UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

 

 

Form 8-K

 

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 23, 2020

 

 

 

FOOTHILLS EXPLORATION, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   000-55872   27-3439423

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

  

(Commission

File Number)

  

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

 

10940 Wilshire Blvd., 23rd Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90024

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

 

(800) 204-5510

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

[  ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
   
[  ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
   
[  ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
[  ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which registered
N/A   N/A   N/A

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company [  ]

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [  ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 8.01. Other Events

 

COVID-19

 

The Company is providing the following update on its business operations. As result of the global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, on March 23, 2020 the Company evaluated its ongoing effort to prepare and file its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

 

Certain Company officers and management as well as professional staff and consultants are unable to conduct work required to prepare our financial report for the year ended December 31, 2019. On March 19, 2020 the State of California Governor, Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti issued an emergency shelter-in-place order for the State of California and city of Los Angeles, where our principal offices are located ordering the closure of all non-essential businesses. In addition, we are concerned with issues raised concerning shelter-in-place orders issued by governors in states where our officers, directors, management, professional staff, auditors and consultants are located, including New York, New Mexico, Nevada and Maryland, where COVID-19 infections have been identified. Each of these states has declared a state of emergency and safety concerns are paramount.

 

As a result, the Company expects to be unable to compile and review certain information required in order to permit the Company to file a timely and accurate annual report on Form 10-K for its year ended December 31, 2019 by the prescribed date without unreasonable effort or expense due to circumstances related to COVID-19.

 

On March 4, 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") issued an Order under Section 36 (Release No. 34-88318) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") granting exemptions from specified provisions of the Exchange Act and certain rules thereunder (the "Order"). The Order provides that a registrant (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2) subject to the reporting requirements of Exchange Act Section 13(a) or 15(d), and any person required to make any flings with respect to such a registrant, is exempt from any requirement to file or furnish materials with the Commission under Exchange Act Sections 13(a), 13(f), 13(g), 14(a), 14(c), 14(f), 15(d) and Regulations 13A, Regulation 13D-G (except for those provisions mandating the fling of Schedule 13D or amendments to Schedule 13D), 14A, 14C and 15D, and Exchange Act Rules 13f-1, and 14f-1, as applicable, where certain conditions are satisfied.

 

The Company is relying on this Order for filing of its Form 10-K the later of March 31, 2020 or original filing deadline of the report and expects to file its annual report on Form 10-K approximately 45 days after March 31, 2020.

 

The Company is supplementing the risk factors previously disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, with the following risk factor:

 

 

 

 

War, terrorism, other acts of violence or natural or manmade disasters such as a global pandemic may affect the markets in which the Company operates, the Company's customers, the Company's delivery of products and customer service, and could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

 

The Company's business may be adversely affected by instability, disruption or destruction in a geographic region in which it operates, regardless of cause, including war, terrorism, riot, civil insurrection or social unrest, and natural or manmade disasters, including famine, food, fire, earthquake, storm or pandemic events and spread of disease (including the recent outbreak of the coronavirus commonly referred to as "COVID-19"). Several of the Company’s financiers and key stakeholders are located in Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong, which has been severely affected by COVID-19 since December 2019. As such, these events have had a negative impact on the Company’s ability to raise additional investment capital from current stakeholders. Furthermore, the recent crude oil price war initiated between Russia and OPEC, caused primarily by the drastic decline in demand growth for crude oil due to COVID-19, has further negatively impacted the Company’s oil and gas operations, which could materially adversely affect the Company’s financial results.

 

Any significant disruption to communications and travel, including travel restrictions and other potential protective quarantine measures against COVID-19 by governmental agencies, may increase the difficulty and could make it extremely difficult to market its products. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts the Company's business, sales and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

 

We believe the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has negatively affected our corporate operations necessary to prepare and maintain accurate accounting and reporting, and could continue to do so in the foreseeable future. COVID-19 has resulted in restrictions, postponements and cancellations and the impact, extent and duration of the government-imposed restrictions on travel and public gatherings as well as the overall effect of the COVID-19 virus is currently unknown.

 

The ongoing circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 virus outbreak magnify the challenges faced from our continuing efforts to develop, build and finance our business operations and could have an impact on our business and financial results.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains statements as to the Company's beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on travel and physical locations, the anticipated impact of such outbreak on our results of operations, and likely significant decrease in future demand for hydrocarbons. These forward- looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on our oil and gas development activities, where we anticipate a downward and prolonged pressure on energy prices and sales volume for the foreseeable future. The duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and severity of such outbreak, the pace of recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak, the effect on our operations, our ability to implement our business plan as currently constructed and the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business or the market price of our common stock and the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including subsequent quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K are uncertain. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements made by it to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

Disclaimer:

 

Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures and risk factors in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in the other reports and filings with the SEC, available from the Company’s offices or website. These forms can also be obtained from the SEC via the internet at www.sec.gov.

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: March 31, 2020

 

FOOTHILLS EXPLORATION, INC.

 

By: /s/ B. P. Allaire  
  B. P. Allaire  
  Chief Executive Officer