History
A tiny gold-exploration shell turned oil and gas explorer in 2006, lost money on a dry hole and deals that faded, then went dark and deregistered in 2009.
2005-2006: From gold shell to oil and gas
PrimeGen Energy Corp began life on May 23, 2005 as Maysia Resources Corporation, a Nevada company run by founders Saleem Mohamed and Gurdeep Kainth to explore a six-claim gold property in British Columbia. In February 2006 it completed a small public offering of 1,006,000 shares at $0.10, raising $100,600. A 15-for-1 share split in July 2006 lifted the count from 3,506,000 to 52,590,000 shares.
The change came fast in August 2006. Kainth and Mohamed stepped back, and Gordon Samson, a finance professional, became chief financial officer and a director. Glen Harder, an oil and gas securities lawyer, joined the board. The company announced it would leave gold for oil and gas, rename itself PrimeGen Energy Corporation and move its head office to Dallas, Texas.
2006: A burst of deals
Within two weeks PrimeGen signed several deals. It agreed to buy a working interest in the Joe's Landing gas prospect near Sacramento, California, from Archer Exploration; the interest was stated as 35% in one document and 32.5% in another. It agreed to pay Projection Capital $2.5 million for a stake that sub-participated in a 10% working interest in the Fayetteville Shale gas play in Arkansas. It also signed a letter of intent (a non-binding agreement to negotiate) to buy Calgary-based MB Gas, operator of the Manyberries project in Alberta, for up to $15 million. A further letter of intent covered buying Silver Star Energy's and Fidelis Energy's interests in the North Franklin gas project near Sacramento.
Results were poor. The Joe's Landing well, drilled in about three weeks, proved uneconomical and was plugged and abandoned in August 2006, leading to a $195,433 write-off. The MB Gas deadline of October 1 passed without a definitive agreement. On October 31, Fidelis president William Marshall joined as Chairman and returned 15,000,000 of his restricted shares for cancellation, cutting shares outstanding from 52,590,000 to 37,590,000. In November PrimeGen paid $675,000 for a 90% participation right in a geological database covering about one million acres of central Kansas. Cumulative losses reached $321,504 by the September quarter.
2007: Departures and widening losses
Mike Mustafoglu resigned as President, CEO and director in January 2007. His appointment had never been disclosed in a PrimeGen 8-K. Gordon Samson resigned in March, leaving Harder to sign the filings. Quarterly losses were $196,988 and then $246,595, taking the cumulative deficit to roughly $765,600 by the May 2007 report. The February report showed $3.17 million of loans for the company's Kansas and Arkansas oil and gas interests and a British Columbia mineral property.
2007-2009: Silence and deregistration
The record is quiet after mid-2007, and the filings reviewed show nothing for about two years. On July 14, 2009, PrimeGen filed to deregister its securities, ending its SEC reporting. By then it had a different president, Robert Charlton, a New Jersey address and only about eight holders of record. The 2006-2007 oil and gas interests appear to have been written off or unwound.
Written from the 14 story beats below (2006 to 14 July 2009), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.