History
Petro River grew from a Kansas shell merger into an Oklahoma-focused explorer, funded by heavy dilution and Cohen-linked financing, and deregistered from the SEC in January 2020.
2013-2014: A Kansas merger and a new Oklahoma asset
Petro River Oil Corp. took its current shape on April 23, 2013, when it acquired Petro River Oil, LLC in a share exchange. The target was an emerging producer in the Southeast Kansas Mississippi Lime, with about 115,000 gross (85,000 net) acres and five producing wells. The company issued 606,574,193 new shares, about 98% of the 620,653,142 outstanding afterwards, so the 14,078,949 existing shares were heavily diluted. Scot Cohen became Executive Chairman. In May, older convertible securities, including series B preferred stock and several debentures and notes, were converted into shares, taking the count to 737,317,748.
In December 2013 the company agreed to sell 81,250,000 shares at $0.08 ($6.5 million) to Petrol Lakes Holding Limited, with a warrant for up to 40,625,000 more at $0.1356. Net proceeds were $5,850,000 after a finder's fee. By the end of 2013 there were 818,567,746 shares on issue.
On May 30, 2014 the company bought 50% of Bandolier Energy LLC, which owned Spyglass Energy Group and its Pearsonia West concession of about 106,000 acres in Osage County, Oklahoma. It paid a $5,000,000 capital contribution; Bandolier paid $8,712,892.71 for Spyglass. The company's subsidiary PO1 had 180 days to pay the Series A members' $10,000,000 of initial contributions or lose its 51% Spyglass assignment. Members of PWIG, in which Cohen was a manager and investor, could exchange their Bandolier interests for up to 55,000,000 company shares at $0.08.
2015-2016: Technology, a restructuring and the Horizon link
In February 2015 the technology subsidiary Petro Spring bought gas-to-liquids patents from Havelide GTL for 13,333,333 shares and a warrant for 26,666,667 shares at $0.25, and bought Coalthane Tech's methane-reduction technology for 20.0 million shares. Havelide's founder Stephen Boyd became Chief Technology Officer.
In October 2015 the company moved its 50% Bandolier interest into its subsidiary Megawest Energy Kansas, valued with Megawest's other assets at $40.0 million. Fortis Property Group contributed real estate valued at about $28.3 million, leaving the company with 58.51%. The company had to fund any shortfall if the contribution was later revalued lower, or risk foreclosure on its Megawest equity.
In 2016 the company turned to Horizon Energy. In January its UK subsidiary agreed to take 9% of two Larne Basin licences in Northern Ireland, funded by a $750,000 non-recourse note. A 1-for-200 reverse split was disclosed in February, and Stephen Brunner joined as president. Shares on issue stood at 4,259,505 at the end of 2015 and 15,827,997 at the end of 2016. In March the company bought a 13.75% working interest in Kern County, California leases for $83,333 net. On May 3 it closed the purchase of Horizon I Investments, receiving about $5.0 million in cash and receivables and a 20% stake in Horizon Energy Partners, and issued 11,564,250 shares. Drilling on Woodburn Forest-1 in Larne began in May; the result is not reported in the record.
2017-2018: Osage discoveries and related-party loans
In May 2017 the company announced a chat-zone discovery at Pearsonia West and then found oil-bearing rock in the Red Fork 1-3 well, a second field within the 106,500-acre concession, though flow tests were still to come. To fund working capital it borrowed $2.0 million in June from Petro Exploration Funding, LLC, and agreed in September to borrow up to $2.5 million from Funding II, which closed in November. Both loans carried 10% interest, were secured on all assets, and came with warrants and 2% Osage royalties. Cohen controlled 31.25% of the first lender and 41.20% of the second. In November the company also issued 1,466,667 shares to Pearsonia West Investments for its 46.81% of Bandolier.
The Megawest structure unwound in January 2018. Facing a redetermination of the Bandolier value, the company swapped its Megawest shares for Megawest's Bandolier interests, leaving it with no stake in Megawest, though it still owed Megawest $259,312.50 plus interest. In February it agreed to trade its Kern County Mountain View interest for a Kay County, Oklahoma interest, giving it 55% there, with closing not reported. In October 2018 it issued 300,000 shares to buy 66.67% of LBE Partners, a Cohen-managed company with wells in the Hardin field in Texas.
2019-2020: Preferred stock and the North Sea
On January 31, 2019 the company sold 178,101 units of new Series A preferred stock with five-year $0.50 warrants for $3,562,014.95. Cohen and Fortis Oil & Gas converted debts of $300,000 and $321,836 into units. The Funding notes, about $2.3 million and $2.8 million with interest, were swapped for Series A shares and cancelled, and their warrants were repriced to $0.50. The Series A ranks ahead of common stock and converts at $0.40 per common share. The money was to fund ten more Osage wells, with investors taking 75% of those wells' profits, and a North Sea venture.
On February 25, 2019 the company paid $400,000 for a 14.5455% stake in Horizon Energy Acquisition, LLC, adding a further 5.63% interest in three North Sea licences of about 455,000 net acres, on top of the 5.63% it held through Horizon Energy Partners. A 3D seismic survey was planned for the second quarter of 2019, and no discovery was reported. Auditors' reports for 2017 and 2018 carried going-concern warnings. The company deregistered its securities on January 28, 2020, ending its SEC reporting.
Written from the 25 story beats below (2013 to 28 Jan 2020), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.