History
Permex Petroleum listed in the US in 2022 as a small Permian oil producer, never reached scale, and by mid-2026 faced a foreclosure sale after defaulting on secured debentures.
2022: Drilling and a US listing
Permex Petroleum was a small oil and gas producer working in the Permian Basin, with its head office moving from Vancouver to Dallas and later Houston. In late September 2022 it announced it had started drilling the PPC Eoff #3 well, which spudded on 14 September. It was the first well on the 7,780-gross-acre Breedlove field in Martin County, Texas, with two initial wells permitted.
In early November 2022, auditor Davidson & Company resigned with no disagreements reported, and Marcum took over. The same filing disclosed a 1-for-60 share consolidation, which cut about 116 million shares to about 1.9 million. On 14 November a US exchange certified the company's shares for listing, clearing them to trade.
2023-2024: Debentures and a trading halt
The record for 2023 is quiet. Share numbers fell to 551,503 by the end of 2023, but the beats do not explain that change. In February 2024 Permex set out to raise up to $20 million in 10% convertible debentures, which are loans that can be turned into shares. The terms made them fall due in three months unless Permex signed a merger or share-exchange agreement acceptable to the holders, so the lenders were in effect pushing the company to find a buyer.
Only $500,000 was placed, in April 2024, as 10% senior secured debentures. They ranked ahead of other debt and were backed by a charge over company assets, the first time Permex had pledged its assets. That same month the British Columbia regulator halted trading in the shares because a year of financial statements had not been filed.
2024-2025: Dearer money
The halt was lifted in September 2024. Permex scrapped the February raise and launched a replacement paying 15%. In November it closed $4.28 million of 10% senior secured convertible debentures, due 1 November 2025. A third of that was not new money but the April debentures rolled over, and the chief executive was among the subscribers.
In July 2025 a single investor put up $2 million for more secured debentures, three and a half months before the 2024 notes fell due. On 3 September 2025 the 2024 and 2025 lenders agreed to rank equally against the same collateral, and the 2024 holders waived an event of default and allowed the new lien, the first sign on the record that those notes were in difficulty. On 5 September Permex paid $75,000 for a six-month option over more than 50 producing wells and 20,000 net acres held by Navidad Petroleum and TMR Exploration, exercisable at $3 million, at least $1.75 million of it in cash. On 8 September it announced a non-binding understanding with Chisos Ltd over up to $25 million of Permian development funding.
2026: Default and foreclosure
Permex missed the 1 November 2025 maturity. In January 2026 chief executive Bradley Taillon resigned and chairman Richard Little became interim chief executive. Collateral agent Jeffrey Eberwein then demanded immediate repayment of $4.28 million plus 10% interest, and the audited 2025 accounts went unfiled.
In April 2026 the holders accelerated the $4,276,389 of debentures, making all sums immediately due. On 15 June they served notice of a foreclosure sale over the Martin County, Texas leases, set for 7 July 2026 at the courthouse in Stanton. As of 25 June 2026, Permex was still a reporting company, and the Chisos understanding had not become a binding deal.
Written from the 12 story beats below (2022 to 25 June 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.