ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT RELEVANT TO FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this report, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected revenues, projected costs and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, to be materially different from historical earnings and those presently anticipated or projected or any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this report.

In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “will likely,” or similar expressions. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Important factors that could affect our financial performance and that could cause actual results for future periods to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to:  

We have based our forward-looking statements on our management’s beliefs and assumptions based on information available to our management at the time the statements are made. We caution you that assumptions, beliefs, expectations, intentions and projections about future events may and often do vary materially from actual results. Therefore, we cannot assure you that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements.

Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements are described in this Item 1A. Risk Factors and in other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Should one or more of these risks or

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uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and, except as required by law, we undertake no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Risks Related to the Company’s Business

We have substantial indebtedness and may incur substantially more debt. Higher levels of indebtedness make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse developments in our business.

As of December 31, 2014, we had approximately $50.0 million outstanding in aggregate principal under our Convertible Subordinated Note, $100.0 million under the Term Loan Facility and $11.2 million under the Allied Promissory Note, and we may incur additional indebtedness in the future. Our level of indebtedness has, or could have, important consequences to our business because:

In addition, the terms of the Term Loan Facility restrict, and the terms of any future indebtedness including any future credit facility may restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness and grant liens because of debt or financial covenants we are, or may be, required to meet. Thus, we may not be able to obtain sufficient capital to grow our business or implement our business strategy and may lose opportunities to acquire interests in oil properties or related businesses because of our inability to fund such growth.

Our ability to comply with restrictions and covenants, including those in the Term Loan Facility or in any future credit facility, is uncertain and will be affected by the levels of cash flow from our operations and events or circumstances beyond our control. Our failure to comply with any of the restrictions and covenants in the Term Loan Facility could result in a default, which could permit the lenders to accelerate repayments and foreclose on the collateral securing such indebtedness.

Our business requires substantial additional capital. If we are unable to raise additional capital on acceptable terms in the future, our ability to execute our business plan may be impaired.  

The Company’s business activities require substantial capital from outside sources as well as from internally-generated sources. The Company’s ability to finance a portion of its working capital and capital expenditure requirements with cash flow from operations will be subject to a number of variables, such as:

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The recent significant decline in oil and natural gas prices may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional financing. The Company might not generate or sustain cash flows at sufficient levels to finance its business activities. When and if the Company generates significant revenues, if such revenues were to decrease due to lower oil prices, decreased production or other factors, and if the Company were unable to obtain capital through reasonable financing arrangements, its ability to execute its business plan would be limited, and it could be required to discontinue operations.

The Company may continue to incur losses for a significant period of time and may not be able to achieve profitability.

In addition to our interests in the OMLs, including the Oyo field, we have signed four PSCs in Kenya, two exploration licenses in The Gambia and a petroleum agreement in Ghana. As we are still in the early stages of exploration and have yet to drill on our Kenyan, Gambian, and Ghanaian blocks, we expect to continue to incur significant expenses relating to our identification of drilling prospects and investment costs relating to exploration. Additionally, fixed commitments, including salaries and fees for employees and consultants, rent and other contractual commitments may be substantial and are likely to increase as exploration drilling is scheduled and personnel are retained. Drilling projects generally require a significant period of time before they produce resources and generate profits. Our production in the Oyo field may or may not result in net earnings in excess of our losses on other ventures under development or in the start-up phase. We may not achieve or sustain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis, or at all.

The geographic concentration of our properties offshore Nigeria, Kenya, The Gambia and Ghana subjects us to an increased risk of loss of revenue or curtailment of production from factors specifically affecting offshore Nigeria, Kenya, The Gambia and Ghana.

Our properties are concentrated in four countries: Nigeria, Kenya, The Gambia and Ghana, and all of the value of our production and reserves is concentrated in a single oilfield offshore Nigeria. Any failure to recommence production, production problems or reduction in reserve estimates related to the Oyo field would adversely impact our business.  In addition, some or all of these properties could be affected should such regions experience:

We maintain insurance coverage for only a portion of these risks. There also may be certain risks covered by insurance where the policy does not reimburse us for all of the costs related to a loss. We do not carry business interruption insurance.

Due to the concentrated nature of our portfolio of properties, a number of our properties could experience any of the same conditions at the same time, resulting in a relatively greater impact on our results of operations than they might have on other companies that have a more diversified portfolio of properties.

The loss of key employees could adversely affect the Company’s ability to operate.

The Company believes that its success depends on the continued service of its key employees, as well as the Company’s ability to hire additional key employees, as needed. Each of the Company’s key employees has the right to terminate his/her employment at any time without penalty under his/her employment agreement. The unexpected loss of the services of any of these key employees, or the Company’s failure to find suitable replacements within a reasonable period of time thereafter, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to execute its business plan and, therefore, on its financial condition and results of operations.

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Failure to effectively execute our exploration and development projects could result in significant delays and/or cost over-runs, including the delay of any future production, which could negatively impact our operating results, liquidity and financial position.

We currently have a number of exploration projects, all of which are in the early stages of the project development life-cycle, in addition to our Oyo field development project. Our exploration projects will require substantial additional evaluation and analysis, including drilling and, in the event a commercial discovery occurs, the expenditure of substantial amounts of capital, prior to preparing a development plan and seeking formal project sanction. First production from these exploration projects, in the event a discovery is made, is not expected for several years. Our Oyo field development project and some of our exploration projects are located in challenging deepwater environments and will entail significant technical and financial challenges, including extensive subsea tiebacks to an FPSO or production platform, pressure maintenance systems, gas re-injection systems, and other specialized infrastructure.

This level of development activity and complexity requires significant effort from our management and technical personnel and places additional requirements on our financial resources and internal financial controls. In addition, we have increased dependency on third-party technology and service providers and other supply chain participants for these complex projects. We may not be able to fully execute these projects due to:

We may not be able to compensate for, or fully mitigate, these risks.

The Company’s failure to capitalize on existing petroleum agreements could result in an inability by the Company to generate sufficient revenues and continue operations.

The Company has a 100% economic interest in, and operatorship of, the OMLs 120 and 121 in Nigeria, including the Oyo field. The Company has also entered into definitive petroleum agreements with Kenya, The Gambia, and Ghana. The Company’s business strategy includes spreading the risk of oil and natural gas exploration, development and drilling, and ownership of interests in oil and natural gas properties by participating in multiple projects and joint ventures. Failure of the Company to capitalize on its existing contracts could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and results of operations.

Under the terms of our various petroleum agreements, we are required to drill wells, declare any discoveries and conduct certain development activities in order to retain exploration and production rights and failure to do so may result in substantial license renewal costs or loss of our interests in the undeveloped parts of our license areas.

In order to protect our exploration and production rights in our license areas, we must meet various drilling and declaration requirements. In general, unless we make and declare discoveries within certain time periods specified in our various petroleum agreements and leases, our interests in the undeveloped parts of our license areas may lapse and we may be subject to significant penalties or be required to make additional payments in order to maintain such licenses. We can make no assurances that we will receive an extension of the initial exploration period for any of our prospects or what the terms of the extension might be.

Our proved reserves are based on many assumptions that may turn out to be inaccurate. Any significant inaccuracies in these reserve estimates or underlying assumptions could materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves . All of our total estimated proved reserves at December 31, 2014 were proved undeveloped reserves which ultimately may be less than currently estimated.

The process of estimating oil and natural gas reserves is complex. It requires interpretations of available technical data and many assumptions, including assumptions relating to current and future economic conditions and commodity prices. Any significant inaccuracies in these interpretations or assumptions could materially affect the estimated quantities. In the case of production sharing contracts, the quantities allocable to a part-interest owner’s share are affected by the assumptions of that owner’s future participation

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in funding of operating and capital costs. Actual future production, prices, revenues, taxes, development expenditures, operating expenses and quantities of recoverable oil and natural gas reserves will vary from estimates. Any significant variance could materially affect the estimated quantities and present value of reserves disclosed. In addition, estimates of proved reserves reflect production history, results of exploration and development, prevailing prices and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Due to the limited production history of our undeveloped acreage, the estimates of future production associated with such properties may be subject to greater variance to actual production than would be the case with properties having a longer production history.

Our exploration projects remain subject to varying degrees of additional evaluation, analysis and partner and regulatory approvals prior to official project sanction and production.

A discovery made by the initial exploration well on a prospect does not ensure that we will ultimately develop or produce hydrocarbons from such prospect or that a development project will be economically viable or successful. Following a discovery by an initial exploration well, substantial additional evaluation, analysis, expenditure of capital and partner and regulatory approvals will need to be performed and obtained prior to official project sanction and development, which may include (i) the drilling of appraisal wells, (ii) the evaluation and analysis of well logs, reservoir core samples, fluid samples and the results of production tests from both exploration and appraisal wells, and (iii) the preparation of a development plan which includes economic assumptions on future oil and gas prices, the costs of drilling development wells, and the construction or leasing of offshore production facilities and transportation infrastructure. Regulatory approvals are also required to proceed with certain development plans.

Any of the foregoing steps of evaluation and analysis may render a particular development project uneconomic, and we may ultimately decide to abandon the project, despite the fact that the initial exploration well, or subsequent appraisal or development wells, discovered hydrocarbons. We may also decide to abandon a project based on forecasted oil and gas prices or the inability to obtain sufficient financing. We may not be successful in obtaining partner or regulatory approvals to develop a particular discovery, which could prevent us from proceeding with development and ultimately producing hydrocarbons from such discovery, even if we believe a development would be economically successful.

The Company’s oil and gas operations are subject to various risks beyond the Company’s control.

The Company expects to produce, transport and market potentially toxic materials and purchase, handle and dispose of other potentially toxic materials in the course of its business. The Company’s operations will produce byproducts, which may be considered pollutants. Any of these activities could result in liability, either as a result of an accidental, unlawful discharge or as a result of new findings on the effects of the Company’s operations on human health or the environment. Additionally, the Company’s oil and gas operations may also involve one or more of the following risks:

In the event that any of the foregoing events occur, the Company could incur substantial losses as a result of (i) injury or loss of life; (ii) severe damage or destruction of property, natural resources or equipment; (iii) pollution and other environmental damage; (iv) investigatory and clean-up responsibilities; (v) regulatory investigation and penalties; (vi) suspension of its operations; or (vii) repairs to resume operations. If the Company experiences any of these problems, its ability to conduct operations could be adversely affected. Additionally, offshore operations are subject to a variety of risks, such as capsizing, collisions and damage or loss from typhoons or other adverse weather conditions. These conditions could cause substantial damage to facilities and interrupt production.

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The Company is dependent on others for the storage and transportation of all of its oil and gas which could result in significant operational costs to the Company and depletion of capital.

The Company does not own storage or transportation facilities and, therefore, will depend upon third parties to store and transport all of its oil and gas resources when and if produced. The Company will likely be subject to price changes and termination provisions in any contracts it may enter into with these third-party service providers. The Company may not be able to identify such third parties for any particular project. Even if such sources are initially identified, the Company may not be able to identify alternative storage and transportation providers in the event of contract price increases or termination. In the event the Company is unable to find acceptable third-party service providers, it would be required to contract for its own storage facilities and employees to transport the Company’s resources. The Company may not have sufficient capital available to assume these obligations, and its inability to do so could result in the cessation of its business.

Drilling wells is speculative, often involving significant costs that may be more than our estimates and may not result in any discoveries or additions to our future production or reserves. Any material inaccuracies in drilling costs, estimates or underlying assumptions will materially affect our business.

Exploring for and developing oil reserves involves a high degree of operational and financial risk, which precludes definitive statements as to the time required and costs involved in reaching certain objectives. The budgeted costs of drilling, completing and operating exploration, appraisal and development wells are often exceeded and can increase significantly when drilling costs rise due to a tightening in the supply of various types of oilfield equipment and related services. Drilling may be unsuccessful for many reasons, including geological conditions, weather, cost overruns, equipment shortages and mechanical difficulties. Exploration wells bear a much greater risk of financial loss than development wells. In the past we have experienced unsuccessful drilling efforts. Moreover, the successful drilling of an oil well does not necessarily result in a profit on investment. A variety of factors, both geological and market-related, can cause a well or an entire development project to become uneconomic or only marginally economic. Our initial drilling sites, and any potential additional sites that may be developed, require significant additional exploration and appraisal, regulatory approval and commitments of resources prior to commercial development. We face additional risks due to a general lack of infrastructure in areas in which we operate and underdeveloped oil and gas industries in areas in which we operate and increased transportation expenses due to geographic remoteness. Thus, this may require either a single well to be exceptionally productive, or the existence of multiple successful wells, to allow for the development of a commercially viable field. If our actual drilling and development costs are significantly more than our estimated costs, we may not be able to continue our business operations as proposed and would be forced to modify our plan of operation.

We contract with third parties to conduct drilling and related services on our development projects and exploration prospects for us. Such third parties may not perform the services they provide us on schedule or within budget. The recent decline in oil and gas prices may have an adverse impact on certain third parties from which we contract drilling, development and related oilfield services, which in turn could affect such companies' ability to perform such services for us and result in delays to our exploration, appraisal and development activities. Furthermore, the drilling equipment, facilities and infrastructure owned and operated by the third parties we contract with is highly complex and subject to malfunction and breakdown. Any malfunctions or breakdowns may be outside our control and result in delays, which could be substantial. Any delays in our drilling campaign caused by equipment, facility or equipment malfunction or breakdown could materially increase our costs of drilling and cause an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

An interruption in the supply of materials, resources or services, including storage and transportation of oil and gas, could limit the Company’s operations and cause unprofitability.

The Company obtains, and will need to obtain materials, resources and services, including, but not limited to, specialized chemicals, specialty muds, drilling fluids, pipe, drill-string and geological and geophysical mapping and interruption services to carry out its operations. There may be only a limited number of manufacturers and suppliers of these materials, resources and services. Additionally, these manufacturers and suppliers may experience difficulty in supplying such materials, resources and services to the Company sufficient to meet its needs or may terminate or fail to renew contracts for supplying these materials, resources or services on terms the Company finds acceptable including, without limitation, acceptable pricing terms. For example, in January 2015, we terminated our drilling contract with Northern Offshore International Drilling Company Ltd. as a result of contractual disputes. The dispute and termination of the contract with this third-party provider resulted in delays to completion of the Oyo-8 well that the Company believes caused significant damage.

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The Company does not presently carry business interruption insurance policies in Africa and will be at risk of incurring business interruption loss due to theft, accidents or natural disasters.

The Company does not presently carry any policies of insurance in Africa to help protect itself from interruptions to its business. In the event that the Company were to incur business interruption losses with respect to one or more incidents, this could adversely affect its operations, and it may not have the necessary capital to maintain business operations.

Our business partner, CEHL, is a related party, and our executive chairman and CEO is a principal owner and one of the directors of CEHL, which may result in real or perceived conflicts of interest.

Dr. Kase Lawal, the Company’s Executive Chairman and member of the Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer, is a director of each of CEHL, CINL, and Allied, also entities constituting the CEHL Group.  Dr. Lawal also owns 27.7% of CAMAC International Limited, which indirectly owns 100% of CEHL. CINL and Allied are each wholly owned subsidiaries of CEHL. As a result, Dr. Lawal may be deemed to have an indirect material interest in any transactions with CEHL including the agreements entered into with CEHL in April 2010, the OMLs transaction, the Promissory Note with Allied (see Note 8. — Debt to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the Promissory Note) and the Transfer Agreement with Allied. These relationships may result in conflicts of interest. We may not be able to prove that these agreements are equivalent to arm’s length transactions. Should our transactions not provide the value equivalent of arm’s length transactions, our results of operations may suffer, and we may be subject to costly shareholder litigation.

If we lose our status as an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas operator, we would no longer be eligible for preferential treatment in the acquisition of oil and gas assets and oil and gas licensing rounds in Nigeria.

The Company by virtue of our majority stockholder, CEHL, which has indigenous status in Nigeria, is eligible for preferential treatment under the Nigerian Content Development Act with respect to the acquisition of oil and gas assets and in oil and gas licensing rounds in Nigeria. If CEHL were to lose its status as an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas company due to its affiliation with our U.S.-based company or otherwise, or if CEHL’s majority interest in us were to be diluted or reduced due to additional issuances of equity by the Company, or if CEHL were to sell or transfer its interest in the Company or otherwise, we may lose our status as an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas operator. As a result, we would lose one of our key advantages in the Nigerian oil and gas market, and our results of operations could materially suffer.

Applicable Nigerian income tax rates could adversely affect the value of the OMLs, including the Oyo field.

Income derived from our contractual interests in the Oyo field, and CPL, as acquiring subsidiary in the transactions through which we obtained these contractual interests, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Nigerian taxing authorities. The Nigerian government applies different petroleum profit tax rates upon income derived from Nigerian oil operations ranging from 50% to 85% based on a number of factors. The final determination of the tax liabilities with respect to the OMLs involves the interpretation of local tax laws and related authorities. In addition, changes in the operating environment, including changes in tax law and currency/repatriation controls, could impact the determination of tax liabilities with respect to the OMLs for a tax year. While we believe the petroleum profit tax rate applicable to the OMLs is 52%, the actual applicable rate could be higher, which could result in a material decrease in the profits allocable to the Company under the OMLs.

The passage into law of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill could create additional fiscal and regulatory burdens on the parties to the OMLs, which could have a material adverse effect on the profitability of the production.

A Petroleum Industry Bill (“PIB”) is currently undergoing legislative review at the Nigerian National Assembly. To date, the PIB has failed to pass the Nigerian Senate. The draft PIB seeks to introduce significant changes to legislation governing the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, including new fiscal regulatory and tax obligations and expanded fiscal and regulatory oversight that may impose additional operational and regulatory burdens on the Company and impact the economic benefits anticipated by the Company. Any such fiscal and regulatory changes could have a negative impact on the profits allocable to the Company under the OMLs.

The OMLs are located in an area where there are high security risks which could result in harm to the Oyo field operations and our interest in the Oyo field and the remainder of the OMLs.

The Oyo field is located approximately 75 kilometers (46 miles) off the Southern Nigerian coast in deep water. There are risks inherent to oil production in Nigeria. Since December 2005, Nigeria has experienced increased pipeline vandalism, kidnappings and militant takeovers of oil facilities in the Niger Delta. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is the main group attacking oil infrastructure for political objectives, claiming to seek a redistribution of oil wealth and greater local control of the sector. Additionally, kidnappings of oil workers for ransom are common. Security concerns have led some oil services firms to pull

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out of the country and oil workers’ unions to threaten strikes over security issues. The instability in the Niger Delta has caused shut-in production and several companies to declare force majeure on oil shipments.

Despite undertaking various security measures and being situated 75 kilometers (46 miles) offshore the Nigerian coast, the FPSO vessel currently being used for storing petroleum production in the Oyo field may become subject to terrorist acts and other acts of hostility like piracy. Such actions could adversely impact our overall business, financial condition and operations. Our facilities are subject to these substantial security risks and our financial condition and results of operations may materially suffer as a result. Terrorist acts and regional hostilities around the world in recent years have led to increases in insurance premium rates and the implementation of special “war risk” premiums for certain areas. Such increases in insurance rates may adversely affect our profitability with respect to the Oyo field asset.

Maritime disasters and other operational risks may adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

The operation of the FPSO vessel has an inherent risk of maritime disaster, environmental mishaps, cargo and property losses or damage and business interruptions caused by, among others:

Any of these circumstances could adversely affect the operation of the FPSO vessel and result in loss of revenues or increased costs and adversely affect our profitability.

Risks Related to the Company’s Industry

A substantial or extended decline in oil and natural gas prices may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The prices received for the Oyo field production will heavily influence our revenue, profitability, access to capital and future rate of growth. Oil is a commodity, and its price is subject to wide fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in supply and demand. Historically the market for oil has been volatile. The oil market will likely continue to be volatile in the future. The prices received and the levels of production depend on numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include:

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Significant and prolonged declines in crude oil and natural gas prices, such as we have recently experienced, may have the following effects on our business:

The Company may not be successful in finding, acquiring, or developing sufficient petroleum reserves, and a failure to do so could materially adversely affect our financial position, liquidity and ability to continue operations.

The Company operates solely in the petroleum extractive business; therefore, if it is not successful in finding crude oil and natural gas sources with good prospects for future production, and exploiting such sources, its business will not be profitable and it may be forced to terminate its operations. Exploring and exploiting oil and gas or other sources of energy entails significant risks, which risks can only be partially mitigated by technology and experienced personnel. The Company or any venture it acquires or participates in may not be successful in finding petroleum or other energy sources, or if it is successful in doing so, the Company may not be successful in developing such resources and producing quantities sufficient to permit the Company to conduct profitable operations. The Company’s future success will depend in large part on the success of its drilling programs and creating and maintaining an inventory of projects. Creating and maintaining an inventory of projects depends on many factors, including, among other things, obtaining rights to explore, develop and produce hydrocarbons in promising areas, drilling success, an ability to bring long lead-time, capital intensive projects to completion on budget and schedule and efficient and profitable operation of mature properties. The Company’s inability to successfully identify and exploit crude oil and natural gas sources would have a material adverse effect on its business and results of operations and could result in the cessation of its business operations.

In addition to the numerous operating risks described in more detail in this report, exploration and exploitation of energy sources involve the risk that no commercially productive oil or gas reservoirs will be discovered or, if discovered, that the cost or timing of drilling, completing and producing wells will not result in profitable operations. The Company’s drilling operations may be curtailed, delayed or abandoned as a result of a variety of factors, including:

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Our offshore production and exploration activities will involve special risks that could adversely affect operations.

Offshore operations are subject to a variety of operating risks specific to the marine environment, such as capsizing, collisions and damage or loss from hurricanes or other adverse weather conditions. These conditions can cause substantial damage to facilities and interrupt our operations. As a result, we could incur substantial expenses that could reduce or eliminate the funds available for exploration, development or leasehold acquisitions, or result in loss of equipment and properties.

Deepwater exploration and production generally involves greater operational and financial risks than on the shelf. Deepwater drilling generally requires more time and more advanced drilling technologies, involving a higher risk of technological failure and usually higher drilling costs. Such risks are particularly applicable to our deepwater operations in the Oyo field. In addition, there may be production risks of which we are currently unaware. Whether we use existing pipeline infrastructure, participate in the development of new subsea infrastructure or use floating production systems to transport oil from producing wells, if any, these operations may require substantial time for installation, or encounter mechanical difficulties and equipment failures that could result in significant cost overruns and delays. Furthermore, operations in frontier areas generally lack the physical and oilfield service infrastructure present in more mature basins. As a result, a significant amount of time may elapse between a discovery and the marketing of the associated hydrocarbons, increasing both the financial and operational risk involved with these operations. Because of the lack and high cost of this infrastructure, oil and gas discoveries we make in the deepwater, if any, may never be economically producible.

In addition, in the event of a well control incident, containment and, potentially, cleanup activities for offshore drilling are costly. The resulting regulatory costs or penalties, and the results of third party lawsuits, as well as associated legal and support expenses, including costs to address negative publicity, could well exceed the actual costs of containment and cleanup. As a result, a well control incident could result in substantial liabilities for us, and have a significant negative impact on our earnings, cash flows, liquidity, financial position, and stock price.

The energy market in which the Company operates is highly competitive.

Competition in the oil and gas industry is intense, particularly with respect to access to drilling rigs and other services, the acquisition of properties and the hiring and retention of technical personnel. The Company expects competition in the market to remain intense because of the increasing global demand for energy, and that competition will increase significantly as new companies enter the market and current competitors continue to seek new sources of energy and leverage existing sources. Many of the Company’s competitors, including large oil companies, have an established presence in the areas we do business and have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical, marketing, development, extraction and other resources and greater name recognition than the Company does. As a result, they may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies, changes in regulations affecting the industry, newly discovered resources and exploration opportunities, as well as to large swings in oil and natural gas prices. In addition, increased competition could result in lower energy prices, reduced margins and loss of market share, any of which could harm the Company’s business. Furthermore, increased competition may harm the Company’s ability to secure ventures on terms favorable to it and may lead to higher costs and reduced profitability, which may seriously harm its business.

Hedging transactions may limit the Company’s potential gains and increase the Company’s potential losses.

To date, the Company has not entered into any hedging transactions but may do so in the future. In the event that the Company chooses not to hedge its exposure to reductions in oil and gas prices it could be subject to significant reduction in prices which could have a material adverse impact on its profitability. Alternatively, the Company may elect to enter into hedging transactions with respect to a portion of its production to achieve more predictable cash flow and to reduce its exposure to price fluctuations. The use of hedging transactions could limit future revenues from price increases and could expose the Company to adverse changes in basis risk, the relationship between the price of the specific oil or gas being hedged and the price of the commodity underlying the futures contracts or other instruments used in the hedging transaction. Hedging transactions also involve the risk that the counterparty does not satisfy its obligations.

The Company may be required to take non-cash asset write-downs.

Under applicable accounting rules, the Company may be required to write down the carrying value of oil and natural gas properties if oil and natural gas prices decline or if there are substantial downward adjustments to its estimated proved reserves, increases in its estimates of development costs or deterioration in its exploration results. Accounting standards require the Company to review its long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be

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fully recoverable over time. In such cases, if the asset’s estimated undiscounted future net cash flows are less than its carrying amount, impairment exists. Any impairment write-down, which would equal the excess of the carrying amount of the assets being written down over their estimated fair value, would have a negative impact on the Company’s earnings, which could be material.

Cyber incidents may adversely impact our operations.

We have become increasingly dependent upon digital technologies to operate our exploration, development and production business. We depend on digital technology to estimate quantities of oil and gas reserves, process and record financial and operating data, analyze seismic and drilling information and communicate with our employees and third-party partners. Unauthorized access to our seismic data, reserves information or other proprietary information could lead to data corruption, communication interruption or other operational disruptions in our exploration or production operations. Also, nearly all of the oil and gas distribution systems in the world are dependent on digital technologies. The U.S. government has issued public warnings that indicate that energy assets might be specific targets of cyber security threats. Deliberate attacks on, or unintentional events affecting, our systems or infrastructure or the systems or infrastructure of third parties could lead to corruption or loss of our proprietary data and potentially sensitive data, delays in production or delivery of oil or natural gas, difficulty in completing and settling transactions, challenges in maintaining our books and records, environmental damage, communication interruptions, other operational disruptions and third-party liability. We have not suffered any material losses relating to such attacks; however, there is no assurance that we will not suffer such losses in the future. Although historically we have not incurred material expenditures for protective measures related to potential cyber attacks, as cyber attacks continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerabilities to cyber attacks.  

Risks Related to International Operations

The Company’s international operations subject it to certain risks inherent in conducting business in Sub-Saharan Africa, including political instability and foreign government regulation, which could significantly impact the Company’s ability to operate in such countries and impact the Company’s results of operations.

The Company conducts substantially all of its business in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Company’s present and future international operations in foreign countries are, and will be, subject to risks generally associated with conducting businesses in foreign countries, such as: 

Specifically, foreign governments may enact and enforce laws and regulations requiring increased ownership by businesses and/or state agencies in energy producing businesses and the facilities used by these businesses, which could adversely affect the Company’s ownership interests in then existing ventures. The Company’s ownership structure may not be adequate to accomplish the Company’s business objectives in Nigeria or in any other foreign jurisdiction where the Company may operate. Foreign governments also may impose additional taxes and/or royalties on the Company’s business, which would adversely affect the Company’s profitability and

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value of our foreign assets, including its interests in the OMLs. In certain locations, governments have imposed restrictions, controls and taxes, and in others, political conditions have existed that may threaten the safety of employees and the Company’s continued presence in those countries. Internal unrest, acts of violence or strained relations between a foreign government and the Company or other governments may adversely affect its operations. These developments may, at times, significantly affect the Company’s results of operations and must be carefully considered by its management when evaluating the level of current and future activity in such countries.

The future success of the Company’s operations may also be adversely affected by risks associated with international activities, including economic and labor conditions, political instability, risk of war, nationalization or other expropriation of private enterprises, repatriation, termination, renegotiation or modification of existing contracts, tax laws (including host-country import-export, excise and income taxes and United States taxes on foreign subsidiaries), restrictions on currency conversion, devaluations of currency, restrictions or prohibitions on dividend payments to stockholders or changes in government policies, laws or regulations. For example, the Ministry of Petroleum of the Republic of The Gambia informed the Company in January 2015 that the Company was in default of certain of its contractual obligations and that it may terminate the Company’s licenses to operate in that country as early as April 2015 if the default is not remedied. The Company is engaged in active discussions with the government of The Gambia regarding an extension however no assurances can be given that such requests will be granted.  Realization of any of these factors could materially and adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows and result in the loss of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or in a total loss of your investment in the Company.

We are subject to extensive environmental regulations in Nigeria.

Our operations are subject to extensive national, state and local environmental regulations in Nigeria. Environmental rules and regulations cover oil exploration and development activities as well as transportation, refining and production activities. These regulations establish, among others, quality standards for hydrocarbon products, air emissions, water discharges and waste disposal, environmental standards for abandoned crude oil wells, remedies for soil, water pollution and the general storage, handling, transportation and treatment of hydrocarbons. As a result of the creation of the Federal Ministry of Environment (“FME”) in 1999 and the enactment of more rigorous laws, such as the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN) 2002, environmental regulations will substantially impact our operations and business results. Under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1992, all exploratory project drilling must have an environmental impact assessment approved by the FME and must receive an environmental permit from the local authorities. We are required to prevent the escape of petroleum into any water, well, spring, stream river, lake reservoir, estuary or harbor, and government inspectors may examine our premises to ensure that we comply with the regulations. The Department of Petroleum Resources also regulates environmental issues by requiring operators in the oil and gas industry to obtain permits for oil-related effluent discharges from point sources and oil-related project development. Non-compliance with environmental laws may result in fines, restrictions on operations or other sanctions. We are also subject to state and local environmental regulations issued by the regional environmental authorities, which oversee compliance with each state’s environmental laws and regulations by oil and gas companies. If we fail to comply with any of these national or local environmental regulations we could be subject to administrative and criminal penalties, including warnings, fines and facilities closure orders.

Compliance and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, including those related to climate change, may affect operations and cause the Company to incur significant expenditures.

Extensive national, regional and local environmental laws and regulations in Africa are expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s operations. These laws and regulations set various standards regulating certain aspects of health and environmental quality, which provide for user fees, penalties and other liabilities for the violation of these standards. As new environmental laws and regulations are enacted and existing laws are repealed, interpretation, application and enforcement of the laws may become inconsistent. Compliance with applicable local laws in the future could require significant expenditures, which may adversely affect the Company’s operations. The enactment of any such laws, rules or regulations in the future may have a negative impact on the Company’s projected growth, which could decrease projected revenues or increase costs. In addition, non-governmental organizations concerned with the environment may take an interest in the Company’s operations and attempt to disrupt or halt operations in areas deemed environmentally sensitive. The Company’s response to these efforts could require unforeseen expenditures, cause delays in execution, and affect operations.

The continued existence of official corruption and bribery in Africa, and the inability or unwillingness of authorities to combat such corruption, may negatively impact our ability to fairly and effectively compete.

Official corruption and bribery remains a serious concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. The 2014 Transparency International report ranked Nigeria 136 out of 177 countries in terms of corruption perceptions. In an attempt to combat corruption in the oil and gas sector, the National Assembly passed the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act 2007. This action permitted Nigeria to become a candidate country under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (“EITI”), the first step in bringing transparency to all material oil, gas and mining payments to the Government of Nigeria. In addition, Nigeria has amended its banking laws to permit

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the government to bring corrupt bank officials to justice. Several notable cases have been brought, but, to date, few significant cases have been successful and bank regulatory oversight remains a concern. Thus, increased diligence may be required in working with or through Nigerian banks or with Nigerian governmental authorities, and interactions with government officials may need to be monitored. To the extent that such efforts to increase transparency are unsuccessful, and any competitors utilize the existence of corruptive practices in order to secure an unfair advantage, our financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

A deterioration of relations between the United States and Nigeria or other African governments could have a material adverse effect on the Company, the market price of the Company’s Common Stock and the value of the Company’s investments.

At various times during recent years, the United States has had significant disagreements over political, economic and security issues with governments in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additional controversies may arise in the future. Any political or trade controversies, whether or not directly related to the Company’s business, could have a material adverse effect on the Company, the market price of the Company’s Common Stock and the value of the Company’s investments in Sub-Saharan Africa.

An epidemic of the Ebola virus disease is ongoing in West Africa and may adversely affect our business operations and financial condition.

An epidemic of the Ebola virus disease is ongoing in certain countries of West Africa. A substantial number of deaths have been reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in these countries, and the WHO has declared it a global health emergency. It is impossible to predict the effect and potential spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa and around the world. Nigeria had reported cases of Ebola in 2014 but was officially declared free of Ebola by the WHO in October 2014.

Should the Ebola virus continue to spread, including to the areas in which we have assets or operations, not be satisfactorily contained or return to Nigeria, our exploration, development and production plans for our operations could be delayed or interrupted and such delays or interruptions could significantly increase costs of operations. Our operations in West Africa require contractors, personnel and equipment to travel to and from the areas that may be affected by announced travel bans to certain West African countries. If existing bans are extended to the countries in which we have assets or operations, including Nigeria, or if contractors or personnel refuse to travel to such areas, our business, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. In addition, costs associated with obtaining services in West Africa could be significantly higher than planned due to fears of the Ebola virus epidemic, which may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and cash flows. 

Risks Related to the Company’s Stock

CAMAC Energy Holdings Limited   is our majority stockholder, and it may take actions that conflict with the interests of the other stockholders.

Following the Allied Transaction, CEHL beneficially owned approximately 56.7% of our outstanding shares of Common Stock and continues to own a majority interest. CEHL controls the power to elect our directors, to appoint members of management and to approve all actions requiring the approval of the holders of our Common Stock, including adopting amendments to our Certificate of Incorporation and approving mergers, acquisitions or sales of all or substantially all of our assets, subject to certain restrictive covenants. The interests of CEHL as our controlling stockholder could conflict with your interests as a holder of Company Common Stock. For example, CEHL as our controlling stockholder may have an interest in pursuing acquisitions, divestitures, financings or other transactions that, in its judgment, could enhance its equity investment even though such transactions might involve risks to you, as minority holders of the Company.

The Company’s stockholders may not be able to enforce United States civil liabilities claims.

Many of the Company’s assets are and are expected to continue to be located outside the United States and held through one or more subsidiaries incorporated under the laws of foreign jurisdictions. Substantially all of the Company’s operations are and are expected to continue to be conducted in Africa. In addition, some of the Company’s directors and officers, including directors and officers of its subsidiaries, may be residents of countries other than the United States. All or a substantial portion of the assets of these persons may be located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for shareholders to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the foreign courts would recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against the Company or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof or be competent to hear original actions brought in these countries against the Company or such persons predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof.

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The market price of the Company’s common stock may be adversely affected by a number of factors related to the Company’s performance, the performance of other energy-related companies and the stock market in general.

The market prices of securities of energy companies are extremely volatile and sometimes reach unsustainable levels that bear no relationship to the past or present operating performance of such companies.

Factors that may contribute to the volatility of the trading price of the Company’s Common Stock include, among others:

In addition to the foregoing factors, the trading prices for equity securities in the stock market in general, and of energy-related companies in particular, have been subject to wide fluctuations that may be unrelated to the operating performance of the particular company affected by such fluctuations. Consequently, broad market fluctuations may have an adverse effect on the trading price of the Common Stock regardless of the Company’s results of operations.

The limited market for the Company’s Common Stock may adversely affect trading prices or the ability of a shareholder to sell the Company’s shares in the public market at or near ask prices or at all if a shareholder needs to liquidate its shares.

The market price for shares of the Company’s Common Stock has been, and is expected to continue to be, volatile. Numerous factors beyond the Company’s control may have a significant effect on the market price for shares of the Company’s Common Stock, including the fact that the Company is a small company that is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate or influence sales volumes. There may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in the Company’s shares is minimal as compared to a seasoned issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales without an adverse effect on share price. Due to these conditions, investors may not be able to sell their shares at or near ask prices or at all if investors desire to liquidate their shares.

We recently listed our Common Stock on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) however a trading market may not successfully develop on the JSE.

An active trading market for our Common Stock may not successfully develop on the JSE. In addition, we cannot assure what effect our listing on the JSE will have on our trading market on the NYSE MKT. In February and May 2014, we issued an aggregate of 376.9 million shares of our Common Stock to the Public Investment Corporation (SOC) Limited (“PIC”) of South Africa in a private placement. If PIC chooses to sell those shares on the JSE, sales of a large number of shares could have a negative effect on the market price of our shares on the JSE, which could have a negative effect on the market price of our shares on the NYSE MKT.

Substantial sales of the Company’s Common Stock could cause the Company’s stock price to fall.

The Company has registered approximately 945.5 million shares of our Common Stock on currently effective registration statements pursuant to registration rights agreements with stockholders. The potential for substantial amounts of our Common Stock to be sold in the public market may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Common Stock and could impair the Company’s ability to raise capital through the sale of its equity securities. Additionally, we may issue and register a greater number of shares of Common Stock in order to meet our obligations to pay up to $50.0 million in oil and gas milestone payments under the Transfer Agreement or

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upon conversion of the Convertible Subordinated Note. All of such shares would be eligible for registration under a registration rights agreement.

Conversion of the Convertible Subordinated Note may dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders.

The conversion of some or all of the Convertible Subordinated Note may dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders. The Convertible Subordinated Note is convertible into 69.8 million shares of our common stock, which represents approximately 5.24% of our currently outstanding shares. The Convertible Note is subject to anti-dilution adjustment provisions, including provisions that make it convertible into the same percentage of our outstanding shares if we issue shares of common stock or any convertible security at a price per share less than the conversion price. Any sales in the public market of the shares of our common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the anticipated conversion of the notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.

The Company’s issuance of Preferred Stock could adversely affect the value of the Company’s Common Stock.

The Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 50.0 million shares of Preferred Stock, which shares constitute what is commonly referred to as “blank check” Preferred Stock. This Preferred Stock may be issued by the Board of Directors from time to time on any number of occasions, without stockholder approval, as one or more separate series of shares comprised of any number of the authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock, designated by resolution of the Board of Directors, stating the name and number of shares of each series and setting forth separately for such series the relative rights, privileges and preferences thereof, including, if any, the: (i) rate of dividends payable thereon; (ii) price, terms and conditions of redemption; (iii) voluntary and involuntary liquidation preferences; (iv) provisions of a sinking fund for redemption or repurchase; (v) terms of conversion to Common Stock, including conversion price; and (vi) voting rights. The designation of such shares could be dilutive of the interest of the holders of our Common Stock. The ability to issue such Preferred Stock could also give the Company’s Board of Directors the ability to hinder or discourage any attempt to gain control of the Company by a merger, tender offer at a control premium price, proxy contest or otherwise.

The Company’s executive officers, directors and major stockholders, including CEHL and PIC, hold a controlling interest in the Company’s Common Stock and may be able to prevent other stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions.

The executive officers, directors and holders of 5% or more of the outstanding Common Stock, if acting together, would be able to control all matters requiring approval by stockholders, including the election of Directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control and may make some transactions more difficult or impossible to complete without the support of these stockholders.