History
A shell taken over by Geoffrey Albers held minority Australian offshore permits, sold or diluted them to pay for wells, and ceased operations and deregistered in August 2012.
2000-2006: From a troubled shell to an Australian explorer
The company began as Synergy Technologies Corporation of Colorado. In December 2000 it dismissed its auditor, whose reports on both 1998 and 1999 had raised substantial doubt about its ability to keep going. The record then goes quiet until April 2003, when KPMG resigned because the company no longer had any Canadian operations. The replacement auditor was engaged by Geoffrey Albers, an outsider seeking control through a plan of reorganization before the US bankruptcy court. Albers took control, and the shell became Australian Oil & Gas Corporation.
In April 2006 it acquired its whole asset base in one day: two Australian private companies, Nations Natural Gas and Alpha Oil & Natural Gas. They brought a 30% share of four Timor Sea permits and a 20% share of three Browse Basin permits, paid for with 4.1 million shares and A$150,000. The sellers were entities in which AOGC's own director, Geoff Albers, was a director and shareholder.
2007-2008: Restatement and farm-outs
In February 2008, after the SEC objected, the company said its 2006 annual accounts and first two quarters of 2007 could no longer be relied on. Because the acquired companies had been under common control with AOGC, the accounting had to be redone.
With no revenue, the company then gave up parts of its interests to get wells drilled. In September 2008 Stuart Petroleum took 50% and operatorship of the AC/P33 permit, home to the Oliver accumulation, halving AOGC's stake to 7.5%. In return Stuart would pay for an appraisal well, the engineering work to a development decision, and the first $25 million of development spending. In October 2008 Gascorp earned 15% of the three Browse permits by paying $1.12 million for new seismic data and a drill site survey, cutting AOGC from 20% to 17%.
2009-2010: Selling the prize to drill the wells
In October 2009 AOGC agreed to sell its remaining 7.5% of Oliver to PTTEP. PTTEP was negotiating to buy Stuart's 50% and wanted 100% of the permit, so the farmors chose a full exit. Cornea-3 was spudded on 11 December 2009 in permit WA-342-P, with AOGC holding 17%. In February 2010 the sale settled and $4,244,679 came in, which went straight out to cover most of AOGC's share of the Braveheart-1 and Cornea-3 drilling bills, leaving nothing over.
2011-2012: Running out of road
In July 2011 AOGC halved its Cornea stake from 17% to 8.5% to raise A$1.59 million. The buyer was Coldron, a private company of its president Geoff Albers, and part of the money repaid another Albers company that had funded AOGC. A$769,193 was still owed to the joint venture operator a year after the wells were drilled.
On 13 August 2012 the company said it no longer had sufficient assets to meet any obligation arising after 30 June 2012 and that it had ceased operations. Its directors resolved to file to deregister its shares with the SEC, ending its reporting obligations. It was not a bankruptcy or a takeover.
Written from the 12 story beats below (2000 to 13 Aug 2012), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.