AKVA Arkanova Energy Corporation (CE)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Risks Relating to our Business and the Oil and Gas Industry

We have a history of losses and this trend may continue and may negatively affect our ability to achieve our business objectives.

We have experienced net losses since inception, and expect to continue to incur substantial losses for the foreseeable future. Our accumulated deficit was $35,594,874 as at March 31, 2016. We may not be able to generate significant revenues in the future and our company has incurred increased operating expenses following the recent commencement of production. As a result, our management expects our business to continue to experience negative cash flow for the foreseeable future and cannot predict when, if ever, our business might become profitable. We will need to raise additional funds, and such funds may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to execute our business plan, take advantage of future opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated requirements. This may seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have a relatively limited operating history, which may hinder our ability to successfully meet our objectives.

We have a relatively limited operating history upon which to base an evaluation of our current business and future prospects. We have commenced production in the year ended September 30, 2008 and we do not have an established history of operating producing properties or locating and developing properties that have oil and gas reserves. As a result, the revenue and income potential of our business is unproven. In addition, because of our relatively limited operating history, we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. Errors may be made in predicting and reacting to relevant business trends and we will be subject to the risks, uncertainties and difficulties frequently encountered by early-stage companies in evolving markets. We may not be able to successfully address any or all of these risks and uncertainties. Failure to adequately do so could cause our business, results of operations and financial condition to suffer.

Our operations and proposed exploration activities will require significant capital expenditures for which we may not have sufficient funding and if we do obtain additional financing, our existing shareholders may suffer substantial dilution.

We intend to make capital expenditures far in excess of our existing capital resources to develop, acquire and explore oil and gas properties. We intend to rely on funds from operations and external sources of financing to meet our capital requirements to continue acquiring, exploring and developing oil and gas properties and to otherwise implement our business plan. We plan to obtain additional funding through the debt and equity markets, but we can offer no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional funding when it is required or that it will be available to us on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, any additional equity financing may involve substantial dilution to our then existing shareholders.

The successful implementation of our business plan is subject to risks inherent in the oil and gas business, which if not adequately managed could result in additional losses.

Our oil and gas operations are subject to the economic risks typically associated with exploration and development activities, including the necessity of making significant expenditures to locate and acquire properties and to drill exploratory wells. In addition, the availability of drilling rigs and the cost and timing of drilling, completing and, if warranted, operating wells is often uncertain. In conducting exploration and development activities, the presence of unanticipated pressure or irregularities in formations, miscalculations or accidents may cause our exploration, development and, if warranted, production activities to be unsuccessful. This could result in a total loss of our investment in a particular well. If exploration efforts are unsuccessful in establishing proved reserves and exploration activities cease, the amounts accumulated as unproved costs will be charged against earnings as impairments.

17

In addition, market conditions or the unavailability of satisfactory oil and gas transportation arrangements may hinder our access to oil and gas markets and delay our production. The availability of a ready market for our prospective oil and gas production depends on a number of factors, including the demand for and supply of oil and gas and the proximity of reserves to pipelines and other facilities. Our ability to market such production depends in substantial part on the availability and capacity of gathering systems, pipelines and processing facilities, in most cases owned and operated by third parties. Our failure to obtain such services on acceptable terms could materially harm our business. We may be required to shut in wells for lack of a market or a significant reduction in the price of oil or gas or because of inadequacy or unavailability of pipelines or gathering system capacity. If that occurs, we would be unable to realize revenue from those wells until arrangements are made to deliver such production to market.

Our future performance is dependent upon our ability to identify, acquire and develop oil and gas properties, the failure of which could result in under use of capital and losses.

Our future performance depends upon our ability to identify, acquire and develop additional oil and gas reserves that are economically recoverable. Our success will depend upon our ability to acquire working and revenue interests in properties upon which oil and gas reserves are ultimately discovered in commercial quantities, and our ability to develop prospects that contain proven oil and gas reserves to the point of production. Without successful acquisition and exploration activities, we will not be able to develop additional oil and gas reserves or generate additional revenues. We cannot provide you with any assurance that we will be able to identify and acquire additional oil and gas reserves on acceptable terms, or that oil and gas deposits will be discovered in sufficient quantities to enable us to recover our exploration and development costs or sustain our business.

The successful acquisition and development of oil and gas properties requires an assessment of recoverable reserves, future oil and gas prices and operating costs, potential environmental and other liabilities, and other factors. Such assessments are necessarily inexact and their accuracy inherently uncertain. In addition, no assurance can be given that our exploration and development activities will result in the discovery of additional reserves. Our operations may be curtailed, delayed or canceled as a result of lack of adequate capital and other factors, such as lack of availability of rigs and other equipment, title problems, weather, compliance with governmental regulations or price controls, mechanical difficulties, or unusual or unexpected formations, pressures and or work interruptions. In addition, the costs of exploitation and development may materially exceed our initial estimates.

We have a very small management team and the loss of any member of our team may prevent us from implementing our business plan in a timely manner.

We have two executive officers and a limited number of additional consultants upon whom our success largely depends. We maintain a key person life insurance policy on our president and CEO, but not on anyone else, nor any consultants, the loss of which could seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In such an event, we may not be able to recruit personnel to replace our executive officers or consultants in a timely manner, or at all, on acceptable terms.

Future growth could strain our personnel and infrastructure resources, and if we are unable to implement appropriate controls and procedures to manage our growth, we may not be able to successfully implement our business plan.

We expect to experience growth in our operations, which will place a significant strain on our management, administrative, operational and financial infrastructure. Our future success will depend in part upon the ability of our management to manage growth effectively. This may require us to hire and train additional personnel to manage our expanding operations. In addition, we must continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls and our reporting systems and procedures. If we fail to successfully manage our growth, we may be unable to execute upon our business plan.

18

Market conditions or operation impediments may hinder our access to natural gas and oil markets or delay our production.

The marketability of production from our properties depends in part upon the availability, proximity and capacity of pipelines, natural gas gathering systems and processing facilities. This dependence is heightened where this infrastructure is less developed. Therefore, if drilling results are positive in certain areas of our oil and gas properties, a new gathering system would need to be built to handle the potential volume of oil and gas produced. We might be required to shut in wells, at least temporarily, for lack of a market or because of the inadequacy or unavailability of transportation facilities. If that were to occur, we would be unable to realize revenue from those wells until arrangements were made to deliver production to market.

Our ability to produce and market natural gas and oil is affected and also may be harmed by:

We might incur additional debt in order to fund our exploration and development activities, which would continue to reduce our financial flexibility and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

When we incur indebtedness, the ability to meet our debt obligations and reduce our level of indebtedness depends on future performance. General economic conditions, oil and gas prices and financial, business and other factors affect our operations and future performance. Many of these factors are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flow to pay the interest on our current or future debt or that future working capital, borrowings or equity financing will be available to pay or refinance such debt. Factors that will affect our ability to raise cash through an offering of our capital stock or a refinancing of our debt include financial market conditions, the value of our assets and performance at the time we need capital. We cannot assure you that we will have sufficient funds to make such payments. If we do not have sufficient funds and are otherwise unable to negotiate renewals of our borrowings or arrange new financing, we might have to sell significant assets. Any such sale could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our properties in Montana and/or future properties might not produce, and we might not be able to determine reserve potential, identify liabilities associated with the properties or obtain protection from sellers against them, which could cause us to incur losses.

Although we have reviewed and evaluated our properties in Montana in a manner consistent with industry practices, such review and evaluation might not necessarily reveal all existing or potential liabilities. This is also true for any future acquisitions made by us. Inspections may not always be performed on every well, and environmental problems, such as groundwater contamination, are not necessarily observable even when an inspection is undertaken. Even when problems are identified, a seller may be unwilling or unable to provide effective contractual protection against all or part of those problems, and we may assume environmental and other risks and liabilities in connection with the acquired properties.

If we or our operators fail to maintain adequate insurance, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Our operations are subject to risks inherent in the oil and gas industry, such as blowouts, cratering, explosions, uncontrollable flows of oil, gas or well fluids, fires, pollution, earthquakes and other environmental risks. These risks could result in substantial losses due to injury and loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment, pollution and other environmental damage, and suspension of operations. We could be liable for environmental damages caused by previous property owners. As a result, substantial liabilities to third parties or governmental entities may be incurred, the payment of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

19

Any prospective drilling contractor or operator that we hire will be required to maintain insurance of various types to cover our operations with policy limits and retention liability customary in the industry. We also have acquired our own insurance coverage for such prospects. The occurrence of a significant adverse event on such prospects that is not fully covered by insurance could result in the loss of all or part of our investment in a particular prospect which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The oil and gas industry is highly competitive, and we may not have sufficient resources to compete effectively.

The oil and gas industry is highly competitive. We compete with oil and natural gas companies and other individual producers and operators, many of which have longer operating histories and substantially greater financial and other resources than we do, as well as companies in other industries supplying energy, fuel and other needs to consumers. Our larger competitors, by reason of their size and relative financial strength, can more easily access capital markets than we can and may enjoy a competitive advantage in the recruitment of qualified personnel. They may be able to absorb the burden of any changes in laws and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we do business and handle longer periods of reduced prices for oil and gas more easily than we can. Our competitors may be able to pay more for oil and gas leases and properties and may be able to define, evaluate, bid for and purchase a greater number of leases and properties than we can. Further, these companies may enjoy technological advantages and may be able to implement new technologies more rapidly than we can. Our ability to acquire additional properties in the future will depend upon our ability to conduct efficient operations, evaluate and select suitable properties, implement advanced technologies and consummate transactions in a highly competitive environment.

Complying with environmental and other government regulations could be costly and could negatively impact our production.

Our business is governed by numerous laws and regulations at various levels of government. These laws and regulations govern the operation and maintenance of our facilities, the discharge of materials into the environment and other environmental protection issues. Such laws and regulations may, among other potential consequences, require that we acquire permits before commencing drilling and restrict the substances that can be released into the environment with drilling and production activities.

Under these laws and regulations, we could be liable for personal injury, clean-up costs and other environmental and property damages, as well as administrative, civil and criminal penalties. Prior to commencement of drilling operations, we may secure limited insurance coverage for sudden and accidental environmental damages as well as environmental damage that occurs over time. However, we do not believe that insurance coverage for the full potential liability of environmental damages is available at a reasonable cost. Accordingly, we could be liable, or could be required to cease production on properties, if environmental damage occurs.

The costs of complying with environmental laws and regulations in the future may harm our business. Furthermore, future changes in environmental laws and regulations could result in stricter standards and enforcement, larger fines and liability, and increased capital expenditures and operating costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Shortages of rigs, equipment, supplies and personnel could delay or otherwise adversely affect our cost of operations or our ability to operate according to our business plans.

If drilling activity increases in Montana or the southern United States generally, a shortage of drilling and completion rigs, field equipment and qualified personnel could develop. The demand for and wage rates of qualified drilling rig crews generally rise in response to the increasing number of active rigs in service and could increase sharply in the event of a shortage. Shortages of drilling and completion rigs, field equipment or qualified personnel could delay, restrict or curtail our exploration and development operations, which could in turn harm our operating results.

20

We will be required to replace, maintain or expand our reserves in order to prevent our reserves and production from declining, which would adversely affect cash flows and income.

In general, production from natural gas and oil properties declines over time as reserves are depleted, with the rate of decline depending on reservoir characteristics. If we are not successful in our exploration and development activities, our proved reserves will decline as reserves are produced. Our future natural gas and oil production is highly dependent upon our ability to economically find, develop or acquire reserves in commercial quantities.

To the extent cash flow from operations is reduced, either by a decrease in prevailing prices for natural gas and oil or an increase in exploration and development costs, and external sources of capital become limited or unavailable, our ability to make the necessary capital investment to maintain or expand our asset base of natural gas and oil reserves would be impaired. Even with sufficient available capital, our future exploration and development activities may not result in additional proved reserves, and we might not be able to drill productive wells at acceptable costs.

The geographic concentration of all of our other properties in Montana subjects us to an increased risk of loss of revenue or curtailment of production from factors affecting those areas.

The geographic concentration of all of our leasehold interests in Pondera and Glacier Counties, Montana means that our properties could be affected by the same event should the region experience:

The oil and gas exploration and production industry historically is a cyclical industry and market fluctuations in the prices of oil and gas could adversely affect our business.

Prices for oil and gas tend to fluctuate significantly in response to factors beyond our control. These factors include:

21

Changes in commodity prices may significantly affect our capital resources, liquidity and expected operating results. Price changes will directly affect revenues and can indirectly impact expected production by changing the amount of funds available to reinvest in exploration and development activities. Reductions in oil and gas prices not only reduce revenues and profits, but could also reduce the quantities of reserves that are commercially recoverable. Significant declines in prices could result in non-cash charges to earnings due to impairment.

Changes in commodity prices may also significantly affect our ability to estimate the value of producing properties for acquisition and divestiture and often cause disruption in the market for oil and gas producing properties, as buyers and sellers have difficulty agreeing on the value of the properties. Price volatility also makes it difficult to budget for and project the return on acquisitions and the exploration and development of projects. We expect that commodity prices will continue to fluctuate significantly in the future.

Our ability to produce oil and gas from our properties may be adversely affected by a number of factors outside of our control, which may result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The business of exploring for and producing oil and gas involves a substantial risk of investment loss. Drilling oil and gas wells involves the risk that the wells may be unproductive or that, although productive, the wells may not produce oil or gas in economic quantities. Other hazards, such as unusual or unexpected geological formations, pressures, fires, blowouts, loss of circulation of drilling fluids or other conditions may substantially delay or prevent completion of any well. Adverse weather conditions can also hinder drilling operations. A productive well may become uneconomic if water or other deleterious substances are encountered that impair or prevent the production of oil or gas from the well. In addition, production from any well may be unmarketable if it is impregnated with water or other deleterious substances. There can be no assurance that oil and gas will be produced from the properties in which we have interests. In addition, the marketability of oil and gas that may be acquired or discovered may be influenced by numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include the proximity and capacity of oil and gas, gathering systems, pipelines and processing equipment, market fluctuations in oil and gas prices, taxes, royalties, land tenure, allowable production and environmental protection. We cannot predict how these factors may affect our business.

We may be unable to retain our leases and working interests in our leases, which would result in significant financial losses to our company.

Our properties are held under oil and gas leases. If we fail to meet the specific requirements of each lease, such lease may terminate or expire. We cannot assure you that any of the obligations required to maintain each lease will be met. The termination or expiration of our leases may harm our business. Our property interests will terminate unless we fulfill certain obligations under the terms of our leases and other agreements related to such properties. If we are unable to satisfy these conditions on a timely basis, we may lose our rights in these properties. The termination of our interests in these properties may harm our business. In addition, we will need significant funds to meet capital requirements for the exploration activities that we intend to conduct on our properties.

Title deficiencies could render our leases worthless, which could have adverse effects on our financial condition or results of operations.

The existence of a material title deficiency can render a lease worthless and can result in a large expense to our business. It is our practice in acquiring oil and gas leases or undivided interests in oil and gas leases to forego the expense of retaining lawyers to examine the title to the oil or gas interest to be placed under lease or already placed under lease. Instead, we rely upon the judgment of oil and gas landmen who perform the fieldwork in examining records in the appropriate governmental office before attempting to place under lease a specific oil or gas interest. This is customary practice in the oil and gas industry. However, we do not anticipate that we, or the person or company acting as operator of the wells located on the properties that we currently lease or may lease in the future, will obtain counsel to examine title to the lease until the well is about to be drilled. As a result, we may be unaware of deficiencies in the marketability of the title to the lease. Such deficiencies may render the lease worthless.

22

Our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting were not effective, which may cause our financial reporting to be unreliable and lead to misinformation being disseminated to the public.

Our management evaluated our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2016 and concluded that as of that date, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. In addition, our management evaluated our internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2016 and concluded that that there were material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of that date and that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of that date. A material weakness is a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We have not yet remediated this material weakness and we believe that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting continue to be ineffective. Until these issues are corrected, our ability to report financial results or other information required to be disclosed on a timely and accurate basis may be adversely affected and our financial reporting may continue to be unreliable, which could result in additional misinformation being disseminated to the public. Investors relying upon this misinformation may make an uninformed investment decision.

Risks Relating To Our Common Stock

A decline in the price of our common stock could affect our ability to raise further working capital and adversely impact our ability to continue operations.

A prolonged decline in the price of our common stock could result in a reduction in the liquidity of our common stock and a reduction in our ability to raise capital. Because a significant portion of our operations have been and will be financed through the sale of equity securities, a decline in the price of our common stock could be especially detrimental to our liquidity and our operations. Such reductions may force us to reallocate funds from other planned uses and may have a significant negative effect on our business plan and operations, including our ability to develop new properties and continue our current operations. If our stock price declines, we can offer no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital or generate funds from operations sufficient to meet our obligations. If we are unable to raise sufficient capital in the future, we may not be able to have the resources to continue our normal operations.

The market price for our common stock may also be affected by our ability to meet or exceed expectations of analysts or investors. Any failure to meet these expectations, even if minor, may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

If we issue additional shares in the future, it will result in the dilution of our existing shareholders.

Our articles of incorporation, as amended, authorizes the issuance of up to 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.001. Our board of directors may choose to issue some or all of such shares to acquire one or more businesses or to provide additional financing in the future. The issuance of any such shares will result in a reduction of the book value and market price of the outstanding shares of our common stock. If we issue any such additional shares, such issuance will cause a reduction in the proportionate ownership and voting power of all current shareholders. Further, such issuance may result in a change of control of our corporation.

23

Trading of our stock may be restricted by the Securities Exchange Commission’s penny stock regulations, which may limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our stock.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price (as defined) less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. Our securities are covered by the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors”. The term “accredited investor” refers generally to institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer’s confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for the stock that is subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently, these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade our securities. We believe that the penny stock rules discourage investor interest in and limit the marketability of our common stock.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, has adopted sales practice requirements which may also limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our stock.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for 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 your ability to buy and sell our stock and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

Our common stock is illiquid and the price of our common stock may be negatively impacted by factors which are unrelated to our operations.

Our common stock currently trades on a limited basis on OTCQB operated by the OTC Markets Group. Trading of our stock through OTCQB is frequently thin and highly volatile. There is no assurance that a sufficient market will develop in our stock, in which case it could be difficult for shareholders to sell their stock. The market price of our common stock could fluctuate substantially due to a variety of factors, including market perception of our ability to achieve our planned growth, quarterly operating results of our competitors, trading volume in our common stock, changes in general conditions in the economy and the financial markets or other developments affecting our competitors or us. In addition, the stock market is subject to extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant effect on the market price of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated to their operating performance and could have the same effect on our common stock.

24