GSPE Gulfslope Energy Inc (CE)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Certain factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, in addition to other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and related notes. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment

Risks Related to Our Business and Financial Condition

Our business plan requires substantial additional capital, which we may be unable to raise on acceptable terms, if at all, in the future, which may in turn limit our ability to execute our business strategy.

We expect our capital outlays and operating expenditures to increase substantially over at least the next several years as we expand our operations. Lease and property acquisition costs, as well as drilling operations, are very expensive, and we will need to raise substantial additional capital, through equity offerings, strategic transactions or debt financings in 2021.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

We have planned operating expenditures through December 2021 of approximately $10 million, which includes drilling capital expenditures and general and administrative expenses. We will need to raise funds to cover these planned operating expenditures.

To the extent we are able to raise capital through equity financings, they may be dilutive to our stockholders. Alternative forms of future financings may include preferred stock with preferences or rights superior to our common stock. Debt financings may involve a pledge of assets and will rank senior to our common stock. We have historically financed our operations through best efforts private equity and debt financings. We do not have any credit or equity facilities available with financial institutions, stockholders or third party investors, and will continue to rely on best efforts financings. There is no assurance that we can raise the capital necessary to fund our business plan. Failure to raise the required capital to fund operations, on favorable terms or at all, will have a material adverse effect on our operations, and will likely cause us to curtail or cease operations.

Our fiscal 2020 financial statements express substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, raising questions as to our continued existence.

We have incurred losses since our inception resulting in an accumulated deficit of approximately $58.0 million and negative working capital totalling approximately $10.3 million at September 30, 2020.  Further losses are anticipated as we continue to develop our business. To continue as a going concern, we estimate that we will need approximately $10 million to meet our obligations and planned operating expenditures through December 2021. These expenditures include anticipated drilling capital expenditures, lease rentals to the BOEM, general and administrative expenses, and costs associated with IT and seismic acquisition and processing. In addition, we plan to extend the agreements associated with our loans from related parties, the accrued interest payable on these loans, as well as the Company’s accrued liabilities. We plan to finance our operations through equity and/or debt financings, and strategic transactions to include farm-outs, asset sales or mergers. There are no assurances that financing will be available with acceptable terms, if at all. If we are not successful in obtaining financing, our operations would need to be curtailed or ceased or the Company would need to sell assets or consider alternative plans up to and including restructuring.

We have no proved reserves and areas that we decide to drill may not yield oil and natural gas in commercial quantities or quality, or at all.

We have no proved reserves. We have identified prospects based on available seismic and geological information that indicates the potential presence of oil and natural gas. However, the areas we decide to drill may not yield oil and natural gas in commercial quantities or quality, or at all. Most of our current prospects are in various stages of evaluation that will require substantial additional seismic data reprocessing and interpretation. Even when properly used and interpreted, 3-D seismic data and visualization techniques are only tools used to assist geoscientists in identifying subsurface structures and hydrocarbon indicators and do not enable the interpreter to know whether hydrocarbons are, in fact, present in those structures. We do not know if our prospects will contain oil and natural gas in sufficient quantities or quality to recover drilling and completion costs or to be economically viable. Even if oil and natural gas is found on our prospects in commercial quantities, construction costs of pipelines and other transportation costs may prevent such prospects from being economically viable. If one or more of our prospects do not prove to be successful, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected.

The seismic data we use are subject to non-exclusive license arrangements and may be licensed to our competitors, which could adversely affect the execution of our acquisition strategy and business plan.

Our 3-D seismic license agreements are non-exclusive, industry-standard agreements. Accordingly, the licensor of such seismic data has the right to license the same data that we acquired to our competitors, which could adversely affect our acquisition strategy and the execution of our business plan. We are not authorized to assign any of our rights under our license agreements, including a transaction with a potential joint venture partner or acquirer, without complying with the terms of the license agreements and a payment to the licensor (by us or the acquirer in the event of a change of control transaction or our partner in a joint venture transaction). However, our interpretation of this seismic data and importantly, reprocessing and the modeling of certain seismic data utilized to identify and technically support oil and gas prospects, is unique and proprietary to the Company.

3-D seismic interpretation does not guarantee that hydrocarbons are present or if present, produce in economic quantities.

We rely on 3-D seismic studies to assist us with assessing prospective drilling opportunities on our properties, as well as on properties that we may acquire. Such seismic studies are merely an interpretive tool and do not necessarily guarantee that hydrocarbons are present or, if present, produce in economic quantities, and seismic indications of hydrocarbon saturation are generally not reliable indicators of productive reservoir rock. These limitations of 3-D seismic data may impact our drilling and operational results, and consequently our financial condition

Our leases may be terminated if we are unable to make future lease payments or if we do not drill in a timely manner.

The failure to timely affect all lease related payments could cause the leases to be terminated by the BOEM. Net lease rental obligations on our existing prospects are expected to be approximately $0.2 million in fiscal year 2021. Our leases have a five-year primary term, expiring in 2022, 2023 and 2025. Each lease may be extended, by drilling a well capable of producing hydrocarbons and submitting a Plan of Production approved by the regulatory authorities. In addition, the terms of our leases may be extended for an additional three years, provided a well is spud targeting hydrocarbons below 25,000 feet true vertical depth (“TVD”) within the primary term of the lease. In addition, the terms of our leases may also be extended by the granting of a Subsalt Lease Term Extension, should we elect to apply and qualify for said extension on any lease(s). If we are not successful in raising additional capital, we may be unable to successfully exploit our properties, and we may lose the rights to develop these properties upon the expiration of our leases. If not successful in securing extensions, those leases will be subject to the competitive bid process in the semi-annual BOEM OCS Lease Sales.

We may not be able to develop oil and natural gas reserves on an economically viable basis.

To the extent that we succeed in discovering oil and/or natural gas reserves, we cannot assure that these reserves will be capable of production levels we project or in sufficient quantities to be commercially viable. On a long-term basis, our viability depends on our ability to find, develop and commercially produce oil and gas reserves, assuming we acquire leases or drilling rights. Our future reserves, if any, will depend not only on our ability to develop then-existing properties, but also on our ability to identify and acquire additional suitable producing properties or prospects, to find markets for the oil and natural gas we develop and to effectively distribute our production into markets.

Future oil and gas exploration may involve unprofitable efforts, not only from dry wells, but from wells that are productive but do not produce sufficient net revenues to return a profit after drilling, operating and other costs. Completion of a well does not assure a profit on the investment or recovery of drilling, completion and operating costs. In addition, drilling hazards or environmental damage could greatly increase the cost of operations and various field operating conditions may adversely affect the production from successful wells. These conditions include delays in obtaining governmental approvals or consents, shut-downs of wells resulting from extreme weather conditions, problems in storage and distribution and adverse geological and mechanical conditions. While we will endeavor to effectively manage these conditions, we cannot be assured of doing so optimally, and we will not be able to eliminate them completely in any case. Therefore, these conditions could adversely impact our operations

We are substantially dependent on certain members of our management and technical team.

Investors in our common stock must rely upon the ability, expertise, judgment and discretion of our management and the success of our technical team in identifying and acquiring leases and producing properties, as well as discovering and developing any oil and gas reserves. Our performance and success are dependent, in part, upon key members of our management and technical team, and their loss or departure could be detrimental to our future success. In making a decision to invest in our common stock, you must be willing to rely to a significant extent on our management’s discretion and judgment. The loss of any of our management and technical team members could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, results of operations and financial condition, as well as on the market price of our common stock. We may not be able to find replacement personnel with comparable skills. If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel, our business may be adversely affected. We do not currently maintain key-man insurance on any member of the management team.

We are an oil and natural gas exploration and production company with limited operating history, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in executing our business plan. We may never attain profitability.

We commenced our business activity in March 2013, when we entered into 3-D license agreements covering approximately 2.2 million acres, and have entered into additional 3-D license agreements with seismic companies to acquire additional data and reprocess seismic data. While we intend to engage in the acquisition, drilling, development, and production of oil and natural gas in the future, we currently have no reserves or production. As we are a relatively new business, we are subject to all the risks and uncertainties, which are characteristic of a new business enterprise, including the substantial problems, expenses and other difficulties typically encountered in the course of its business, in addition to normal business risks, as well as those risks that are specific to the oil and gas industry. Investors should evaluate us in light of the delays, expenses, problems and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies developing markets for new products, services and technologies. We may never overcome these obstacles.

We may be unable to access the capital markets to obtain additional capital that we will require to implement our business plan, which would restrict our ability to grow.

Our current capital on hand is insufficient to enable us to fully execute our business strategy in 2021. Because we are a company with limited resources, we may not be able to compete in the capital markets with much larger, established companies that have ready access to capital. Our ability to obtain needed financing may be impaired by conditions and instability in the capital markets (both generally and in the oil and gas industry in particular), our status as a early-stage enterprise without a demonstrated operating history, the location of our leases and prices of oil and natural gas on the commodities markets (which will impact the amount of financing available to us), and/or the loss of key consultants and management. Further, if oil and/or natural gas prices decrease, then potential revenues, if any, will decrease, which may increase our requirements for capital. Some of the future contractual arrangements governing our operations may require us to maintain minimum capital (both from a legal and practical perspective), and we may lose our contractual rights if we do not have the required minimum capital. If the amount of capital we can raise is not sufficient, we may be required to curtail or cease our operations.

We have a limited operating history with significant losses and expect losses to continue for the foreseeable future.

We have incurred annual operating losses since our inception. As a result, at September 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $58.0 million. We had no revenues in 2020 and do not anticipate generating revenues in fiscal 2021, or in subsequent periods unless we are successful in discovering or acquiring economically recoverable oil or gas reserves. We expect continued losses in fiscal year 2021, and thereafter until we are successful in discovering or acquiring economically recoverable oil or gas reserves

The majority of our existing debt outstanding is payable on demand. If we are unable to repay our existing or future debt as it becomes due, we may be unable to continue as a going concern.

As of September 30, 2020, we owed John Seitz, our chief executive officer, a total of $8.7 million in notes, payable on demand and bearing interest at the rate of 5% per annum. Unpaid interest associated with these notes was $2.5 million as of September 30, 2020. In addition, approximately 16% of our outstanding common stock is controlled by Mr. Seitz. If demand for immediate payment of some or all of these notes were to occur, it will threaten our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our lack of diversification increases the risk of an investment in our common stock.

Our business will focus on the oil and gas industry in commercially advantageous offshore areas of the United States. Larger companies have the ability to manage their risk by diversification. However, we lack diversification, in terms of both the nature and geographic scope of our business. As a result, factors affecting our industry, or the regions in which we operate, will likely impact us more acutely than if our business were diversified.

Strategic relationships upon which we rely are subject to change, which may diminish our ability to conduct our operations.

Our ability to successfully bid on and acquire properties, to discover resources, to participate in drilling opportunities and to identify and enter into commercial arrangements with customers and partners, depends on developing and maintaining close working relationships with industry participants and on our ability to select and evaluate suitable properties. Further, we must consummate transactions in a highly competitive environment. These realities are subject to change and may impair our ability to grow.

To develop our business, we will endeavor to use the relationships of our management and to enter into strategic relationships, which may take the form of joint ventures with other private parties or with local government bodies or contractual arrangements with other oil and gas companies, including those that supply equipment and other resources that we will use in our business. We may not be able to establish these strategic relationships, or if established, we may not be able to maintain them. In addition, the dynamics of our relationships with strategic partners may require that we incur expenses or undertake activities we would not otherwise incur or undertake in order to fulfill our obligations to these partners or maintain our relationships. If our strategic relationships are not established or maintained, our business prospects may be limited, which could diminish our ability to conduct our operations.

We may not be able to effectively manage our growth, which may harm our profitability.

Our strategy envisions building and expanding our business. If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our financial results will be adversely affected. Growth may place a strain on our management systems and resources. We must continue to refine and expand our business development capabilities, our systems, processes, and our access to financing sources. As we grow, we must continue to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees. We cannot assure you that we will be able to:

If we are unable to manage our growth and our operations, our financial results could be adversely affected, which could prevent us from ever attaining profitability.

We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits from our future acquisitions, and we may be unable to successfully integrate future acquisitions.

Our growth strategy will, in part, rely on acquisitions. We have to plan and manage acquisitions effectively to achieve revenue growth and maintain profitability in our evolving market. We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits from our future acquisitions, such as increased earnings, cost savings and revenue enhancements, for various reasons, including difficulties integrating operations and personnel, higher than expected acquisition and operating costs or other difficulties, inexperience with operating in new geographic regions, unknown liabilities, inaccurate reserve estimates and fluctuations in market prices.

In addition, integrating acquired businesses and properties involves a number of special risks and unforeseen difficulties can arise in integrating operations and systems and in retaining and assimilating employees. These difficulties include, among other things:

Any of these or other similar risks could lead to potential adverse short-term or long-term effects on our operating results. The process of integrating our operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of our business. Members of our management may be required to devote considerable amounts of time to this integration process, which decreases the time they have to manage our business. If our management is not able to effectively manage the integration process, or if any business activities are interrupted as a result of the integration process, our business could suffer.

Our future acquisitions could expose us to potentially significant liabilities, including P&A liabilities.

We expect that future acquisitions will contribute to our growth. In connection with potential future acquisitions, we may only be able to perform limited due diligence.

Successful acquisitions of oil and natural gas properties require an assessment of a number of factors, including estimates of recoverable reserves, the timing of recovering reserves, exploration potential, future oil and natural gas prices, operating costs and potential environmental, regulatory and other liabilities, including P&A liabilities. Such assessments are inexact and may not disclose all material issues or liabilities. In connection with our assessments, we perform a review of the acquired properties. However, such a review may not reveal all existing or potential problems. In addition, our review may not permit us to become sufficiently familiar with the properties to fully assess their deficiencies and capabilities.

There may be threatened, contemplated, asserted or other claims against the acquired assets related to environmental, title, regulatory, tax, contract, litigation or other matters of which we are unaware, which could materially and adversely affect our production, revenues and results of operations. We may be successful in obtaining contractual indemnification for preclosing liabilities, including environmental liabilities, but we expect that we will generally acquire interests in properties on an “as is” basis with limited remedies for breaches of representations and warranties. In addition, even if we are able to obtain such indemnification from the sellers, these indemnification obligations usually expire over time and could potentially expose us to unindemnified liabilities, which could materially adversely affect our production, revenues and results of operations.

We may be dependent upon third party operators of any oil and natural gas properties we may acquire.

Third parties may act as the operators of our oil and natural gas wells and control the drilling and operating activities to be conducted on our properties, if and when such assets are acquired. Therefore, we may have limited control over certain decisions related to activities on our properties relating to the timing, costs, procedure, and location of drilling or production activities, which could affect the Company’s results.

We may not be able to obtain drilling rigs and other equipment and geophysical service crews necessary to exploit any oil and natural gas resources we may acquire.

We may not be able to procure the necessary drilling rigs and related services and equipment or the cost of such items may be prohibitive. Our ability to comply with future license obligations or otherwise generate revenues from the production of operating oil and natural gas wells could be hampered as a result of this, and our business could suffer.

Risks Related to Our Industry in Which We Intend to Compete

An extended decline in oil prices and significant fluctuations in energy prices may continue indefinitely, affecting the commercial viability of our projects and negatively affecting our business prospects and viability.

The commercial viability of our projects is highly dependent on the price of oil and natural gas. Prices also affect our ability to borrow money or raise additional capital. We will need to obtain additional financing to fund our activities. Our ability to do so may be adversely affected by an extended decline in oil prices. If we are unable to obtain such financing when needed, on commercially reasonable terms, we may be required to cease our operations, which could have a materially adverse impact on the market price of our stock. An extended decline in oil prices may have a material adverse effect on our planned operations, financial condition and level of expenditures that we may ultimately have to make for the development of any oil and natural gas reserves we may acquire.

The oil and gas markets are very volatile, and we cannot predict future oil and natural gas prices. Historically, oil and natural gas prices have been volatile and are subject to fluctuations in response to changes in supply and demand, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control. In addition, the prices we receive for any future production and the levels of any future production and reserves will depend on numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Further, oil and natural gas prices do not necessarily fluctuate in direct relationship to each other. The price of oil has been extremely volatile, and we expect this volatility to continue for the foreseeable future. The volatility of the energy markets make it difficult to predict future oil and natural gas price movements with any certainty.

Exploration for oil and natural gas is risky and may not be commercially successful, impairing our ability to generate revenues.

Oil and natural gas exploration involves a high degree of risk. These risks are more acute in the early stages of exploration. We may not discover oil or natural gas in commercially viable quantities. It is difficult to project the costs of implementing an exploratory drilling program due to the inherent uncertainties of drilling in unknown formations, the costs associated with encountering various drilling conditions, such as over pressured zones (which may lead to blowouts, fires, and explosions) and tools lost in the hole, and changes in drilling plans, locations as a result of prior exploratory wells or additional seismic data and interpretations thereof, and final commercial terms negotiated with partners. Developing exploratory oil and gas properties requires significant capital expenditures and involves a high degree of financial risk. The budgeted costs of drilling, completing, and operating exploratory wells are often exceeded and can increase significantly when drilling costs rise. Drilling may be unsuccessful for many reasons, including title problems, adverse weather conditions (which may be more frequent as climate changes), cost overruns, equipment shortages, mechanical difficulties, and environmental hazards (including spills and toxic gas releases). There is no assurance that we will successfully complete any wells or if successful, that the wells would be economically successful. Moreover, the successful drilling or completion of any oil or gas well does not ensure a profit on investment. Exploratory wells bear a much greater risk of loss than development wells. We cannot assure you that our exploration activities will result in profitable operations, the result of which will materially adversely affect our business.

Competition within our industry may adversely affect our operations.

Competition within our industry is intense, particularly with respect to the acquisition of producing properties and undeveloped acreage. We compete with major oil and gas companies and other independent producers of varying sizes, all of which are engaged in the acquisition of properties and the exploration and development of such properties. Many of our competitors have financial resources and exploration and development budgets that are substantially greater than our budget, which may adversely affect our ability to compete. If other companies relocate to the Gulf of Mexico region, levels of competition may increase and our business could be adversely affected. In the exploration and production business, some of the larger integrated companies may be better able than we are to respond to industry changes including price fluctuations, oil and gas demand, political change and government regulations.

We actively compete with other companies when acquiring new leases or oil and gas properties. For example, new leases acquired from BOEM are acquired through a “sealed bid” process and are generally awarded to the highest bidder. These additional resources can be particularly important in reviewing prospects and purchasing properties. The competitors may also have a greater ability to continue drilling activities during periods of low oil and gas prices, such as the current decline in oil prices, and to absorb the burden of current and future governmental regulations and taxation. Competitors may be able to evaluate, bid for and purchase a greater number of properties and prospects than our financial or personnel resources permit. Competitors may also be able to pay more for productive oil and gas properties and exploratory prospects than we are able or willing to pay. Further, our competitors may be able to expend greater resources on the existing and changing technologies that we believe impacts attaining success in the industry. If we are unable to compete successfully in these areas in the future, our future revenues and growth may be diminished or restricted.

Regulatory requirements and permitting procedures imposed by BOEM and BSEE could significantly delay our ability to obtain permits to drill new wells in offshore waters.

BSEE and BOEM have imposed new and more stringent permitting procedures and regulatory safety and performance requirements for new wells to be drilled in federal waters. Compliance with these added and more stringent regulatory requirements and with existing environmental and spill regulations, together with uncertainties or inconsistencies in decisions and rulings by governmental agencies and delays in the processing and approval of drilling permits and exploration, development, oil spill response and decommissioning plans and possible additional regulatory initiatives could result in difficult and more costly actions and adversely affect or delay new drilling and development efforts. Moreover, these governmental agencies are continuing to evaluate aspects of safety and operational performance in the United States Gulf of Mexico and, as a result, are continuing to develop and implement new, more restrictive requirements. These stringent regulations, and possible additional regulatory initiatives, could result in increased cost to our exploration efforts and ongoing business operations.

Moreover, the trend in the United States over the past decade has been for these governmental agencies to continue to evaluate and, as necessary, develop and implement new, more restrictive requirements, although in recent years under the Trump Administration, there have been actions seeking to mitigate certain of those more rigorous standards. For example, in 2016, the BSEE under the Obama Administration published a final rule on well control that, among other things, imposed rigorous standards relating to the design, operation and maintenance of blow-out preventers, real-time monitoring of deepwater and high temperature, high pressure drilling activities, and enhanced reporting requirements. Pursuant to certain executive orders issued by President Trump in 2017, however, the BSEE initiated a review of the well control rule and other offshore rules and initiatives to determine whether they are consistent with the stated policy of encouraging energy exploration and production, while ensuring that any such activity is safe and environmentally responsible. One consequence of this review is that in May 2019, the BSEE published final revisions to the existing 2016 rule on well control that, among other things, eliminated the requirement for a BSEE-approved verification organization to oversee third parties which provide certifications of certain critical well control functions. Another consequence of this BSEE review was an indefinite delay in implementation of Notice to Lessee #2016-N01 that, if implemented, could result in significant increases in financial assurances for our operating on the OCS. There exists the possibility that certain of these recent mitigatory actions under the Trump Administration could be withdrawn or revised in the future as a result of litigation or by President-elect Biden’s administration to impose or re-implement more stringent standards. Moreover, due primarily to the threat of climate change arising from greenhouse gas emissions, President-elect Biden has pledged to take actions to ban new mineral leases on federal properties, including offshore leases on the OCS. Additionally, litigation risks are also increasing, as a number of cities and other local governments have sought to bring suit against the largest oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in state or federal court, alleging, among other things, that such companies created public nuisances by producing fuels that contributed to global warming effects, such as rising sea levels, and therefore are responsible for roadway and infrastructure damages as a result, or alleging that the companies have been aware of the adverse effects of climate change for some time but defrauded their investors by failing to adequately disclose those impacts.

These regulatory actions, or any new rules, regulations, or legal initiatives or controls that impose increased costs or more stringent operational standards could delay or disrupt our operations, result in increased supplemental bonding and costs and limit activities in certain areas, or cause us to incur penalties or fines or result in the suspension or cancellation of leases. Also, if material spill incidents were to occur in the future, the United States could elect to issue directives to temporarily cease drilling activities and, in any event, may from time to time issue further safety and environmental laws and regulations regarding offshore oil and natural gas exploration and development, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We cannot predict with any certainty the full impact of any new laws or regulations on our drilling operations or on the cost or availability of insurance to cover some or all of the risks associated with such operations.

Our operations may incur substantial liabilities to comply with environmental laws and regulations as well as legal requirements applicable to marine mammals and endangered and threatened species.

Our oil and natural gas operations are subject to stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to the release or disposal of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection.

These laws and regulations: 

Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in: 

Changes in environmental laws and regulations occur frequently, and any changes that result in more stringent or costly waste handling, storage, transport, disposal or cleanup requirements could require us to make significant expenditures to attain and maintain compliance and may otherwise have a material adverse effect on our industry in general and on our own results of operations, competitive position or financial condition. Under these environmental laws and regulations, we could incur strict joint and several liability for the removal or remediation of previously released materials or contamination, regardless of whether we were responsible for the release or contamination and regardless of whether our operations met previous standards in the industry at the time they were conducted. Our permits require that we report any incidents that cause or could cause environmental damages.

New laws and regulations, amendment of existing laws and regulations, reinterpretation of legal requirements or increased governmental enforcement could significantly increase our capital expenditures and operating costs or could result in delays, limitations or cancelations to our exploration and production activities, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

Our operations are subject to numerous risks of oil and natural gas drilling and production activities.

Oil and gas drilling and production activities are subject to numerous risks, including the risk that no commercially productive oil or natural gas reserves are found. The cost of drilling and completing wells is often uncertain. To the extent we drill additional wells in the Gulf of Mexico, our drilling activities increase capital cost. In addition, the geological complexity of the areas in which we have oil and natural gas operations make it more difficult for us to sustain the historical rates of drilling success. Oil and natural gas drilling and production activities may be shortened, delayed or cancelled as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include:

The prevailing prices of oil and natural gas also affect the cost of and the demand for drilling rigs, production equipment and related services. We cannot assure you that the wells we drill will be productive or that we will recover all or any portion of our investment. Drilling for oil and natural gas may be unprofitable. Drilling activities can result in dry holes and wells that are productive but do not produce sufficient cash flows to recoup drilling costs.

Any insurance that we may acquire will likely be inadequate to cover liabilities we may incur.

Our involvement in the exploration for, and development of, oil and natural gas properties may result in our becoming subject to liability for pollution, blow-outs, property damage, personal injury or other hazards. Although we intend to obtain insurance in accordance with industry standards to address such risks, such insurance has limitations and so will be unlikely to cover the full extent of such liabilities. In addition, such risks may not, in all circumstances be insurable or, in certain circumstances, we may choose not to obtain insurance to protect against specific risks due to the high premiums associated with such insurance or for other reasons. The payment of such uninsured liabilities would reduce the funds available to us. If we suffer a significant event that is not fully insured or if the insurer of such event is not solvent or denies coverage, we could be required to divert funds from capital investment or other uses towards covering our liability for such events.

Events outside of our control, including an epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, such as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (or COVID-19), may materially adversely affect our business.

We face risks related to epidemics, outbreaks or other public health events that are outside of our control, and could significantly disrupt our operations and adversely affect our financial condition. For example, the recent outbreak in Wuhan, China of COVID-19, which has spread across the globe and impacted financial markets and worldwide economic activity, may adversely affect our operations or the health of our workforce by rendering employees or contractors unable to work or unable to access our facilities for an indefinite period of time. In addition, the effects of COVID-19 and concerns regarding its global spread could negatively impact the domestic and international demand for crude oil and natural gas, which could contribute to price volatility, impact the price we receive for oil and natural gas and materially and adversely affect the demand for and marketability of our production. As the potential impact from COVID-19 is difficult to predict, the extent to which it may negatively affect our operating results or the duration of any potential business disruption is uncertain. Any potential impact will depend on future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the severity and duration of COVID-19 and the actions taken by authorities to contain it or treat its impact, all of which are beyond our control. These potential impacts, while uncertain, could adversely affect our operating results.

Lower oil and natural gas prices and other factors in the future may result in ceiling test write-downs and other impairments of our asset carrying values.

We use the full cost method of accounting for our oil and gas operations. Accordingly, we capitalize the costs to acquire, explore for and develop oil and gas properties. Under the full cost method of accounting, we compare, at the end of each financial reporting period for each cost center, the present value of estimated future net cash flows from proved reserves, to the net capitalized costs of proved oil and gas properties, net of related deferred taxes. We refer to this comparison as a ceiling test. If the net capitalized costs of proved oil and gas properties exceed the estimated discounted future net cash flows from proved reserves, we are required to write down the value of our oil and gas properties to the value of the estimated discounted future net cash flows. A write-down of oil and gas properties does not impact cash flows from operating activities, but does reduce net income. The risk that we are required to write-down the carrying value of oil and gas properties increases when oil and natural gas prices are low or volatile. In addition, write-downs may occur if we experience substantial downward adjustments to our estimated undeveloped property values, or if estimated future development costs increase. Volatility in commodity prices, poor conditions in the global economic markets and other factors could cause us to record additional write-downs of our oil and natural gas properties and other assets in the future, and incur additional charges against future earnings. Any required write-downs or impairments could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

New technologies may cause our current exploration and drilling methods to become obsolete, and we may not be able to keep pace with technological developments in our industry.

The oil and natural gas industry is subject to rapid and significant advancements in technology, including the introduction of new products and services using new technologies. As competitors use or develop new technologies, we may be placed at a competitive disadvantage, and competitive pressures may force us to implement new technologies at a substantial cost. In addition, competitors may have greater financial, technical, and personnel resources that allow them to enjoy technological advantages and that may in the future allow them to implement new technologies before we can. We rely heavily on the use of seismic technology to identify opportunities and to reduce our geological risk. Seismic technology or other technologies that we may implement in the future may become obsolete. We cannot be certain that we will be able to implement technologies on a timely basis or at a cost that is acceptable to us. If we are unable to maintain technological advancements consistent with industry standards, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

Our operations are subject to various risks that could result in increased operating costs, limit the areas in which oil and natural gas production may occur, and reduced demand for the crude oil and natural gas that we produce.

Climate change continues to attract considerable public, governmental and scientific attention. As a result, numerous proposals have been made and could continue to be made at the international, national, regional and state levels of government to monitor and limit emissions of GHG. These efforts have included consideration of cap-and-trade programs, carbon taxes, GHG reporting and tracking programs, and regulations that directly limit GHG emissions from certain sources. At the federal level, the U.S. Congress has from time to time considered climate change legislation but no comprehensive climate change legislation has been adopted. The EPA, however, has adopted regulations under the existing CAA to restrict emissions of GHG. For example, the EPA imposes preconstruction and operating permit requirements on certain large stationary sources that are already potential sources of certain other significant pollutant emissions. The EPA also adopted rules requiring the monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions on an annual basis from specified large GHG emission sources in the United States, including onshore and offshore oil and natural gas production facilities. Federal agencies have also begun directly regulating emissions of methane, a GHG, from oil and natural gas operations as described above. Compliance with these rules could result in increased compliance costs on our operations.

State implementation of these revised air emission standards could result in stricter permitting requirements, delay, limit or prohibit our ability to obtain such permits, and result in increased expenditures for pollution control equipment, the costs of which could be significant. At the international level, there exists the United Nations-sponsored “Paris Agreement,” which is a non-binding agreement for nations to limit their GHG emissions through individually-determined reduction goals every five years after 2020, although the United States has announced its withdrawal from such agreement, effective November 4, 2020.

Governmental, scientific, and public concern over the threat of climate change arising from GHG emissions has resulted in federal political risks in the United States in the form of pledges made by President-elect Biden. Critical declarations made by President-elect Biden include proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing of oil and natural gas wells and to ban new leases for production of minerals on federal properties, including onshore lands and offshore waters. Other actions to oil and natural gas production activities that could be pursued may include more restrictive requirements for the establishment of pipeline infrastructure or the permitting of liquefied natural gas export facilities, as well as the rescission of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in November 2020. Litigation risks are also increasing, as a number of cities, local governments and other plaintiffs have sought to bring suit against oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in state or federal court, alleging, among other things, that such companies created public nuisances by producing fuels that contributed to global warming effects, such as rising sea levels, and therefore are responsible for roadway and infrastructure damages as a result, or alleging that the companies have been aware of the adverse effects of climate change for some time but defrauded their investors by failing to adequately disclose those impacts. While our business is not a party to any such litigation, we could be named in actions making similar allegations. An unfavorable ruling in any such case could significantly impact our operations and could have an adverse impact on our financial condition.

There are also increasing financial risks for fossil fuel producers as stockholders and bondholders currently invested in fossil-fuel energy companies concerned about the potential effects of climate change may elect in the future to shift some or all of their investments into non-fossil fuel energy related sectors. Institutional lenders who provide financing to fossil-fuel energy companies also have become more attentive to sustainable lending practices and some of them may elect not to provide funding for fossil fuel energy companies. Additionally, the lending practices of institutional lenders have been the subject of intensive lobbying efforts in recent years, oftentimes public in nature, by environmental activists, proponents of the international Paris Agreement, and foreign citizenry concerned about climate change not to provide funding for fossil fuel producers. Limitation of investments in and financings for fossil fuel energy companies could result in the restriction, delay or cancellation of drilling programs or development or production activities.

The adoption of legislation or regulatory programs to reduce or eliminate future emissions of GHG could require us to incur increased operating costs, such as costs to purchase and operate emissions control systems, to acquire emissions allowances or comply with new regulatory or reporting requirements. Any such legislation or regulatory programs could also increase the cost of consuming, and thereby reduce demand for, the oil and natural gas we produce. Consequently, legislation and regulatory programs to reduce or eliminate future emissions of GHG could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, political, financial and litigation risks may result in our restricting or canceling production activities, incurring liability for infrastructure damages as a result of climatic changes, or impairing the ability to continue to operate in an economic manner.

We are subject to cyber security risks. A cyber incident could occur and result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption or financial loss.

The oil and natural gas industry has become increasingly dependent on digital technologies to conduct certain exploration, development, production, processing and distribution activities. For example, we depend on digital technologies to interpret seismic data, conduct reservoir modeling and record financial and other data. Our industry faces various security threats, including cyber-security threats. Cyber-security attacks in particular are increasing and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data, and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in critical systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and corruption of data. Although to date we have not experienced any material losses related to cyber-security attacks, we may suffer such losses in the future. Moreover, the various procedures and controls we use to monitor and protect against these threats and to mitigate our exposure to such threats may not be sufficient in preventing security threats from materializing. If any of these events were to materialize, they could lead to losses of intellectual property and other sensitive information essential to our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, reputation and financial position.

Risks Related to Investment in our Securities

There is a limited trading market for our shares. You may not be able to sell your shares if you need money.

Our common stock is traded on the OTC Markets (Pink Marketplace Tier), an inter-dealer automated quotation system for equity securities. During the three calendar months preceding filing of this report, the average daily trading volume of our common stock was approximately 1.2 million shares. As of December 28, 2020, we had approximately 190 record holders of our common stock (not including an indeterminate number of stockholders whose shares are held by brokers in “street name”). There has been limited trading activity in our stock, and when it has traded, the price has fluctuated widely. We consider our common stock to be “thinly traded” and any last reported sale prices may not be a true market-based valuation of the common stock. Stockholders may experience difficulty selling their shares if they choose to do so because of the illiquid market and limited public float for our common stock. This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

As a result, an investor may find it difficult to dispose of, or to obtain accurate quotations of the price of our common stock. Accordingly, investors must assume they may have to bear the economic risk of an investment in our common stock for an indefinite period of time, and may lose their entire investment. There can be no assurance that a more active market for our common stock will develop, or if one should develop, there is no assurance that it will be sustained. This severely limits the liquidity of our common stock and would likely have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and on our ability to raise additional capital.

We may issue preferred stock.

Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 50 million shares of “blank check” preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. Accordingly, our Board of Directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting, or other rights, which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of the common stock. In the event of issuance, the preferred stock could be utilized, under certain circumstances, as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company. Although we have no present intention to issue any shares of its authorized preferred stock, there can be no assurance that we will not do so in the future.

Future sales of our common stock could lower our stock price.

We will likely sell additional shares of common stock to fund working capital obligations in future periods. We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our common stock or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of shares of our common stock will have on the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. Moreover, sales of our common stock by existing shareholders could also depress the price of our common stock.

Our common stock is subject to the “penny stock” rules of the SEC and FINRA, which makes transactions in our common stock cumbersome and may reduce the value of an investment in the stock.

The SEC has adopted Rule 15g-9 which establishes the definition of a “penny stock,” for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require:

In order to approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must:

The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form sets forth:

Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of common stock and cause a decline in the market value of stock.

Disclosure also has to be made about the risks of investing in penny stocks in both public offerings and in secondary trading and about the commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and the rights and remedies available to an investor in cases of fraud in penny stock transactions. Finally, monthly statements have to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules promulgated by the SEC, FINRA has adopted rules that require a broker-dealer to have reasonable grounds for believing that an investment is suitable for a customer when recommending the investment to that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit investors’ ability to buy and sell our stock and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

The price of our common stock will remain volatile, which could lead to losses by investors and costly securities litigation.

The trading price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate in response to factors such as:

The stock market is subject to significant price and volume fluctuations. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of companies’ securities, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against those companies. Litigation initiated against us, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and diversion of our management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business and financial condition.

We do not anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock.

Cash dividends have never been declared or paid on our common stock, and we do not anticipate such a declaration or payment for the foreseeable future. We cannot assure stockholders of a positive return on their investment when they sell their shares, nor can we assure that stockholders will not lose the entire amount of their investment in the Company.

Our certificate of incorporation could make a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest difficult.

At the annual shareholder meeting in May 2014, shareholders approved an amendment and restatement of our certificate of incorporation to (i) eliminate the ability of stockholders to act by written consent and (ii) to classify the board of directors into three classes with staggered terms. These amendments may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control.

Any of the risk factors discussed herein could have a significant material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity. Readers of this Report should not consider any descriptions of these risk factors to be a complete set of all potential risks that could affect GulfSlope. These factors should be carefully considered together with the other information contained in this Report and the other reports and materials filed by us with the SEC. Further, any of these risks are interrelated and could occur under similar business and economic conditions, and the occurrence of certain of them may in turn cause the emergence or exacerbate the effect of others. Such a combination could materially increase the severity of the impact of these risks on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity.