As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on September 13, 2024.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
EMPIRE PETROLEUM
CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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| Delaware |
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73-1238709 |
| (State or other jurisdiction of |
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(I.R.S. Employer |
| incorporation or organization) |
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Identification No.) |
2200 S. Utica Place, Suite 150
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114
(Address, including zip code, of registrant’s
principal executive offices)
Empire Petroleum Corporation 2024 Stock and Incentive
Compensation Plan
(Full title of the plan)
Michael R. Morrisett
President and Chief Executive Officer
Empire Petroleum Corporation
2200 S. Utica Place, Suite 150
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114
(539) 444-8002
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone
number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copy to:
J. Ryan Sacra, Esq.
Conner & Winters, LLP
4100 First Place Tower
15 East Fifth Street
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103
(918) 586-5711
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,”
“smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer o |
Accelerated filer o |
| Non-accelerated filer þ |
Smaller reporting company þ |
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Emerging growth company o |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark
if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards
provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. o
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED
IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
Item 1. Plan Information.*
Item 2. Registrant Information
and Employee Plan Annual Information.*
*Information required by Part I of Form S-8 constituting the requirements
of a Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with the Note to Part I of Form S-8. Such information
is not being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this Registration Statement
or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities
Act”). The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants in the equity
incentive plan as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED
IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation
of Documents by Reference.
The following documents filed by Empire Petroleum Corporation (the “Registrant”)
with the Commission (other than any portions of such filings that are furnished rather than filed under applicable Commission rules) pursuant
to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration
Statement:
| · | The Registrant’s current reports on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2024, February 21, 2024, March 8, 2024, March 13, 2024, May 13, 2024, May 31, 2024, June 18, 2024, August 6, 2024 and September 6, 2024; and |
| · | The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in Exhibit
4.1 to the Registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed on March 31, 2022,
including any subsequent amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
In addition, all documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant
to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, excluding any information furnished pursuant to any current report on
Form 8-K, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which
deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to
be a part hereof from their respective dates of filing. Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference shall be deemed
to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in any other subsequently
filed incorporated document modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except
as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.
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Item 4. Description
of Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Interests of
Named Experts and Counsel.
As of the date of this
Registration Statement, attorneys at Conner & Winters, LLP owned 78,000 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock.
Item 6. Indemnification
of Directors and Officers.
Section 145 of the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) grants the Registrant the authority to indemnify each of the Registrant’s
directors and officers against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually
and reasonably incurred by a director or officer that is made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding
(whether civil, criminal or otherwise), by reason of the fact that such director or officer is or was a director, officer, employee or
agent of the Registrant or by reason of the fact that such director or officer, at the Registrant’s request, is or was serving
at any other corporation or other entity, in any capacity, if such director or officer acted in good faith and in a manner he or she
reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the Registrant’s best interests, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding,
had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful; provided, that in the case of an action, suit or proceeding
against a director or officer that is brought by the Registrant or in the Registrant’s right, the Registrant may indemnify such
director or officer only in respect of expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such director or
officer; provided further, that no such indemnity for expenses may be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such
director or officer shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Registrant unless, and only to the extent that, either the Delaware
Court of Chancery or the court in which the action, suit or proceeding against such director or officer was brought shall determine upon
application that, despite the adjudication of liability to the Registrant but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such director
or officer is nevertheless fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity from the Registrant for such expenses in an amount deemed proper
by such court.
Unless ordered by a
court, the determination of whether a then sitting director or officer has met the applicable standard for indemnity, i.e., that the
director or officer acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the Registrant’s
best interests, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was
unlawful, shall be made (i) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less
than a quorum, or (ii) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum,
or (iii) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (iv) by
the Registrant’s stockholders.
Section 145 of the DGCL
also authorizes the Registrant to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a director or officer in defending any
action, suit or proceeding against the director or officer prior to a determination of whether the director or officer is actually entitled
to indemnity and to purchase insurance for the benefit of a director or officer against any liability that may be incurred by reason
of the fact that the insured was or is a director or officer, regardless of whether the liability insured could have legally been indemnified
by the Registrant.
Pursuant to the authority
granted the Registrant by Section 145 of the DGCL, the Registrant has provided in the Registrant’s amended and restated certificate
of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws for the indemnification of and advancement of expenses to the Registrant’s directors
and officers to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by law as from time to time in effect; provided, however, the Registrant is
required to indemnify, or advance expenses to, any such director or officer in connection with an action, suit, claim or proceeding initiated
by such director or officer only if the initiation of such action, suit, claim or proceeding has been authorized by the Registrant’s
Board of Directors.
As permitted by Section
102 of the DGCL, the Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that each of the Registrant’s
directors shall not be personally liable to the Registrant or the Registrant’s stockholders for monetary damages for breach of
fiduciary duty as a director; provided, that a director shall be liable for any breach of such director’s duty of loyalty to the
Registrant or the Registrant’s stockholders, for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or
a knowing violation of law, for liability under Section 174 of the DGCL (involving certain unlawful dividends or stock repurchases),
or for any transaction from which such director derived an improper personal benefit.
The Registrant maintains
a general liability insurance policy that covers certain liabilities of the Registrant’s directors and officers arising out of
claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers.
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Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Exhibits.
_______________
* Filed herewith.
3
Item 9. Undertakings.
(a)
The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)
To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made of the securities registered hereby, a post-effective amendment
to this Registration Statement:
(i)
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii)
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective
date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent
a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease
in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation
from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate
offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Filing Fee Tables” in the effective Registration Statement;
(iii)
To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement
or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;
Provided, however, that
the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a
post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant
to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
(2)
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed
to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)
To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold
at the termination of the offering.
(b)
The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing
of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing
of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in
this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering
of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c)
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of
the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore,
unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding)
is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will,
unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction
the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the
final adjudication of such issue.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Tulsa, State of Oklahoma on the 13th day of September, 2024.
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EMPIRE PETROLEUM CORPORATION |
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By: |
/s/ Michael R. Morrisett |
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Michael R. Morrisett |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each individual whose signature appears
below constitutes and appoints Michael R. Morrisett and Matthew E. Watson, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact
and agents with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign
any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto,
and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents,
full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in or about the premises, as
fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact
and agents, or his, her or their substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities
and on the dates indicated:
| Signature |
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Title |
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Date |
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| /s/
Michael R. Morrisett |
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Director, President and
Chief Executive Officer
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September 13,
2024 |
| Michael
R. Morrisett |
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(Principal Executive Officer and
Principal Financial Officer)
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| /s/
Matthew E. Watson |
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Chief Accounting Officer |
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September 13, 2024 |
| Matthew
E. Watson |
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(Principal Accounting Officer) |
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| /s/
Phil E. Mulacek |
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Director and Chairman of
the Board |
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September 13, 2024 |
| Phil E. Mulacek |
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| /s/
Andrew L. Lewis |
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Director |
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September 13,
2024 |
| Andrew L. Lewis |
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| /s/
Ben J. Marchive II |
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Director |
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September 13,
2024 |
| Ben J. Marchive II |
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| /s/
Mason H. Matschke |
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Director |
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September 13,
2024 |
| Mason H. Matschke |
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| /s/
J. Kevin Vann |
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Director |
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September 13,
2024 |
| J. Kevin Vann |
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