ZNOG Zion Oil and Gas Inc (QB)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

In evaluating our company, the risk factors described below should be considered carefully. The occurrence of one or more of these events could significantly and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Associated with our Company

We are a company with no current source of revenue. Our ability to continue in business depends upon our continued ability to obtain significant financing from external sources and the ultimate success of our petroleum exploration efforts in onshore Israel, none of which can be assured.

We were incorporated in April 2000, and we have incurred negative cash flows from our operations, and presently all exploration activities and overhead expenses are financed solely by way of the issue and sale of equity securities or debt instruments. The recoverability of the costs we have incurred to date is uncertain and is dependent upon achieving commercial production or sale, none of which can be assured. Our operations are subject to all of the risks inherent in exploration companies with no revenues or operating income. Our potential for success must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays frequently encountered in connection with a new business, especially the oil and gas exploration business, and in particular the deep, wildcat exploratory wells in which we are engaged in Israel. We cannot warrant or provide any assurance that our business objectives will be accomplished.

Our ability to continue in business depends upon our continued ability to obtain the necessary financing from external sources to undertake further exploration and development activities and generate profitable operations from oil and natural gas interests in the future. We incurred net losses of $9,989,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, $8,513,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016 and $7,306,000 for the year ended December 31, 2015. The audited financial statements have contained a statement by the auditors that raises substantial doubt about us being able to continue as a “going concern” unless we are able to raise additional capital.

We expect to incur substantial expenditures in our exploration and development programs. Our existing cash balances will not be sufficient to satisfy our exploration and development plans going forward. We are considering various alternatives to remedy any future shortfall in capital. We may deem it necessary to raise capital through equity markets, debt markets or other financing arrangements, including participation arrangements that may be available. Because of the current absence of any oil and natural gas reserves and revenues in our license areas, there can be no assurance that our capital will be available on commercially acceptable terms (or at all) and if it is not, we may be forced to substantially curtail or cease exploration expenditures which could lead to our inability to meet all of our commitments.

Our financial statements do not reflect the adjustments or reclassifications of assets and liabilities that would be necessary if we are unable to continue as a going concern.

Our ongoing exploration and development efforts are subject to many contingencies outside of our control, and any considerable delay in obtaining all of the needed licenses, approvals and authorizations may severely impair our business.

After reaching total depth of 5,060 meters (approximately 16,600 feet) on the MJ#1 well on February 14, 2018, we plan to finalize our testing program which we must submit for approval to Israel’s Energy Ministry for their final approval. While Zion does not expect objections to the testing procedure, there is no assurance that we will ultimately be granted such final permission to test. See the discussion under “Energy Related Regulation — The Onshore Exploration Permitting Process in Israel;” “New Onshore Licensing Guidelines;” and “Israeli Governmental Regulations.”

For these reasons, although our testing program is currently planned to commence in the second quarter of 2018, we cannot provide full assurance that we will in fact be able to test our MJ#1 well in the desired or planned time-frame. 

We require significant capital to realize our business plan.

Our ongoing work program is expensive. We believe that our current cash resources are sufficient to allow us to undertake testing and exploratory activities in our current license area through May 31, 2018. We estimate that, when we are not actively drilling a well, our monthly expenditure is approximately $500,000 per month. However, when we are drilling or testing, as we are now, we estimate that there is an additional cost of approximately $2,500,000 per month. Additionally, the newly enacted onshore licensing and environmental and safety related regulations promulgated by the various energy related ministries in Israel during 2016-2017 are likely to render obtaining new explorations licenses increasingly expensive. For example, at the time of the award of any new exploration license, we will be required to submit performance bank guarantees in the form of a restricted Israel cash deposits for 10% of the cost of the planned drilling program as well as other amounts to cover potential environmental damages. See “Israel Energy Related Governmental Regulations.”

We have no commitments for any financing, and no assurance can be provided that we will be able to raise funds when needed. Further, we cannot assure you that our actual cash requirements will not exceed our estimates. Even if we were to discover hydrocarbons in commercial quantities, we will require additional financing to bring our interests into commercial operation and pay for operating expenses until we achieve a positive cash flow. Additional capital also may be required in the event we incur any significant unanticipated expenses.

Under the current capital and credit market conditions, we may not be able to obtain additional equity or debt financing on acceptable terms. Even if financing is available, it may not be available on terms that are favorable to us or in sufficient amounts to satisfy our requirements.

If we are unable to obtain additional financing, we may be unable to implement our business plan and our growth strategies, respond to changing business or economic conditions and withstand adverse operating results. If we are unable to raise further financing when required, our planned exploration activities may have to be scaled down or even ceased, and our ability to generate revenues in the future would be negatively affected.

Additional financing could cause your relative interest in our assets and potential earnings to be significantly diluted. Even if we have exploration success, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to offset the cost of dry holes and general and administrative expenses.

We rely on independent experts and technical or operational service providers over whom we may have limited control.

The success of our oil and gas exploration efforts is dependent upon the efforts of various third parties that we do not control. These third parties provide critical drilling, engineering, logging, pressure pumping, geological, geophysical and other scientific analytical services, including 2-D seismic imaging technology to explore for and develop oil and gas prospects. Given our small size and limited resources, we do not have all the required expertise on staff.  As a result, we rely upon various companies and other third parties to assist us in identifying desirable hydrocarbon prospects to acquire and to provide us with technical assistance and services. In addition, we rely upon the owners and operators of drilling rigs and related equipment.

If any of these relationships with third-party service providers are terminated or are unavailable on commercially acceptable terms, we may not be able to execute our business plan. Our limited control over the activities and business practices of these third parties, any inability on our part to maintain satisfactory commercial relationships with them, their limited availability or their failure to provide quality services could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have historically commenced exploration drilling operations without 3-D seismic surveys, thereby potentially increasing the risk of drilling a non-producing or non-commercial well.

Larger oil and gas exploration companies may choose to conduct extensive analytical pre-drilling testing such as 3-D seismic imaging, the drilling of an expendable “pilot” well or “stratigraphic test” to collect data (logs, cores, fluid samples, pressure data) to determine if drilling a well capable of producing oil or gas (full completion with casing and well testing) is justified. The use of pilot or stratigraphic tests is often used in areas where there is little or no offset well data, like Israel, where our exploration license area is located.  While 3-D seismic imaging data is more useful than 2-D data in identifying potential new drilling prospects, its acquisition and processing costs are many multiples greater than that for 2-D data, and the Geophysical Institute of Israel (“GII”), our primary provider of geophysical data, has limited ability to acquire and process onshore 3-D data in Israel. In addition to using 2-D seismic technology prior to drilling, we have historically also utilized gravity and magnetic data, built cross section maps from offset wells and utilized geophysical analysis from similar geologic targets. We believe that the additional months, delays and costs associated with more extensive pre-drilling testing typically undertaken by larger oil and gas exploration companies is not necessarily justified when drilling vertical or near-vertical exploration wells (as we have historically been doing). Nonetheless, the absence of more extensive pre-drilling testing may potentially increase the risk of drilling a non-producing well, which would in turn result in increased costs and expenses. Additionally, we are typically engaged in drilling deep onshore wildcat wells in Israel where only approximately 500 total wells have ever been drilled, the vast majority of which are relatively shallow. As such, exploration risks are inherently very substantial.

Exploratory well drilling locations that we decide to drill may not yield oil or natural gas in commercially viable quantities.

There is no way to predict in advance of drilling and testing whether any particular location will yield oil or natural gas in sufficient quantities to recover drilling or completion costs or to be economically viable. The use of technologies and the study of producing fields in the same area will not enable us to know conclusively prior to drilling whether oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) or natural gas will be present or, if present, whether oil or natural gas will be present in sufficient quantities to be economically viable. Even if sufficient amounts of oil, NGLs or natural gas exist, we may inadvertently damage the potentially productive hydrocarbon bearing formation or experience mechanical difficulties while drilling or completing a well, resulting in a reduction in production from the well or abandonment of the well. If we drill exploratory wells that we identify as dry holes in our future drilling locations, our business may be materially harmed. We cannot assure you that the analogies we draw from available data from other wells, more fully explored locations or producing fields will be applicable to our drilling locations. Ultimately, the cost of drilling, completing and operating any well is often uncertain, and new wells may not be productive.

Deterioration of political, economic and security conditions in Israel may adversely affect our operations.

Any major hostilities involving Israel, a substantial decline in the prevailing regional security situation or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its present trading partners could have a material adverse effect on our operations. See the prior discussion on Political Climate.

Prolonged and/or widespread regional conflict in the Middle East could have the following results, among others:

Loss of property and/or interruption of our business plans resulting from hostile acts could have a significant negative impact on our earnings and cash flow. In addition, we may not have enough insurance to cover any loss of property or other claims resulting from these risks.

We have a history of losses and we cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable.

We incurred net losses of $9,989,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, $8,513,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016, and $7,306,000 for the year ended December 31, 2015. We cannot provide any assurance that we will ever be profitable.

Earnings, if any, will be diluted due to governmental royalty and charitable contributions.

We are legally bound to pay a government royalty of 12.5% of gross sales revenues. Additionally, we are legally required to pay 6% of gross sales revenue to two separate foundations (3% each to two separate foundations – see the separate section on foundations). As our expenses increase with respect to the amount of sales, these donations and allocation could significantly dilute future earnings and, thus, depress the price of the common stock.

Risks Associated with our Business

We are subject to increasing Israeli governmental regulations and environmental requirements that may cause us to incur substantial incremental costs and/or delays in our drilling program.

Our business is subject to laws and regulations promulgated by the State of Israel relating to the exploration for, and the development, production and marketing of, crude oil and natural gas, as well as safety matters. Legal requirements are frequently changed and subject to interpretation, and we are unable to predict the ultimate cost of compliance with these requirements or their effect on our operations. We may be required to make substantial expenditures to comply with governmental laws and regulations.

Environmental laws and regulations change frequently, and the implementation of new, or the modification of existing, laws or regulations could adversely impact our operations. The discharge of natural gas, crude oil, or other pollutants into the air, soil or water may give rise to substantial liabilities on our part to government agencies and third parties and may require us to incur substantial costs of remediation. In addition, we may incur costs and penalties in addressing regulatory agency procedures regarding possible non-compliance.

Our lack of diversification increases the risk of an investment in us, and our financial condition and results of operations may deteriorate if we fail to diversify.

Our business focus is on oil and gas exploration on a limited number of properties in Israel and exploitation of any significant reserves that are found within our license areas. As a result, we lack diversification, in terms of both the nature and geographic scope of our business. We will likely be impacted more acutely by factors affecting our industry or the regions in which we operate than we would if our business were more diversified. If we are unable to diversify our operations, our financial condition and results of operations could deteriorate.

We currently have no proved reserves or current production and we may never have any.

We do not have any proved reserves or current production of oil or gas. We cannot assure you that any wells will be completed or produce oil or gas in commercially profitable quantities.

Oil and gas exploration is an inherently risky business.

Exploratory drilling involves enormous risks, including the risk that no commercially productive oil or natural gas reservoirs will be discovered. Even when properly used and interpreted, seismic data analysis and other computer simulation techniques are only tools used to assist geoscientists in trying to identify subsurface structures and the presence of an active petroleum system. They do not allow the interpreter to know conclusively if hydrocarbons are present or economically available. The risk analysis techniques we use in evaluating potential drilling sites rely on subjective judgments of our personnel and consultants. Additionally, we are typically engaged in drilling deep onshore wildcat exploratory wells in Israel where only approximately 500 total wells have ever been drilled, the vast majority of which are relatively shallower. As such, exploration risks are inherently very substantial.

A substantial and extended decline in oil or natural gas prices could adversely impact our future rate of growth and the carrying value of our unproved oil and gas assets.

Prices for oil and natural gas fluctuate widely. Fluctuations in the prices of oil and natural gas will affect many aspects of our business, including our ability to attract capital to finance our operations, our cost of capital, and the value of our unproved oil and natural gas properties. Prices for oil and natural gas may fluctuate widely in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil and natural gas, market uncertainty and a wide variety of additional factors that are beyond our control, such as the domestic and foreign supply of oil and natural gas, technological advances affecting energy consumption, and domestic and foreign governmental regulations.  Significant and extended reductions in oil and natural gas prices could require us to reduce our capital expenditures and impair the carrying value of our assets.

The price of oil has fallen precipitously since June 2014, when it was over $100 per barrel. During February 2016, the price of a barrel of oil dipped under $30 for the first time in 12 years but has increased since then to a level of approximately $60 per barrel .

While there is much analysis and speculation as to the cause of this fluctuation in the price and its predicted future course, there are many factors that contribute to the price of oil, none of which the Company controls. The oil price is also impacted by actual supply and demand, as well as by expectation. Demand for energy is closely related to economic activity which is compounded by key advances and innovation in exploration techniques in recent years. Significant geopolitical events such as heightened conflict in the Middle East and large scale terrorist activities can also impact the price of oil tremendously.

If we are successful in finding commercial quantities of oil and/or gas, our revenues, operating results, financial condition and ability to borrow funds or obtain additional capital will depend substantially on prevailing prices for oil and natural gas. Declines in oil and gas prices may materially adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity, ability to obtain financing and operating results. Lower oil and gas prices also may reduce the amount of oil and gas that we could produce economically.

Historically, oil and gas prices and markets have been volatile, with prices fluctuating widely, and they are likely to continue to be volatile, making it impossible to predict with any certainty the future prices of oil and gas. The bottom line is that there are many and varied causes for the fluctuation in the price of oil and natural gas, and we have no control over these factors.

The insurance we carry is insufficient to cover all of the risks we face, which could result in significant financial exposure.

Exploration for and production of crude oil and natural gas can be hazardous, involving natural disasters and other unplanned events such as blowouts, well cratering, fire and explosion and loss of well control which can result in damage to or destruction of wells, injury to persons, loss of life, or damage to property and the environment. Exploration and production activities are also subject to risk from political developments such as terrorist acts, piracy, civil disturbances, war, expropriation or nationalization of assets, which can cause loss of or damage to our property.

As is customary within our industry, we maintain insurance against many, but not all, potential perils confronting our operations and in coverage amounts and deductible levels that we believe to be economic. Consistent with that profile, our insurance program is structured to provide us financial protection from unfavorable loss resulting from damages to or the loss of physical assets or loss of human life, liability claims of third parties, and exploratory drilling interruption attributed to certain assets and including such occurrences as well blowouts and resulting oil spills, at a level that balances cost of insurance with our assessment of risk and our ability to achieve a reasonable rate of return on our investments. Although we believe the coverage and amounts of insurance carried are adequate and consistent with industry practice, we do not have insurance protection against all the risks we face. Because we chose not to insure certain risks, insurance may not be available at a level that balances the cost of insurance and our desired rates of return, or actual losses exceed coverage limits. We regularly review our risks of loss and the cost and availability of insurance and revise our insurance program accordingly.

If an event occurs that is not covered by insurance or not fully protected by insured limits, it could have a significant adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We face various risks associated with the trend toward increased activism against oil and gas exploration and development activities.

Opposition toward oil and gas drilling and development activity has been growing globally and is particularly pronounced in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) countries which include the U.S., the U.K and Israel.  Companies in the oil and gas industry, such as us, are often the target of activist efforts from both individuals and non-governmental organizations regarding environmental compliance and business practices, potential damage to fresh water sources, and safety, among other topics.  Future activist efforts could result in the following:

Our need to incur costs associated with responding to these initiatives or complying with any resulting new legal or regulatory requirements resulting from these activities that are substantial and not adequately provided for, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Economic risks may adversely affect our operations and/or inhibit our ability to raise additional capital.

Economically, our operations in Israel may be subject to:

Consequently, our operations may be substantially affected by local economic factors beyond our control, any of which could negatively affect our financial performance and prospects.

Legal risks could negatively affect our market value.

Legally, our operations in Israel may be subject to:

The Israeli Energy Ministry has now enacted regulations relating to licensing requirements for entities engaged in the fuel sector that would result in our having to obtain additional licenses to market and sell hydrocarbons that we may discover.

Further, in the event of a legal dispute in Israel, we may be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Israeli courts or we may not be successful in subjecting persons who are not United States residents to the jurisdiction of courts in the United States, either of which could adversely affect the outcome of a dispute. 

There are limitations on the transfer of interests in our petroleum rights, which could impair our ability to raise additional funds to execute our business plan .

The Israeli government has the right to approve any transfer of rights and interests in any license or other petroleum right we hold or may be granted and any mortgage of any license or other petroleum rights to borrow money. If we attempt to raise additional funds through borrowings or joint ventures with other companies and are unable to obtain required approvals from the government, the value of your investment could be significantly diluted or even lost.

Our dependence on the limited contractors, equipment and professional services available in Israel may result in increased costs and possibly material delays in our work schedule .

Due to the lack of competitive resources in Israel, costs for our operations may be more expensive than costs for similar operations in other parts of the world. We are also more likely to incur delays in our drilling schedule and be subject to a greater risk of failure in meeting our required work schedule. Similarly, some of the oil field personnel we need to undertake our planned operations are not necessarily available in Israel or available on short notice for work in Israel. Any or all of the factors specified above may result in increased costs and delays in the work schedule.

Our dependence on Israeli local licenses and permits as well as new regulations calling for enhanced bank guarantees and insurance coverage may require more funds than we have budgeted and may cause delays in our work schedule.

In connection with drilling operations, we are subject to a number of Israeli local licenses and permits. Some of these are issued by the Israeli security forces, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Israeli Water Commission, the Israel Lands Authority, the holders of the surface rights in the lands on which we intend to conduct drilling operations, local and regional planning commissions and environmental authorities.

In the event of a commercial discovery and depending on the nature of the discovery and the production and related distribution equipment necessary to produce and sell the discovered hydrocarbons, we will be subject to additional licenses and permits, including from various departments in the Energy Ministry, regional and local planning commissions, the environmental authorities and the Israel Lands Authority. If we are unable to obtain some or all of these permits or the time required to obtain them is longer than anticipated, we may have to alter or delay our planned work schedule, which would increase our costs.

If we are successful in finding commercial quantities of oil and/or gas, our operations will be subject to laws and regulations relating to the generation, storage, handling, emission, transportation and discharge of materials into the environment, which can adversely affect the cost, manner or feasibility of our doing business. Many Israeli laws and regulations require permits for the operation of various facilities, and these permits are subject to revocation, modification and renewal. Governmental authorities have the power to enforce compliance with their regulations, and violations could subject us to fines, injunctions or both.

If compliance with environmental regulations is more expensive than anticipated, it could adversely impact the profitability of our business.

Risks of substantial costs and liabilities related to environmental compliance issues are inherent in oil and gas operations. It is possible that other developments, such as stricter environmental laws and regulations, and claims for damages to property or persons resulting from oil and gas exploration and production, would result in substantial costs and liabilities. This could also cause our insurance premiums to be significantly greater than anticipated.

The unavailability or high cost of drilling rigs, equipment, supplies, other oil field services and personnel could adversely affect our ability to execute our exploration and development plans on a timely basis and within our budget.

Our industry is cyclical and, from time to time, there is a shortage of drilling rigs, equipment, supplies and oilfield services. There may also be a shortage of trained and experienced personnel. During these periods, the costs of such items are substantially greater and their availability may be limited, particularly in locations that typically have limited availability of equipment and personnel, such as the Eastern Mediterranean, where our operations are located. As a result, drilling rigs and oilfield services may not be available at rates that provide a satisfactory return on our investment.

Additionally, the oil and gas sector is going through very difficult financial times due to the persistently low oil and natural gas prices. This has led to drilling services company reorganizations and even bankruptcies which could impact our ability to obtain drilling equipment, crews, and services from the affected companies. All of these contingencies, over which we have little or no control, can potentially disrupt our budgets and planned time frames.

Risks Related to our Common Stock

We will issue additional common stock in the future, which would dilute the ownership interests of our existing stockholders.

In the future, we anticipate issuing additional securities in connection with capital raising efforts, including shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock, resulting in the dilution of the ownership interests of our stockholders. We are authorized under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to issue 200,000,000 shares of common stock. As of 2018, there were 56,925,311 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding.

We have an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3/A (File No. 333-216191) from which additional shares of our common stock and other securities can be issued. In addition, we may also issue additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock in connection with the hiring of personnel, future acquisitions, future private placements of our securities for capital raising purposes or for other business purposes. Future issuances of our common stock, or the perception that such issuances could occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock. The former registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on March 27, 2014 and therefore, was effective until March 26, 2017 plus 180 days thereafter.

On February 23, 2017, the Company filed with the SEC a replacement shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-216191) to become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the SEC, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine. From time to time, the Company may offer up to $102,350,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, in the form of common stock, debt securities, warrants, and/or units.

When we offer a particular series of securities, we will describe the intended use of the net proceeds from that offering in a prospectus supplement. The actual amount of net proceeds we spend on a particular use will depend on many factors, including, our future capital expenditures, the amount of cash required by our operations, and our future revenue growth, if any. Therefore, we will retain broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds.

Because the likelihood of paying cash dividends on our common stock is remote at this time, stockholders must look solely to appreciation of our common stock to realize a gain on their investments.

We do not know when or if we will pay dividends. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the expansion of our business. Our future dividend policy is within the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including our business, financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and investment opportunities. Accordingly, stockholders must look solely to appreciation of our common stock to realize a gain on their investment. This appreciation may not occur.

Our stock price and trading volume may be volatile, which could result in losses for our stockholders.

The public market for our common stock has been characterized by significant price and volume fluctuations. There can be no assurance that the market price of our common stock will not decline below its current or historic price ranges. The market price may bear no relationship to the prospects, stage of development, existence of oil and gas reserves, revenues, earnings, assets or potential of our company and may not be indicative of our future business performance. The trading price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations. Fluctuations in the price of oil and gas and related international political events can be expected to affect the price of our common stock. In addition, the stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price for many companies, sometimes unrelated to the operating performance of these companies. These market fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions, may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock include:

Many of these factors are beyond our control, and we cannot predict their potential effect on the price of our common stock.