued Series C preferred shares | | | - | | | | 46,238,850 | |
Change in fair value | | | 89,523,091 | | | | 152,831,568 | |
Settlement of obligation (issuance of common shares) | | | (175,038,915 | ) | | | (199,943,084 | ) |
Carrying amount at end of year | | $ | 7,592,744 | | | $ | 93,108,568 | |
The fair value of the derivative liability has been estimated using a binomial model and the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock as of the date of conversion.
NOTE 10 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Company’s CEO and director, James Doris, renders professional services to the Company through AGD Advisory Group, Inc., an affiliate of Mr. Doris, at a rate of $20,000 per month commencing April 2021.
The Company’s CFO, Frank W. Barker, Jr., renders professional services to the Company through FWB Consulting, Inc., an affiliate of Mr. Barker, at a rate of $20,000 per month commencing April 2021.
NOTE 11 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Proceedings. From time to time suits and claims against Camber arise in the ordinary course of Camber’s business, including contract disputes and title disputes. Camber records reserves for contingencies when information available indicates that a loss is probable, and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated.
The Company was the target of a “short” report issued by Kerrisdale Capital in early October, 2021, and as a result of such short report, on October 29, 2021, a Class Action Complaint (i.e. C.A.No.4:21-cv-03574) was filed against the Company, its CEO and CFO by Ronald E. Coggins, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. Camber Energy, Inc., et al.; in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, pursuant to which the Plaintiffs are seeking to recover damages alleged to have been suffered by them as a result of the defendants’ violations of federal securities laws.
On or about June 30, 2022, the Company was made aware of a Shareholder Derivative Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (Case No. 4:22-cv-2167) against the Company, its current directors, and certain of its former directors (the “Houston Derivative Complaint” and, together with the Nevada Derivative Complaint, the “Derivative Complaints”). The allegations contained in the Houston Derivative Complaint involve state-law claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment and a federal securities claim under Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The defendants deny the allegations contained in the Class Action Complaint and Houston Derivative Compliant and have engaged Baker Botts L.L.P. to defend the actions.
On or about April 18, 2022, the Company was made aware of a Shareholder Derivative Complaint filed with the District Court in Clark County, Nevada (Case No.: A-22-848486-B) against the Company and its directors, and on or about May 4, 2022 the Company was made aware of a second Shareholder Derivative Complaint filed with the District Court in Clark County, Nevada (Case No. A-22-852069-B) against the Company and its directors. On July 18, 2022, the shareholder plaintiff in Case No. A-22-848486-B voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit, and on December 12, 2022 the shareholder plaintiff in Case No. A-22-852069-B voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit.
Maranatha Oil Matter
In November 2015, Randy L. Robinson, d/b/a Maranatha Oil Co. sued the Company in Gonzales County, Texas (Cause No. 26160). The plaintiff alleged that it assigned oil and gas leases to the Company in April 2010, retaining a 4% overriding royalty interest and 50% working interest and that the Company failed to pay such overriding royalty interest or royalty interest. The interests relate to certain oil and gas properties which the Company subsequently sold to Nordic Oil USA in April 2013. The petition alleges causes of actions for breach of contract, failure to pay royalties, non-payment of working interest, fraud, fraud in the inducement of contract, money had and received, constructive trust, violation of theft liability act, continuing tort and fraudulent concealment. The suit seeks approximately $100,000 in amounts alleged owed, plus pre-and post-judgment interest. The Company has filed a denial to the claims and intends to vehemently defend itself against the allegations.
NOTE 12 – REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS
Oil and Gas Contracts
The following table disaggregates revenue by significant product type for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 respectively:
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Oil sales | | $ | 372,046 | | | $ | 273,234 | |
Natural gas sales and liquids | | | 225,209 | | | | 127,988 | |
Total oil and gas revenue from customers | | $ | 597,255 | | | $ | 401,222 | |
NOTE 13 – STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Common Stock
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company issued 2,800 shares of restricted common stock to service providers in consideration for investor relations and marketing services. The Company recognized $123,754, based on the grant date fair value of the Company’s common stock, in share-based compensation expense.
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock
On August 31, 2020, the Board of Directors approved the designation of 28,092 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), which were designated with the Secretary of State of Nevada on August 31, 2020 (the “Series A Designation”) to have substantially similar rights as the Series C Preferred Stock of Viking (as amended), as adjusted for the exchange ratio of the Merger agreement at that time.
On December 23, 2020, the Company entered into (i) a termination agreement with Viking terminating the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated August 31, 2020, as amended to date.
On February 15, 2021, the Company entered into a new Agreement and Plan of Merger with Viking. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger with Viking, upon closing of the Merger, each one (1) share of Viking Series C Preferred Stock (“Viking Preferred Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall be converted into the right to receive one (1) share of the to be designated Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of Camber (the “New Camber Preferred”).
Each share of Camber Series A Preferred Stock will be convertible into 890 shares of common stock of Camber subject to a 9.99% beneficial ownership limitation, will be treated equally with the Company’s common shareholders with respect to dividends and liquidation, and will have no right to vote on any matters, questions or proceedings of Camber except: (a) on a proposal to increase or reduce Camber’s share capital; (b) on a resolution to approve the terms of a buy-back agreement; (c) on a proposal to wind up Camber; (d) on a proposal for the disposal of all or substantially all of Camber’s property, business and undertaking; (f) during the winding-up of Camber; and/or (g) with respect to a proposed merger or consolidation in which Camber is a party or a subsidiary of Camber is a party.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had no Series A Convertible Preferred Stock issued or outstanding.
Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had no Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock issue and outstanding.
Effective on May 15, 2020, due to the fact that no shares of Series B Preferred Stock were outstanding, the Board of Directors approved, and the Company filed, a Certificate of Withdrawal of Certificate of Designation relating to such series of preferred stock with the Secretary of State of Nevada and terminated the designation of its Series B Preferred Stock effective as of the same date.
Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock
On February 3, 2020, the Company sold 525 shares of Series C Preferred Stock for total proceeds of $5 million. In the event the Merger Agreement entered into with Viking in February 2020 is terminated for any reason, we (until June 22, 2020, when such terms were amended) these shares were required to be redeemed at a 110% premium, in an aggregate amount equal to $5,775,000. Because of the previous redemption requirement and due to certain redemption features, which are outside the control of the Company, the Series C Preferred Stock is classified as temporary equity on the March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 balance sheets. Temporary equity is a security with redemption features that are outside the control of the issuer, is not classified as an asset or liability in conformity with U.S. GAAP, and is not mandatorily redeemable. In addition, the Series C Preferred Stock contains an embedded derivative and an additional derivative upon conversion. (See Note 9)
On January 8, 2021, the Company issued 1,890 shares of Camber’s Series C Preferred Stock to EMC Capital Partners, LLC, one of Viking’s lenders, in full satisfaction of a secured promissory note previously issued by Viking to EMC, accrued interest and certain other liabilities totaling approximately $18,900,000. The issuance was recorded as an additional investment by the Company in Viking.
The Company has not declared any dividends on the Series C Preferred stock, but recognized cumulative dividends as an adjustment to income available to common stockholders and an increase in the carrying value of the Series C Preferred Stock.
On April 15, 2021, the Company, with the approval of the Board of Directors, and holders of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock, filed certificate of corrections with the Secretary of State of Nevada to correct the original designation of the Company’s Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and the subsequent amended and restated designations thereof, to correct certain errors which were identified in such designations as follows:
Section I.D.2(e) of the prior Certificates of Designation implicitly excluded as a “Deemed Liquidation Event”, an event or proposal that was initiated by or voted upon by the holder of the Series C Preferred Stock, and the Designations have been clarified to expressly exclude such occurrence. Section I.F.4 of the Designations failed to include language to clarify that the Company is not obligated to redeem the Preferred Shares for cash for any reason that is not solely within the control of the Company. Section I.G.1 of the Designations mistakenly included two subsection b.’s where only one was intended, and the unintended subsection b. has been removed. Section I.G.1(e) of the Designations failed to include language to clarify that the Company not having sufficient authorized but unissued shares, solely within the control of the Company and excluding any event that is not solely within the control of the Company, is not a reason that would otherwise trigger the obligations in such section. Sections I.G.1(f) and (g) of the Designations failed to include language to clarify the particular obligations apply only if the Company has sufficient authorized and unissued shares. Section I.G.7(e) of the Designations mistakenly referenced the incorrect Conversion Price. Section I.G.9 of the Designations failed to include language to clarify the maximum number of common shares that could be potentially issuable with respect to all conversions and other events that are not solely within the control of the Company, that the Dividend Maturity Date is to be indefinitely extended and suspended until sufficient authorized and unissued shares become available, the number of shares required to settle the excess obligation is fixed on the date that net share settlement occurs and that all provisions of the Designations are to be interpreted so that net share settlement is within the control of the Company.
The corrections in the Certificates of Correction were effective as of the original filing dates with the Secretary of State of Nevada of the Company’s original Series C Preferred Stock designation (August 25, 2016), the Company’s first amended and restated Series C Preferred Stock designation (July 8, 2019), and the Company’s second amended and restated Series C Preferred Stock designation (December 14, 2020), subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Nevada Revised Statutes. The corrections corrected the designations to reflect the original intentions of the parties and to conform such designations to the way the Series C Preferred Stock had been accounted for in practice since its original designation/issuance.
On April 20, 2021, the Company with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Company, and the holders of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock, filed a third amended and restated designation of the Series C Preferred Stock with the Secretary of State of Nevada, which amended the Designations to state that dividends and conversion premiums will only be paid in shares of Company common stock, and state that redemption amounts will only be paid in shares of Company common stock.
On July 10, 2021, the Company, with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Company and the holders of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock, filed an amendment to its designation of its Series C Preferred Stock with the Secretary of State of Nevada (the “Fourth Amended and Restated Designation”), solely to increase the number of preferred shares designated as Series C Preferred Stock from 5,000 to 5,200.
On November 8, 2021, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada a Fifth Amended and Restated Designation regarding its Series C Preferred Stock which amended the Designations to provide voting rights to holders of the Series C Preferred Stock as required by the October 2021 Agreements (as defined herein).
On October 31, 2022, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada an amendment to the COD (the “Amendment), dated as of October 28, 2022 (the “Amendment Date”), pursuant to the Agreements, which amended the COD such that (i) beginning on the Amendment Date and thereafter, when determining the conversion rate for each share of Series C Preferred Stock based on the trading price of the Company’s common stock (“Common Stock”) over a certain number of previous days (“Measurement Period”), no day will be added to what would otherwise have been the end of any Measurement Period for the failure of the Equity Condition (as defined in the COD), even if the volume weighted average trading price (“Measuring Metric”) is not at least $1.50 and each Investor waived the right to receive any additional shares of Common Stock that might otherwise be due if such Equity Condition were to apply after the Agreement Date, including with respect to any pending Measurement Period; and (ii) (A) beginning on the Amendment Date and for the period through December 30, 2022, the Measuring Metric will be the higher of the amount provided in Section I.G.7.1(ii) of the COD and $0.20, and (B) beginning at market close on December 30, 2022 and thereafter, the Measuring Metric will be the volume weighted average trading price of the Common Stock on any day of trading following the date of first issuance of the Series C Preferred Stock.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Series C Preferred shares were convertible into a substantial number of the Company’s common shares which could result in significant dilution of the Company’s existing shareholders. If the outstanding Series C Preferred were converted as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company estimates that the following common shares would be required to be issued to satisfy the conversion of the Series C Preferred shares:
| | December 31, 2022* | | | December 31, 2021** | |
Estimated number of shares issuable for conversion at $ 162.50 and $3.25 per share at December 31, 2022 and 2021 respectively | | | 16,615 | | | | 239,138 | |
Estimated number of common shares required to satisfy Conversion Premium using VWAP at period end | | | 3,758,845 | | | | 3,003,354 | |
| | | 3,775,460 | | | | 3,242,493 | |
*based on 270 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding as of such date and the estimated low VWAP as at such date
**based on 3,886 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding as of such date and the estimated low VWAP as at such date
Additionally, even if the Series C preferred shares were converted on the above dates, the Company could, pursuant to terms out in the COD, be required to issue additional common shares (true-up shares).
The Certificates of Designations with respect to the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock and Series G Preferred Stock (collectively, the “CODs”) and/or the Stock Purchase Agreements regarding the sale of such Series C Preferred Stock and Series G Preferred Stock (collectively, the “SPA’s”), contain covenants requiring the Company to timely file all reports required to be filed by the Company pursuant to the Exchange Act (the “Filing Requirement”). Throughout 2021 and early 2022, the Company did not satisfy the Filing Requirement and, consequently, on or about March 9, 2022, the preferred stock holders, Discover and Antilles Family Office, LLC (“Antilles”), filed a Verified Complaint against the Company (the “Discover/Antilles Complaint”) as a result of the default by the Company under the CODs. A default under the CODs and/or SPA’s is also considered an event of default under each of the Promissory Notes executed by the Company in favor of Discover (collectively, the “Discover Notes”) (see subsequent events), and upon an event of default under the Discover Notes, Discover may, at its option, declare the principal and any and all interest then accrued thereon, at once due and payable, and exercise any other rights under applicable agreements. Discover did not exercise its right to declare the amount owing under the Discover Notes immediately due and payable, but Failure by Discover to exercise such right does not constitute a waiver of the right to exercise the same in the event of any subsequent default. As of April 18, 2022, Discover, Antilles and the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement to settle the Discover/Antilles Complaint, and the Settlement Agreement was approved by the Court on or about May 12, 2022. If the Company fails to satisfy future Filing Requirements, it would be considered a default under the CODs and SPA’s, which in turn would constitute an event of default under the Discover Notes.
Previously Converted Series C Preferred Stock
EMC converted certain shares of Series C Preferred Stock in 2021 and/or 2022 based on the low VWAP of the Company’s common stock being $0.3475 per share for the purpose of calculating the Conversion Premium. Since the Measurement Period with respect to such conversions did not end until October 28, 2022 (as further explained below) and because the low VWAP subsequent to the conversions declined to approximately $0.1519 during such period, EMC received certain true-up shares in 2022. As of December 31, 2022, EMC held zero shares of Series C Preferred Stock, but is entitled to 730,241 common shares in connection with prior conversions. The Company anticipates issuing these common shares to EMC if the Company’s shareholders approve an increase in the Company’s authorized capital.
The majority of the Series C Preferred Stock previously converted into common shares by Antilles in 2022 were based on the low VWAP of the Company’s common stock being $0.4503 per share. Since the Measurement Period with respect to the Antilles Conversions did not end until October 28, 2022 (as further explained below) and because the low VWAP subsequent to the conversions declined during such period, Antilles received certain true-up shares in 2022 based on an agreed upon low VWAP of $0.20 per share. As of December 31, 2022, Antilles was not due any more True-Up shares.
October 2022 Agreements Regarding the Series C Preferred Stock
On October 28, 2022, the Company entered into two agreements (collectively, the “Agreements”) in relation to an amendment to the fifth amended and restated certificate of designations regarding the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock (the “COD”) as an accommodation to the Company and in order to help facilitate implementation of the Company’s business plans and continued trading on the NYSE American LLC, and in exchange for the release and indemnity as provided in the Agreements.
On October 31, 2022, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada an amendment to the COD (the “Amendment), dated as of October 28, 2022 (the “Amendment Date”), pursuant to the Agreements, which amended the COD such that (i) beginning on the Amendment Date and thereafter, when determining the conversion rate for each share of Series C Preferred Stock based on the trading price of the Company’s common stock (“Common Stock”) over a certain number of previous days (“Measurement Period”), no day will be added to what would otherwise have been the end of any Measurement Period for the failure of the Equity Condition (as defined in the COD), even if the volume weighted average trading price (“Measuring Metric”) is not at least $1.50 and each Investor waived the right to receive any additional shares of Common Stock that might otherwise be due if such Equity Condition were to apply after the Agreement Date, including with respect to any pending Measurement Period; and (ii) (A) beginning on the Amendment Date and for the period through December 30, 2022, the Measuring Metric will be the higher of the amount provided in Section I.G.7.1(ii) of the COD and $0.20, and (B) beginning at market close on December 30, 2022 and thereafter, the Measuring Metric will be the volume weighted average trading price of the Common Stock on any day of trading following the date of first issuance of the Series C Preferred Stock.
November 2022 Agreement with Discover Growth Fund, LLC
On November 3, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement (the “Agreement”) with Discover, pursuant to which Discover absolutely and unconditionally waived and released any and all rights to receive further or additional shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Conversion Shares”) with respect to any and all shares of Series C Preferred Stock previously converted by Discover including, but not limited to, the right to deliver additional notices for more Conversion Shares under the Fifth Amended and Restated Certificate of Designations of Preferences, Powers, Rights and Limitations of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock filed by the Company with the Secretary of State of Nevada on November 8, 2021, as amended on October 28, 2022.
Discover also absolutely and unconditionally waived and released any and all rights to convert all or any part of any Promissory Notes previously executed by the Company in favor of Discover into shares of the Company’s common stock, and agreed not to convert or attempt to convert any portion of any Promissory Notes, at any particular price or at all.
Series G Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock
On or about December 30, 2021, the Company created a new class of preferred stock known as Series G redeemable convertible preferred stock (the “Series G Preferred Stock”), having a face value of $10,000 per share.
The rights, entitlements and other characteristics of the Series G Preferred Stock are set out in the Certificate of Designations of Preferences, Powers, Rights and Limitations of Series G Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock filed by the Company with the State of Nevada on December 30, 2021 (the “COD”).
Pursuant to the COD, the Series G Preferred Stock may be converted into shares of common stock at any time at the option of the holder at a price per share of common stock equal to one cent above the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of the issuance of such shares of Series G Preferred Stock, or as otherwise specified in the Stock Purchase Agreement, subject to adjustment as otherwise provided in the COD. Upon conversion, the Company will pay the holders of the Series G Preferred Stock being converted a conversion premium equal to the amount of dividends that such shares would have otherwise earned if they had been held through the maturity date.
The Series G Preferred Stock, with respect to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, winding-up or dissolution, rank: (a) senior to the Company’s common stock; (b) junior to the Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, (c) senior to the Series E Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Series F Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, as such may be designated as of the date of this Designation, or which may be designated by the Company after the date of this Designation; (d) senior, pari passu or junior with respect to any other series of Preferred Stock, as set forth in the Certificate of Designations of Preferences, Powers, Rights and Limitations with respect to such Preferred Stock; and (d) junior to all existing and future indebtedness of the Company.
Except as prohibited by applicable law or as set forth herein, the holders of shares of Series G Preferred Stock will have the right to vote together with holders of common stock and Series C Preferred on all matters other than: (i) the election of directors; (ii) and any shareholder proposals, including proposals initiated by any holder of shares of Series G Preferred Stock), in each instance on an as-converted basis, subject to the beneficial ownership limitation in the COD even if there are insufficient shares of authorized common stock to fully convert the shares of Series G Preferred Stock into common stock.
Commencing on the date of the issuance of any such shares of Series G Preferred Stock, each outstanding share of Series G Preferred Stock will accrue cumulative dividends at a rate equal to 10.0% per annum, subject to adjustment as provided in the COD, of the Face Value. Dividends will be payable with respect to any shares of Series G Preferred Stock upon any of the following: (a) upon redemption of such shares in accordance with the COD; (b) upon conversion of such shares in accordance with the COD; and (c) when, as and if otherwise declared by the board of directors of the Corporation.
Dividends, as well as any applicable Conversion Premium payable hereunder, will be paid in shares of common stock valued at (i) if there is no Material Adverse Change (“MAC”) as at the date of payment or issuance of common shares for the Conversion Premium, as applicable, (A) 95.0% of the average of the 5 lowest individual daily volume weighted average prices of the common stock on the Trading Market during the applicable Measurement Period, which may be non-consecutive, less $0.05 per share of common stock, not to exceed (B) 100% of the lowest sales price on the last day of such Measurement Period less $0.05 per share of common stock, or (ii) during the time that any MAC is ongoing, (A) 85.0% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price during any Measurement Period for any conversion by Holder, less $0.10 per share of common stock, not to exceed (B) 85.0% of the lowest sales price on the last day of any Measurement Period, less $0.10 per share of common stock.
On the Dividend Maturity Date, the Corporation may redeem any or all shares of Series G Preferred Stock by paying Holder, in registered or unregistered shares of common stock valued at an amount per share equal to 100% of the Liquidation Value for the shares redeemed, and the Corporation will use its best efforts to register such shares.
In the first quarter of 2022, pursuant to a stock purchase agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) between the Company and an accredited investor (the “Investor”) dated on or about December 30, 2021, the Investor purchased from the Company 10,544 shares of newly designated Series G redeemable convertible preferred stock (the “Series G Preferred Stock”), having a face value of $10,000 per share, for an aggregate price of $100,000,000 (the “Purchase Price”), representing at a 5% original issue discount.
The Purchase Price was paid by the Investor via payment of $5,000,000 in cash, and the execution and delivery of four Promissory Notes (each a “Note” and collectively, the “Notes”) from the Investor in favor of Company, each in the amount of $23,750,000 and payable by the Investor to the Company on March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022, September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2022, respectively.
There are 2,636 shares of Series G Preferred Stock associated with each Note, and the Investor may not convert the shares of preferred stock associated with each Note into shares of common stock or sell any of the underlying shares of common stock (the “Conversion Shares”) unless that Note is paid in full by the Investor.
The Company may in its sole discretion redeem the 2,636 shares of Series G Preferred Stock associated with each Note by paying the Investor $1,375,000 as full consideration for such redemption. Also, the Investor may offset the then outstanding balance of each Note against the 2,636 shares of Series G Preferred Stock associated with that Note by electing to cancel the 2,636 shares as full consideration for cancellation of the Note in the event of a breach or default of any of the transaction documents by the Company.
Partial Redemptions of Series G Preferred Stock
On March 10, 2022, the Company paid the Investor $1,375,000 and redeemed the 2,636 shares of Series G Preferred Stock associated with the Note due March 31, 2022, thereby canceling such Note and reducing the number of shares of Series G Preferred Stock outstanding from 10,544 to 7,908. On June 15, 2022, the Company paid the Investor $1,375,000 and redeemed an additional 2,636 shares of Series G Preferred Stock associated with the Note due June 30, 2022, thereby canceling such Note and reducing the number of shares of Series G Preferred Stock outstanding from 7,908 to 5,272. As mentioned above, the Investor may not convert any of the remaining shares of preferred stock associated with any remaining Note into shares of common stock or sell any of the underlying shares of common stock unless that Note is paid in full by the Investor, and the Company may redeem the shares of Series G Preferred Stock associated with each Note by paying the Investor $1,375,000 as full consideration for such redemption.
Warrants
On April 26, 2021, the Company issued warrants to Regal Consulting, LLC (“Regal”) entitling Regal to purchase 100,000 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $0.705 per share. The Company recognized an expense of $42,037 in connection with the warrants. The warrants expired on April 25, 2022.
The following is a summary of the Company’s outstanding warrants at December 31, 2022:
Warrants | | | Exercise | | | Expiration | | lntrinsic Value at | |
Outstanding | | | Price ($) | | | Date | | December 31, 2022 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | (1) | | $ | 609,375.00 | | | May 24, 2023 | | $ | - | |
| 1,000,000 | (2) | | $ | 100.00 | | | December 30, 2026 | | $ | - | |
| 1,000,000 | (2) | | $ | 200.00 | | | December 30, 2026 | | $ | - | |
| 500,000 | (3) | | $ | 500.00 | | | December 31, 2026 | | $ | - | |
| 500,000 | (3) | | $ | 1,000.00 | | | December 31, 2026 | | $ | - | |
| 3,000,001 | | | | | | | | | $ | - | |
(1) | Warrants issued in connection with a Severance Agreement with Richard N. Azar II, the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer. The warrants were exercisable on the grant date (May 25, 2018) and remain exercisable until May 24, 2023. |
(2) | Warrants issued in connection with the Series G Preferred Stock and remain exercisable until December 30, 2026 |
(3) | Warrants issued in connection with the issuance of a $25,000,000 promissory note |
NOTE 14 – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
Common Stock
The Company stockholders approved the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended to date, the “2014 Plan”) at the annual stockholder meeting held on February 13, 2014. The 2014 Plan provides the Company with the ability to offer up to 2.5 million (i) incentive stock options (to eligible employees only); (ii) nonqualified stock options; (iii) restricted stock; (iv) stock awards; (v) shares in performance of services; or (vi) any combination of the foregoing, to employees, consultants and contractors as provided in the 2014 Plan.
The Company stockholders approved the Lucas Energy, Inc. 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (“2012 Incentive Plan”) at the annual stockholder meeting held on December 16, 2011. The 2012 Incentive Plan provides the Company with the ability to offer (i) incentive stock options (to eligible employees only); (ii) nonqualified stock options; (iii) restricted stock; (iv) stock awards; (v) shares in performance of services; or (vi) any combination of the foregoing, to employees, consultants and contractors as provided in the 2012 Incentive Plan.
The Company stockholders approved the Lucas Energy, Inc. 2010 Long Term Incentive Plan (“2010 Incentive Plan” or “2010 Plan”) at the annual stockholder meeting held on March 30, 2010. The 2010 Incentive Plan provides the Company with the ability to offer (1) incentive stock options, (2) non-qualified stock options, and (3) restricted shares (i.e., shares subject to such restrictions, if any, as determined by the Compensation Committee or the Board) to employees, consultants and contractors as performance incentives.
Under the 2010 Incentive Plan, 58 shares of the Company’s common stock are authorized for initial issuance or grant, under the 2012 Incentive Plan, 96 shares of the Company’s common stock are authorized for initial issuance or grant, and under the 2014 Incentive Plan, as amended, 2,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock are authorized for issuance or grant. As of September 30, 2020, there was an aggregate of 1 share available for issuance or grant under the 2010 Incentive Plan, 5 shares were available for issuance or grant under the 2012 Incentive Plan and an aggregate of approximately 1,999 securities were available for issuance or grant under the 2014 Incentive Plan as amended for future issuances and grants, respectively. The number of securities available under the 2010, 2012 and 2014 Plans is reduced one for one for each security delivered pursuant to an award under the Plans. Any issued or granted security that becomes available due to expiration, forfeiture, surrender, cancellation, termination or settlement in cash of an award under the Incentive Plans may be requested and used as part of a new award under the Plans.
The Plans are administered by the Compensation Committee and/or the Board in its discretion (the “Committee”). The Committee interprets the Plans and has broad discretion to select the eligible persons to whom awards will be granted, as well as the type, size and terms and conditions of each award, including the exercise price of stock options, the number of shares subject to awards, the expiration date of awards, and the vesting schedule or other restrictions applicable to awards.
Camber measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant-date fair value of the award over the vesting period.
On February 23, 2021, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of our authorized shares of common stock from 25,000,000 to 250,000,000, which amendment was filed with the State of Nevada on February 23, 2021.
On December 30, 2021, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of our authorized shares of common stock from 250,000,000 to 1,000,000,000, which amendment was filed with the State of Nevada on December 30, 2021.
On December 14, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a 1 for 50 reverse stock split of the Company’s (a) authorized shares of common stock; and (b) issued and outstanding shares of common stock. The Company filed a Certificate of Change to decrease the number of our authorized shares of common stock from 1,000,000,000 to 20,000,000, which certificate was filed with the State of Nevada on December 16, 2022.
NOTE 15 – INCOME TAXES
The Company recorded no provision for income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
The following is a reconciliation between actual tax expense (benefit) and income taxes computed by applying the U.S. federal income tax rate of 21% to income from continuing operations before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Tax expense (benefit), computed at expected tax rates | | $ | (3,825,964 | ) | | $ | (966,854 | ) |
Nondeductible expenses / changes in prior estimates | | | (2,675,301 | ) | | | - | |
Change in valuation allowance | | | 6,501,265 | | | | 966,854 | |
Total | | $ | - | | | $ | - | |
Tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and deferred liabilities are presented below:
| | December 31 | | | December 31, | |
| | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
Deferred tax assets (liabilities): | | | | | | |
Net operating tax loss carryforwards | | $ | 14,088,596 | | | $ | 9,601,492 | |
Depreciation, depletion and amortization | | | 609,386 | | | | 608,206 | |
(Income) loss from equity interests | | | 4,386,759 | | | | 2,399,766 | |
Stock-based compensation | | | 651,652 | | | | 625,664 | |
Bad debt reserve | | | 535,034 | | | | 535,034 | |
Total deferred tax assets (liabilities) | | | 20,271,427 | | | | 13,770,162 | |
Less: valuation allowance | | | (20,271,427 | ) | | | (13,770,162 | ) |
Total | | $ | - | | | $ | - | |
The above estimates are based on management’s decisions concerning certain elections which could change the relationship between net income and taxable income.
Management decisions are made annually and could cause the estimates to vary significantly. As of December 31, 2022, the Company revised the estimate of its deferred tax asset, and corresponding valuation allowance, for prior years in the amount of $2,675,301.
The Company experienced an “ownership change” within the meaning of IRC Section 382 during the year ended March 31, 2017. As a result, certain limitations apply to the annual amount of net operating losses that can be used to offset post ownership change taxable income. The Company has estimated that $44.5 million of its pre-ownership change net operating loss could potentially be lost due to the IRC Section 382 limitation for the year ended March 31, 2017. This amount may increase if the Company experiences another ownership change(s) since the last ownership change. However, the income tax effect of those ownership change(s) should be nil as the Company had recorded a full valuation allowance against its deferred assets. As of December 31, 2022, there have not been any additional ownership changes that the Company believes would lead to further IRC Section 382 limitations.
At December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had estimated net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes of approximately $67.1 million and $58.5 million, respectively, adjusted for the ownership change limitation discussed above, which will begin to expire, if not previously used, beginning in the fiscal year 2028. A valuation allowance has been established for the entire amount of the deferred tax assets for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“2017 Tax Reform”). The 2017 Tax Reform significantly revised the future ongoing U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering U.S. corporate income tax rates and implementing a territorial tax system. The Company has reasonably estimated the effects of the 2017 Tax Reform and recorded provisional amounts in the consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2018. This amount is primarily comprised of the re-measurement of federal net deferred tax liabilities resulting from the permanent reduction in the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate to 21%, from 34%. The Company will continue to monitor additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, and other standard-setting bodies, so we may make adjustments to the provisional amounts (if any). However, management’s opinion is that future adjustments due to the 2017 Tax Reform should not have a material impact on the Company’s provision for income taxes.
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (“CARES ACT”). The CARES Act, among other things, includes provisions relating to net operating loss (“NOL”) carryback periods. The Company is evaluating the impact, if any, that the CARES Act may have on the Company’s future operations, financial position, and liquidity in fiscal year 2021. At this time, the Company does not expect to realize the benefits of the NOL carryback provisions.
The Company files income tax returns for federal and state purposes. Management believes that with few exceptions, the Company is not subject to examination by United States tax authorities for periods prior to 2018.
NOTE 16– INCOME (LOSS) PER COMMON SHARE
The calculation of earnings (loss) per share for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was as follows:
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Numerator: | | | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (107,741,965 | ) | | $ | (169,675,169 | ) |
Less preferred dividends | | | - | | | | (84,156,455 | ) |
Net loss attributable to common stockholders | | $ | (107,741,965 | ) | | $ | (253,831,624 | ) |
Denominator | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average share – basic | | | 9,650,178 | | | | 2,481,545 | |
Dilutive effect of common stock equivalents options/warrants | | | — | | | | — | |
Preferred C shares | | | — | | | | — | |
Denominator | | | | | | | | |
Total Weighted average common shares – diluted | | | 9,650,178 | | | | 2,481,545 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Income (loss) per common share - basic | | $ | (11.16 | ) | | $ | (102.29 | ) |
Income (loss) per common share - diluted | | $ | (11.16 | ) | | $ | (102.29 | ) |
NOTE 17 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Series C Preferred Stock
Conversion of Series C Preferred Stock in 2023:
During January 2023, Antilles Family Office, LLC converted 32 shares of Series C Preferred Stock into 571,194 shares of common stock.
Issuance of True Up Shares for prior Conversions of Series C Preferred Stock:
From January 1, 2023 through February 17, 2023, the Company issued a total of approximately 1,336,143 common shares as True Up shares associated with prior conversions of Series C Preferred Stock as a result of the continuation of the Measurement Period (as defined in the Certificate of Designation with respect to such Series C Preferred Stock) associated with such conversions and a decline in the price of the Company’s common shares within the Measurement Period.
Outstanding Series C Preferred Stock
As of February 17, 2023, Antilles holds 238 shares of Series C Preferred Stock. Antilles may convert such Series C Preferred Stock into common shares of the Company pursuant to the terms of the Sixth Amended and Restated Certificate of Designations of Preferences, Powers, Rights and Limitations of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock filed by the Company with the Secretary of State of Nevada on November 8, 2021, as amended on October 28, 2022 (as further described herein) (collectively, the “COD”), and applicable agreements between the Company and Antilles. The Company estimates the 238 shares of Series C Preferred Stock would convert into approximately 5.9 million common shares based on a Low VWAP of approximately $1.2813 for the purposes of calculating the conversion premium associated with such conversion(s). In addition, the Company estimates Antilles is entitled to approximately 222,283 common shares in connection with the conversion by Antilles of 32 shares of common stock earlier in 2023 as a result of the low VWAP with respect to such conversion(s) decreased from $1.7124 at the time of conversion to approximately $1.2813 within 60 Trading Days subsequent to the date of such conversion(s). If the Low VWAP falls below $1.2813, the underlying common share entitlement(s) would increase in accordance with the terms of the COD.
Other Agreements
Potential Acquisition of a Facility Designed to Produce Renewable Diesel:
As disclosed in a Current Report filed by the Company on Form 8-K with the SEC on or about January, 23, 2023, the Company, on January 20, 2023, entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “MIPA”) with RESC Renewables Holdings, LLC (the “Seller”) to acquire all of the membership interests (the “Acquired Interests”) of New Rise Renewables, LLC (“New Rise”). New Rise owns all of membership interests in New Rise Renewables Reno, LLC (“New Rise Reno” and, together with New Rise, the “Acquired Companies”). The Acquired Companies are in the process of constructing and bringing into commercial operations a processing plant located near Reno, Nevada, that is designed to produce renewable diesel. Each party’s obligation to complete the transactions contemplated by the MIPA is subject to certain conditions. Some of these conditions provide the Company with significant discretion. Other conditions require compliance by third parties that are outside of the control of the Company and Seller. Accordingly, the transactions described herein are subject to substantial risk of completion. In the event the transaction is not completed, it may result in a material adverse effect to price of the Company’s common shares.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ON OIL AND GAS PRODUCING ACTIVITIES – (unaudited)
The following supplemental unaudited information regarding Camber’s oil and gas activities is presented pursuant to the disclosure requirements of ASC 932. Camber’s oil and gas activities are all located in the United States.
Results of Operations – year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
| | United States | |
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
Sales | | $ | 597,255 | | | $ | 401,222 | |
Lease operating costs | | | (173,327 | ) | | | (134,684 | ) |
Depletion | | | (5,617 | ) | | | (5,993 | ) |
Net operating income | | $ | 418,311 | | | $ | 260,545 | |
Reserve Quantity Information
The supplemental unaudited presentation of proved reserve quantities and related standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows provides estimates only and does not purport to reflect realizable values or fair market values of the Company’s reserves. The Company emphasizes that reserve estimates are inherently imprecise and that estimates of new discoveries are more imprecise than those of producing oil and gas properties. Accordingly, significant changes to these estimates can be expected as future information becomes available.
Proved reserves are those estimated reserves of crude oil (including condensate and natural gas liquids) and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. Proved developed reserves are those expected to be recovered through existing wells, equipment, and operating methods.
Estimated Quantities of Proved Reserves
| | United States | |
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
| | | | | | |
Proved Developed, Producing | | | 71,560 | | | | 73,800 | |
Proved Developed, Non-Producing | | | - | | | | - | |
Total Proved Developed | | | 71,560 | | | | 73,800 | |
Proved Undeveloped | | | - | | | | - | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total Proved | | | 71,560 | | | | 73,800 | |
Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves
Reserves are estimated remaining quantities of oil and natural gas and related substances, which by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible – from a given date forward, from known reservoirs, and under existing economic conditions, operating methods and government regulations – prior to the time at which contracts providing the right to operate expire.
All of the Company’s reserves are located in the United States. The following tables sets forth the changes in Camber’s net proved reserves (including developed and undeveloped reserves) for years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
The following table sets forth Camber’s proved developed and undeveloped reserves at December 31, 2022 and 2021.
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
| | | | | | |
Proved Developed Producing Reserves | | | | | | |
Crude Oil (Bbls) | | | 43,040 | | | | 48,400 | |
Natural Gas (Mcf) | | | 28,520 | | | | 25,400 | |
NGL (Bbls) | | | - | | | | - | |
Oil Equivalents (Boe) | | | 71,560 | | | | 73,800 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Proved Developed Non-Producing Reserves | | | | | | | | |
Crude Oil (Bbls) | | | - | | | | - | |
Natural Gas (Mcf) | | | - | | | | - | |
NGL (Bbls) | | | - | | | | - | |
Oil Equivalents (Boe) | | | - | | | | - | |
| | | | | | | | |
Proved Undeveloped Reserves | | | | | | | | |
Crude Oil (Bbls) | | | - | | | | - | |
Natural Gas (Mcf) | | | - | | | | - | |
NGL (Bbls) | | | - | | | | - | |
Oil Equivalents (Boe) | | | - | | | | - | |
| | | | | | | | |
Proved Reserves | | | | | | | | |
Crude Oil (Bbls) | | | 43,040 | | | | 48,400 | |
Natural Gas (Mcf) | | | 28,520 | | | | 25,400 | |
NGL (Bbls) | | | - | | | | - | |
Oil Equivalents (Boe) | | | 71,560 | | | | 73,800 | |
Standardized Measure of Discounted Future Net Cash Flows Relating to Proved Reserves
The standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows relating to proved oil and natural gas reserves and the changes in standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows relating to proved oil and natural gas reserves were prepared in accordance with provisions of ASC 932 - Extractive Activities - Oil and Gas. Future cash inflows at December 31, 2022 and 2021 were computed by applying the unweighted, arithmetic average of the closing price on the first day of each month for the 12-month period prior to December 31, 2022 and 2021 to estimated future production. Future production and development costs are computed by estimating the expenditures to be incurred in developing and producing the proved oil and natural gas reserves at year-end, based on year-end costs and assuming continuation of existing economic conditions.
Future income tax expenses are calculated by applying appropriate year-end tax rates to future pretax net cash flows relating to proved oil and natural gas reserves, less the tax basis of properties involved. Future income tax expenses give effect to permanent differences, tax credits and loss carry forwards relating to the proved oil and natural gas reserves. Future net cash flows are discounted at a rate of 10% annually to derive the standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows. This calculation procedure does not necessarily result in an estimate of the fair market value of the Company’s oil and natural gas properties.
The standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows relating to proved oil and natural gas reserves for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
| | United States | |
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
| | | | | | |
Future cash inflows | | $ | 6,198,100 | | | $ | 3,889,900 | |
Future production costs | | | (2,617,830 | ) | | | (1,638,400 | ) |
Future development costs | | | - | | | | - | |
Future income tax expense | | | - | | | | - | |
| | | | | | | | |
Future net cash flows | | | 3,580,270 | | | | 2,251,500 | |
10% annual discount for estimated timing of cash flows | | | (1,692,970 | ) | | | (993,500 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Standardized measure of DFNCF | | $ | 1,887,300 | | | $ | 1,258,000 | |
Changes in Standardized Measure of Discounted Future Net Cash Flows
The changes in the standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows relating to proved oil and natural gas reserves for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
| | United States | |
| | December 31, 2022 | | | December 31, 2021 | |
| | | | | | |
Balance - beginning | | $ | 1,258,000 | | | $ | 314,300 | |
Net changes in prices and production costs | | | - | | | | - | |
Net changes in future development costs | | | - | | | | - | |
Sales of oil and gas produced, net | | | (423,928 | ) | | | (266,538 | ) |
Extensions, discoveries and improved recovery | | | - | | | | - | |
Purchases of reserves | | | - | | | | - | |
Sales of reserves | | | - | | | | - | |
Revisions of previous quantity estimates | | | 114,972 | | | | (99,613 | ) |
Previously estimated development costs incurred | | | - | | | | - | |
Net change in income taxes | | | - | | | | 181,718 | |
Accretion of discount | | | 188,730 | | | | 125,800 | |
Other | | | 749,526 | | | | 962,333 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Balance - ending | | $ | 1,887,300 | | | $ | 1,258,000 | |
In accordance with SEC requirements, the pricing used in the Company’s standardized measure of future net revenues is based on the 12-month un-weighted arithmetic average of the first-day-of-the-month price for the period January through December for each period presented and adjusted by lease for transportation fees and regional price differentials. The use of SEC pricing rules may not be indicative of actual prices realized by the Company in the future.