NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of Delta International Oil & Gas Inc. (“Delta” or the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of financial position and the results of operations for the interim periods presented have been reflected herein. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Notes to the financial statements which would substantially duplicate the disclosure contained in the audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year end December 31, 2013 as reported on Form 10-K, have been omitted.
2. RECEIVABLE FROM SALE OF BIDDING RIGHTS AND OIL AND GAS PROPERTIES
On March 30, 2012 the Company entered into the Cooperation Agreement with PPL. Under the Cooperation Agreement, PPL agreed to pay us $7,000,000 for certain exploration and exploitation rights to oil and gas deposits and certain bidding rights held by Delta on the following areas: Valle de Lerma in the province of Salta; San Salvador de Jujuy; Libertador General San Martin in the province of Jujuy; and Selva Maria in the province of Formosa. Pursuant to a separate Agreement dated March 31, 2012, the Company has agreed with PPL to assign and transfer 50% of SAHF's current ownership of the Tartagal and Morillo (i.e., a 9% interest in the concession) to PPL for a purchase price of $500,000. PPL has also agreed in an Undertaking to provide funds to the operating entities of Valle de Lerma and Selva Maria (the San Salvador and Libertador concessions were awarded to another party, whose bid exceeded that of the Company for these concessions), in the aggregate amount of up to $10,000,000 (Selva Maria is pending for approval from the government, which is standard procedure in Argentina).
As of December 31, 2012, the Company had received deposits in the amount of $3,499,958 from PPL on account of remainder of the proceeds has been recorded as a $4.0 million receivable from the sale of bidding rights and oil and gas properties. PPL is not current with the payment schedule set forth in the Cooperation Agreement, and the Company is in discussions with PPL to ensure that all payments provided for under the Cooperation Agreement are made within the time frame as required for concession financial commitments. In 2013, the Company received an additional payment of $500,000.
3. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
As of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company owes three shareholders $150,655.
ITEM 2.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and the other financial information included elsewhere in this report.
Certain statements contained in this report, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "expects" and words of similar import, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including our ability to create, sustain, manage or forecast our growth; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; changes in our business strategy or development plans; competition; business disruptions; adverse publicity; and international, national and local general economic and market conditions.
GENERAL
Delta International Oil & Gas Inc. (“Delta” or “the Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on November 17, 1999. Our name was changed from Delta Mutual Inc. to our present name on October 29, 2013, by the merger with a wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary, where the sole change resulting from the merger was the change of the Company’s name to Delta International Oil & Gas Inc. In 2003, we established business operations focused on providing environmental and construction technologies and services. Our operations in the Far East (Indonesia) and our construction operations in Puerto Rico were discontinued in 2008.
Effective March 4, 2008, we acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding membership interests in the parent of South American Hedge Fund LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (sometimes herein referred to as “SAHF”). For accounting purposes, the transaction was treated as a recapitalization of the Company, as of March 4, 2008, with the parent of SAHF as the acquirer. SAHF maintains a branch office in Argentina, where it is engaged in oil and gas exploration and development activities.
Overview
We are an independent oil and gas company, with the SIC Code classification 1311 (oil and gas production)for SEC filing purposes, engaged in oil and gas acquisition, exploitation, production and exploration activities primarily in Argentina. We are currently evaluating the acquisition of oil and gas properties and securing additional concessions in Argentina and other locations which either are producing economical quantities of oil and gas or which demonstrate favorable characteristics for well “workovers” with a history of excellent production. It is the goal of the Company to target these concessions as compared to concessions which will be exploratory and would require drilling new wells.
The Company's business is subject to the risks of its oil and gas investments in South America. The likelihood of success of the Company must be considered in light of the expenses, difficulties, delays and unanticipated challenges encountered in connection with the operations of oil and gas concessions in Argentina.
Our Oil and Gas Properties
Specifically, we have focused, and plan to continue to focus, on the following oil and gas investments in Argentina:
We hold a 60% interest in the Valle de Lerma concession in Northern Argentina, which we plan to operate in a joint venture agreement with Grasta SA, a local mid-size gasoline refinery located in Buenos Aires. Other partners in the block include PetroNEXUS and REMSA. We have been actively working in 2012 and 2013 to finalize all governmental approvals for an alternate drilling site, and will commence the Valle de Lerma well work over with a local rig company. The exploration terms are four years for the first period, three years for the second and two years for the last period.
As of March 31, 2014, the Company, through SAHF, retained 9% of the total concession in the carryover mode ("no cost obligations to SAHF") in the Tartagal and Morillo oil and gas concessions located in Northern Argentina and a 10% concession interest in the carryover mode in the Jollin and Tonono oil and gas concessions, all of which properties are located in Northern Argentina. We do not operate either of these concessions, and have minority positions in respective the joint ventures. The joint ventures are currently developing future plans for continuing the exploration of the concessions.
As of March 31, 2014, SAHF owns 20% of the oil and gas exploration rights to five geographically defined areas in the Salta Province of Northern Argentina. SAHF is designated as the operator of this concession. Exploratory drilling activities commenced in April 2010 on the Guemes Block and in July 2010, SAHF confirmed the potential existence of formations with sufficient hydrocarbons to make the well economically productive. In 2013, the initial majority working interest owner, Ketsal S.A., has sold its share to another firm, which is evaluating whether to proceed further with investments in this concession.
Caimancito Refinery
We owned at March 31, 2014, 33.33% of the Caimancito Refinery, located in the Jujuy Province, Argentina. Due to the cost of required rehabilitation work, currently this refinery is not being operated to produce gasoline or diesel fuel, and the partners have no current plans to activate the refinery.
Lithium Production Properties
On March 1, 2010, SAHF purchased control of 51% of the Guayatayoc project via a partnership agreement with Oscar Chedrese and Servicios Mineros SA. The project holds the concession for a period of 20 years for the mineral rights to 143,000 hectares with 29 mines located in the Northwest part of Argentina, south of the border with Bolivia, with high lithium and borates brines concentration. We have performed sampling and geological conclusions with a local geological company in order to determine value to the property. We are seeking a purchaser for our concession interest in these properties.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 COMPARED TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2013
During the three months ended March 31, 2014, we incurred a net loss of $474,162 and a net loss of $320,848 for the three months ended March 31, 2013. Our loss from operations increased from $181,320 in 2013 to $241,835 in 2014, due to higher general and administrative expenses.
At March 31, 2014, we had a working capital surplus of approximately $4.8 million compared with a working capital surplus of approximately $5.0 million at December 31, 2013.
At March 31, 2014, we had total assets of approximately $6.7 million compared to total assets of approximately $7.2 million at December 31, 2013. Net cash used in operating activities in the three months ended March 31, 2014 was $440,564, as compared with $406,405 in 2013; and net cash generated from investing activities was $-0- 2014, as compared with cash generated of $500,000 in 2013. Net cash generated by financing activities was $-0- in the three months ended March 31, 2014, and in the comparable period in 2013.
Estimated 2014 Capital Requirements
In the case of the Jollin and Tonono and Tartagal and Morillo oil and gas properties, we have carried interests; therefore, no further capital expenditures are required on our part. For the exploration rights in Salta Province, we have completed the drilling and development of one well in Guemes that is expected to begin production testing in 2014. We have sufficient funds for our portion (20%) of the costs of installation of the battery storage facility to complete the Guemes production and storage facilities, although further development efforts on this concession are dependent on successful settlement of litigation with regards to amounts owed under the drilling contract. In the event our revenue expectations for 2014 are not met, we are not required to make any additional capital investment to protect our assets.
We estimate that our capital requirements in 2014 to develop the Valle de Lerma (where we have applied for extension of the concession to permit oil production from an existing site) and Selva Maria properties (the award of the Selva Maria concession is pending approval from the government) will approximate $1,350,000 for Selva Maria and $800,000 for Valle de Lerma. The funds for which investments would be provided by in part by PPL (and by the other partners in the respective UTE’s) pursuant to PPL’s commitment to provide up to $10,000,000 in developmental funds for these properties.
USE OF ESTIMATES
The preparation of the financial statements requires the Company to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to oil and gas properties, intangible assets, income taxes and contingencies and litigation. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included in these financial statements. Certain amounts for prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.
Management believes that it is reasonably possible that the following material estimates affecting the financial statements could happen in the coming year:
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Proved oil and gas reserves;
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Expected future cash flow from proved oil and gas properties;
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Future exploration and development costs; and
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Future dismantlement and restoration costs.
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NEW FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
For a summary of new financial accounting standards applicable to the Company, please refer to the notes to the financial statements set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,2013, filed with the SEC on April 25, 2014.
Critical Accounting Policies
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued “Financial Reporting Release No. 60 Cautionary Advice About Critical Accounting Policies” (“FRR 60”), suggesting companies provide additional disclosures, discussion and commentary on their accounting policies considered most critical to its business and financial reporting requirements. FRR 60 considers an accounting policy to be critical if it is important to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, and requires significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in the application of the policy. For a summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies, including the critical accounting policies discussed below, please refer to the accompanying notes to the financial statements. Foreign currency risk - The functional currency for some foreign operations is the local currency. Assets and liabilities of foreign operations are translated at balance sheet date rates of exchange and income, expense and cash flow items are translated at the average exchange rate for the period. The functional currency in South America is the U.S. dollar. Translation adjustments are recorded in Cumulative Other Comprehensive Income.
The Company assesses potential impairment of its long-lived assets, which include its property and equipment, investments, and its identifiable intangibles such as deferred charges under the guidance of SFAS 144 “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” The Company must continually determine if a permanent impairment of its long-lived assets has occurred and write down the assets to their fair values and charge current operations for the measured impairment.
Investments in non-consolidated affiliates – These investments consist of the Company’s ownership interests in oil and gas development and exploration rights in Argentina, net of impairment losses if any.
We evaluate these investments for impairment when indicators of potential impairment are present. Indicators of impairment include, but are not limited to, levels of oil and gas reserves, availability of pipeline (or other transportation) capacity and infrastructure and management of the operations in which the investments were made.
Item 4. – CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Securities Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our chief executive and financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, as ours are designed to do, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost- benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
As of March 31, 2014, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Changes in Internal Controls
There have been no changes in the Company's internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the Company's last fiscal quarter to which this report relates that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls
A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected. The Company's disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving its objectives. The Company's chief executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that the Company's disclosure controls and procedures are effective at that reasonable assurance level.