PATTERSON UTI ENERGY INC - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

or

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number 1-39270

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(281) 765-7100

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ or No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ or No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ or No ☐

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.

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 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $1.8 billion, calculated by reference to the closing price of $9.94 for the common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on that date.

As of February 10, 2022, the registrant had outstanding 215,265,785 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value, its only class of common stock.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) and other public filings, press releases and presentations by us contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. As used in this Report, “we,” “us,” “our,” “ours” and like terms refer collectively to Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. conducts its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiaries and has no employees or independent business operations. These forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to: liquidity; revenue, cost and margin expectations and backlog; financing of operations; oil and natural gas prices; rig counts and frac spreads; source and sufficiency of funds required for building new equipment, upgrading existing equipment and acquisitions (if opportunities arise); demand and pricing for our services; competition; equipment availability; government regulation; legal proceedings; debt service obligations; impact of inflation; and other matters. Our forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and often use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “budgeted,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” “pursue,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” or “will,” or the negative thereof and other words and expressions of similar meaning. The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses we make in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate in the circumstances.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from actual future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties also include those set forth under “Risk Factors” contained in Item 1A of this Report and in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in this Report and other sections of our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Exchange Act and the Securities Act, as well as, among others, risks and uncertainties relating to:

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We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in this Report and may be contained in our future filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and, other than as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In the event that we update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that we will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters or any other forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning us or other matters and attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Available Information

This Report, along with our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are available free of charge through our internet website (www.patenergy.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information contained on our website is not part of this Report or other filings that we make with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Overview

We are a Houston, Texas-based oilfield services company that primarily owns and operates one of the largest fleets of land-based drilling rigs in the United States and a large fleet of pressure pumping equipment.

Our contract drilling business operates in the continental United States and internationally in Colombia and, from time to time, we pursue contract drilling opportunities in other select markets. As of December 31, 2021, we had a drilling fleet that consisted of 184 marketed land-based drilling rigs in the United States and eight in Colombia. A drilling rig includes the structure, power source and machinery necessary to cause a drill bit to penetrate the earth to a depth desired by the customer. We also have a substantial inventory of drill pipe and drilling rig components that support our contract drilling operations.

We provide pressure pumping services to oil and natural gas operators primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region. Substantially all of the revenue in the pressure pumping segment is from well stimulation services (such as hydraulic fracturing) for completion of new wells and remedial work on existing wells. Well stimulation involves processes inside a well designed to enhance the flow of oil, natural gas, or other desired substances from the well. As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 1.1 million fracturing horsepower to provide these services. We also provide cementing services through the pressure pumping segment. Cementing is the process of inserting material between the wall of the well bore and the casing to support and stabilize the casing. Our pressure pumping operations are supported by a fleet of other equipment, including blenders, tractors, manifold trailers and numerous trailers for transportation of materials to and from the worksite as well as bins for storage of materials at the worksite.

We also provide a comprehensive suite of directional drilling services in most major producing onshore oil and gas basins in the United States. Our directional drilling services include directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling and supply and rental of downhole performance motors. We also provide services that improve the statistical accuracy of directional and horizontal wellbores.

We have other operations through which we provide oilfield rental tools in select markets in the United States. We also service equipment for drilling contractors, and we provide electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries in North America and other select markets. In addition, we own and invest, as a non-operating working interest owner, in oil and natural gas assets that are primarily located in Texas and New Mexico.

Recent Developments

Recent Developments in Market Conditions — Quarterly average oil prices and our quarterly average number of rigs operating in the United States for 2019, 2020 and 2021 are as follows:

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In 2020, reduced demand for crude oil and refined products related to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant reduction in crude oil prices and demand for drilling and completion services in the United States.

Oil prices remain extremely volatile, as the closing price of oil (WTI-Cushing) reached a first quarter 2020 high of $63.27 per barrel on January 6, 2020, declined to negative $36.98 per barrel on April 20, 2020, and recovered to reach a 2021 high of $85.64 per barrel on October 26, 2021. In response to the rapid decline in commodity prices, E&P companies acted swiftly to reduce drilling and completion activity starting late in the first quarter of 2020. While oil prices have recovered in 2021, and demand for our services has improved since the commodity price decline in 2020, our average number of rigs operating remains well below the number of our available rigs, and a portion of our pressure pumping horsepower remains stacked. Oil prices averaged $77.45 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Although our active rig count has not fully recovered to its 2019 levels, it increased in 2021 after significant declines in 2020. Our average active U.S. rig count for the fourth quarter of 2021 was 106 rigs. This was an increase from our average active rig count for the third quarter of 2021 of 80 rigs. The increase was partially due to our acquisition of active U.S. rigs from Pioneer Energy Services Corp. (“Pioneer”), which averaged 13 active rigs during the fourth quarter of 2021. Our active U.S. rig count at December 31, 2021 of 111 rigs was more than the rig count of 65 rigs at December 31, 2020, partially due to the increase in rigs from the Pioneer acquisition and, more significantly, due to the recovery of oil prices and improved demand for drilling services in the United States. Term contracts help support our operating rig count. Based on contracts currently in place in the United States, we expect an average of 51 rigs operating under term contracts during the first quarter, and an average of 39 rigs operating under term contracts during 2022.

We ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with 11 active pressure pumping spreads compared to ten at the end of the third quarter. Our average active spread count was approximately ten spreads and effective utilization was close to 11 spreads for the fourth quarter of 2021. We calculated average active spreads as the average number of spreads that were crewed and actively marketed during the period, and we calculated effective utilization as total pumping days during the quarter divided by 75 days, which we consider full effective utilization for a spread for the period. We expect to average approximately 11 active spreads in the first quarter of 2022. The pressure pumping market has improved but remains oversupplied.

Due to improving activity levels and increasing tightness in the overall labor market, we saw general oilfield cost inflation across our segments during 2021, including increases in the cost of labor, services and supplies. This inflation, combined with the increasing challenge of attracting employees to the industry, is increasing the complexity of reactivating equipment. We believe this challenge, combined with the increasing market tightness for premium drilling and completion services, will support higher pricing for our services in 2022. During 2021, we increased our capital expenditure forecast to approximately $170 million, in part, based on conversations with customers about increasing activity levels into 2022. Actual 2021 capital expenditures excluding discontinued operations totaled $166 million.

During the second quarter of 2020, we implemented a restructuring plan to improve operating margins, achieve operational efficiencies and reduce indirect support costs. The restructuring included workforce reductions, changes to management structure and facility consolidations and closures.

Recent Developments in Financial Matters and Merger and Acquisition Activity — On October 1, 2021, we completed the acquisition of Pioneer Energy Services Corp. (“Pioneer”) by acquiring 100% of its equity interests. Total consideration for the acquisition included the issuance of approximately 26.3 million shares of our common stock and payment of $30 million cash, which based on the closing price of our common stock of $9.44 on October 1, 2021, valued the transaction at approximately $278 million.

Pioneer provided land-based contract drilling services and production services to a diverse group of oil and gas exploration and production companies in the United States and internationally in Colombia. Through the Pioneer acquisition, we acquired Pioneer’s 100% pad-capable drilling rig fleet consisting of 17 AC-powered rigs in the United States and eight SCR rigs in Colombia and production services assets consisting of 123 well servicing rigs and 72 wireline services units. We believe the acquisition of Pioneer enhances our position as a leading provider of contract drilling services in the United States and expands our geographic footprint into Latin America.

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On December 31, 2021, we completed the sale of the acquired well servicing rig business and wireline business (collectively, “Pioneer Production Services”), to Clearwell Dynamics, LLC (“Clearwell”). The sale price was $43.0 million in cash consideration, subject to customary purchase price adjustments at closing for cash and working capital. The results of operations of these businesses have been presented as a discontinued operation in these consolidated financial statements. In connection with the sale of our Pioneer Production Services business, we entered into a transition services agreement with Clearwell, pursuant to which we agreed to provide each other certain administrative and operational services on an interim, transitional basis through June 30, 2022.

On December 30, 2021, we repaid the final $50 million of borrowings under the 2019 Term Loan Agreement (“Term Loan Agreement”), and as a result had no remaining borrowings under the Term Loan Agreement as of December 31, 2021.

Industry Segments

Our revenues, operating loss and identifiable assets are primarily attributable to three industry segments:

Our contract drilling services, pressure pumping services, and directional drilling services industry segments had operating losses in 2021, 2020 and 2019.

See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 17 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included as a part of Items 7 and 8, respectively, of this Report for financial information pertaining to these industry segments.

Contract Drilling Operations

General — We market our contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and Colombia. As of December 31, 2021, we had 192 marketed land-based drilling rigs based in the following regions:

All of these drilling rigs are electric rigs. An electric rig converts the power from its diesel engines into electricity to power the rig. The U.S. land rig industry has in recent years referred to certain high specification rigs as “super-spec” rigs, which we consider to be at least a 1,500 horsepower, AC-powered rig that has at least a 750,000-pound hookload, a 7,500-psi circulating system, and is pad-capable. We have 171 super-spec rigs in total.

Due to evolving customer preferences, we have begun to refer to certain premium rigs as “Tier-1, super-spec” rigs, which we consider as being a super-spec rig that also has a third mud pump and raised drawworks that allow for more clearance underneath the rig floor. We currently estimate there are fewer than 400 Tier-1, super-spec rigs in the United States, which includes our 107 Tier-1, super-spec rigs.

We also have a substantial inventory of drill pipe and drilling rig components, which may be used in the activation of additional drilling rigs or as upgrades or replacement parts for marketed rigs.

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Drilling rigs are typically equipped with engines, drawworks, top drives, masts, pumps to circulate the drilling fluid, blowout preventers, drill pipe and other related equipment. Over time, components on a drilling rig are replaced or rebuilt. We spend significant funds each year as part of a program to modify, upgrade and maintain our drilling rigs. To address our customers’ needs for drilling horizontal wells in shale and other unconventional resource plays, we have improved the capability of our drilling fleet during the last several years. Over the years, we have made performance and safety improvements to our rig fleet. Our APEX® rigs are AC-powered electric rigs with many having high pressure mud systems, walking systems and increased hookload capacity. We have spent approximately $409 million during the last three years on capital expenditures to modify, upgrade and extend the lives of components of our drilling fleet. During fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, we spent approximately $110 million, $105 million and $194 million, respectively, on these capital expenditures.

Depth and complexity of the well, drill site conditions and the number of wells to be drilled on a pad are the principal factors in determining the specifications of the rig selected for a particular job.

Our contract drilling operations depend on the availability of drill pipe, drill bits, replacement parts and other related rig equipment, fuel and other materials and qualified personnel. Some of these have been in short supply from time to time.

We perform repair and/or upgrade work to our drilling rig equipment at our yard facilities located in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and internationally in Colombia.

Drilling Contracts — Most of our drilling contracts are with established customers on a competitive bid or negotiated basis. Our bid for each job depends upon location, equipment to be used, estimated risks involved, estimated duration of the job, availability of drilling rigs and other factors particular to each proposed contract. Our drilling contracts are generally either on a well-to-well basis or a term basis. Well-to-well contracts are generally short-term in nature and cover the drilling of a single well or a series of wells. Term contracts are entered into for a specified period of time (we define term contracts as contracts with a duration of six months or more) or for a specified number of wells.

Our drilling contracts obligate us to provide and operate a drilling rig and to pay certain operating expenses, including wages of our drilling personnel and necessary maintenance expenses. Most drilling contracts are subject to termination by the customer on short notice and may or may not contain provisions for an early termination payment to us in the event that the contract is terminated by the customer.

Our drilling contracts provide for payment on a daywork basis, pursuant to which we provide the drilling rig and crew to the customer. The customer provides the program for the drilling of the well. Our compensation is based on a contracted rate per day during the period the drilling rig is utilized. We often receive a lower rate when the drilling rig is moving or when drilling operations are interrupted or restricted by adverse weather conditions or other conditions beyond our control. Daywork contracts typically provide separately for mobilization of the drilling rig.

Contract Drilling Activity — Information regarding our contract drilling activity for the last three years follows:

Rig Fleet Evaluation — On a periodic basis, we evaluate our fleet of drilling rigs for marketability based on the condition of inactive rigs, expenditures that would be necessary to bring inactive rigs to working condition and the expected demand for drilling services by rig type. The components comprising rigs that will no longer be marketed are evaluated, and those components with continuing utility to our other marketed rigs are transferred to other rigs or to our yards to be used as spare equipment. The remaining components of these rigs are retired. In the fourth quarter of 2021, we identified 43 legacy, non-super-spec rigs and equipment to be abandoned. Based on the strong customer preference across the industry for super-spec drilling rigs, we believed the 43 rigs that were abandoned had limited commercial opportunity. We recorded a $220 million charge related to this abandonment in the fourth quarter of 2021.

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Drilling Technology — We continue to enhance the technology offerings that can be used with our drilling operations. Our proprietary operating system for APEX® drilling rigs, Cortex®, can allow for the deployment of custom applications for rig performance, control and optimization. For instance, our GenAssist™ application can employ smart engine logic turning engines on and off to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Our Cortex® Key edge server can connect to various systems at the well site, streaming large data sets and providing a single, high-speed data aggregation source. Our EcoCell™ lithium battery hybrid energy management system is capable of utilizing stored energy to help reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

Pressure Pumping Operations

General — We provide pressure pumping services to oil and natural gas operators, primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region (Northeast Region). Pressure pumping services consist primarily of well stimulation services (such as hydraulic fracturing) for the completion of new wells and remedial work on existing wells. Wells drilled in shale formations and other unconventional plays require well stimulation through hydraulic fracturing to allow the flow of oil and natural gas. This is accomplished by pumping fluids and proppant under pressure into the well bore to fracture the formation. Many wells in conventional plays also receive well stimulation services. We also provide cementing services through the pressure pumping segment. The cementing process inserts material between the wall of the well bore and the casing to support and stabilize the casing. The scope and impact of our cementing services were insignificant during the fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Pressure Pumping Contracts — Our pressure pumping operations are conducted pursuant to a work order for a specific job or pursuant to a term contract. The term contracts are generally entered into for a specified period of time and may include minimum revenue, usage or stage requirements. We are compensated based on a combination of charges for equipment, personnel, materials, mobilization and other items.

Equipment — We have pressure pumping equipment used in providing hydraulic fracturing services as well as cementing and acid pumping services, with a total of approximately 1.1 million horsepower as of December 31, 2021. Pressure pumping equipment at December 31, 2021 included:

Our pressure pumping operations are supported by a fleet of other equipment including blenders, tractors, manifold trailers and numerous trailers for transportation of materials to and from the worksite, as well as bins for storage of materials at the worksite.

We periodically evaluate our pressure pumping assets for marketability based on the condition of inactive equipment, expenditures that would be necessary to bring the equipment to working condition and the expected demand for such equipment. The components of equipment that will no longer be marketed are evaluated, and those components with continuing utility will be used as parts to support active equipment. The remaining components of this equipment are retired. In the fourth quarter of 2021, we recorded a charge of $32.2 million related to the abandonment of approximately 0.2 million horsepower within our pressure pumping fleet. The majority of these units were frac pumps but also included pump down units. These units were abandoned due to changes in customer preferences for dual fuel, advancements in technology, and prohibitive reactivation costs.

Materials — Our pressure pumping operations require the use of acids, chemicals, proppants, fluid supplies and other materials, any of which can be in short supply, including severe shortages, from time to time. We purchase these materials from various suppliers. These purchases are made in the spot market or pursuant to other arrangements that may not cover all of our required supply. These supply arrangements sometimes require us to purchase the supply or pay liquidated damages if we do not purchase the material. Given the limited number of suppliers of certain of our materials, we may not always be able to make alternative arrangements if we are unable to reach an agreement with a supplier for delivery of any particular material or should one of our suppliers, including trucking companies, fail to timely deliver our materials.

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Directional Drilling Operations

General — We generally utilize our own proprietary downhole motors and equipment to provide a comprehensive suite of directional drilling services, including directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and supply and rental of downhole performance motors, in most major onshore oil and natural gas basins in the United States. We generally design, assemble and maintain our own fleet of downhole drilling motors and MWD equipment. Our customers primarily consist of oil and natural gas operators in the United States. We believe our customers use our services because of the quality of our specialized, technology-driven equipment and our well-trained and experienced workforce, which enable us to provide our customers with high-quality, reliable and safe directional drilling services.

Directional Drilling Services — We provide our directional drilling services primarily on a dayrate basis, typically under master service agreements. Revenue from directional drilling services is recognized as work progresses based on the number of days or footage completed. Our rates and other charges generally vary by location and depend on the equipment and personnel required for the job and market conditions in the region in which the services are performed. In addition to rates that are charged during periods of active directional drilling, a standby rate is typically agreed upon in advance and charged on a daily basis during periods when drilling is temporarily suspended while other on-site activity is conducted at the direction of the operator or another service provider.

Equipment — We generally design, assemble, maintain and inspect our own equipment. We have developed proprietary equipment for our drilling motors, mud pulse and electromagnetic data transfer MWD equipment. We believe that our vertical integration strategy allows us to deliver better operational performance and higher equipment reliability to our customers. Vertical integration also allows us to build our tools more efficiently and at a lower cost than if purchased from third parties. In addition, we have the ability to upgrade our tools in response to market conditions or our customers’ job requirements, which allows us to minimize the costs and delays associated with sending equipment to original manufacturers. Our internal maintenance capability also affords us enhanced control over our supply chain and increases the effective utilization of our assets.

We periodically evaluate our directional drilling assets. In the fourth quarter of 2021, we abandoned certain directional drilling equipment totaling $2.5 million and recorded a charge on our developed technology intangible asset of $11.4 million due to advances in technology that rendered those assets, and their related spare parts inventory, obsolete. The inventory write-down in 2021 totaled $4.0 million.

Wellbore Placement Optimization Services — We provide software and services used to improve the accuracy of directional and horizontal wellbores, wellbore quality, and on-bottom ROP (rate of penetration). Our measurement-while-drilling (MWD) Survey FDIR (fault detection, isolation and recovery) service is a data analytics technology to analyze MWD survey data in real-time and more accurately identify the position of a well. Our HiFi Nav™ offering enhances FDIR by targeting improved vertical placement of the directional well within the reservoir. Our HiFi Guidance™ service utilizes trajectory optimization to determine optimal steering recommendation placement within the reservoir, targeting minimal sliding, faster ROP, and a higher percentage of the wellbore placed in the desired drilling window. We provide these services to customers with onshore and offshore operations.

Other Operations

Our oilfield rentals business has a fleet of premium rental tools and provides specialized services for land-based oil and natural gas drilling, completion and workover activities in many of the major producing onshore oil and gas basins in the United States. We service equipment for drilling contractors, and we provide electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries in North America and other select markets. In addition, we own and invest, as a non-operating working interest owner, in oil and natural gas assets that are primarily located in Texas and New Mexico.

Contracts

We believe that our contract drilling, pressure pumping, directional drilling and other contracts generally provide for indemnification rights and obligations that are customary for the markets in which we conduct those operations. However, each contract contains the actual terms setting forth our rights and obligations and those of the customer or supplier, any of which rights and obligations may deviate from what is customary due to particular industry conditions, customer or supplier requirements, applicable law or other factors.

Customers

Our customer base includes major, independent and other oil and natural gas operators. With respect to our consolidated operating revenues in 2021, we received approximately 57% from our ten largest customers and approximately 39% from our five largest customers. During 2021, one customer accounted for approximately $216 million, or approximately 16%, of our consolidated operating revenues. These revenues were earned in both our contract drilling and pressure pumping businesses. The loss of, or reduction in business from, one or more of our larger customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

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Backlog

Our contract drilling backlog in the United States as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $325 million and $301 million, respectively. Approximately 22% of our contract drilling backlog in the United States at December 31, 2021 is reasonably expected to remain after 2022. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included as a part of Item 7 of this Report for information pertaining to backlog.

Competition

The businesses in which we operate are highly competitive. Historically, available equipment used in our contract drilling, pressure pumping and directional drilling businesses has frequently exceeded demand, particularly in an industry downturn. The price for our services is a key competitive factor, in part because equipment used in these businesses can be moved from one area to another in response to market conditions. In addition to price, we believe availability, condition and technical specifications of equipment (including emission reduction capabilities), quality of personnel, service quality and safety record are key factors in determining which contractor is awarded a job. We expect that the market for our services will continue to be highly competitive.

Human Capital and Sustainability

We strive to be a leader in our industry in the area of environmental, social, governance and other sustainability-related issues, and we remain committed to managing these issues for the long-term benefit of our employees, communities and our business. We aim to minimize our environmental impact in the communities in which we work and live, while providing services for our customers in a safe and responsible manner. We invest extensively in the safety, health and well-being of our people, who are our most important asset and our greatest strength. Importantly, we maintain a rigorous focus on ethics and integrity at every level of our operations, a practice on which all of our success depends.

We encourage you to review our latest Sustainability Report, located on our website, for more detailed information regarding our Sustainability and Human Capital programs and initiatives. Nothing on our website, including our Sustainability Report or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Report or other filings that we make with the SEC.

Environment – We continue to pursue initiatives to mitigate climate change risk and make improvements in air quality, water quality, land usage, use of energy and reducing waste materials. For example, we utilize natural gas engines, dual-fuel equipment and other technologies that reduce our carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, and we employ spill prevention plans and use additional protective measures in environmentally sensitive areas.

We have strengthened our position as a leader in alternative fuel technology with the commercialization of our EcoCell™ lithium battery hybrid energy management system. EcoCell™ is capable of efficiently displacing one of the gensets on a drilling rig to reduce both fuel consumption and emissions. The value of this technology is enhanced when used in combination with our Cortex® power management system and our dual-fuel engines, as the natural gas substitution rate can be optimized.

Through our Current Power business, we provide in-house electrical engineering, control system automation and installation services to connect drilling rigs to utility electrical lines. This capability enables our customers to use utility power, instead of natural gas or diesel fuel, to power drilling operations. Using utility power is an optimal power solution for our drilling rigs as it minimizes emission impacts at the wellsite.

Some of our key human capital areas of focus include:

Employees – We had approximately 5,000 full-time employees as of January 31, 2022. The number of employees fluctuates depending on the current and expected demand for our services. We consider our employee relations to be satisfactory. None of our U.S. employees are represented by a union. Although some of our Colombian employees may be union members, we have not entered into any collective bargaining arrangements with the unions with which those employees are affiliated.

Training and Safety – Our training programs include opportunities for employees to advance in their professional careers through intensive, multi-day classroom training programs in numerous skills and competencies as well as management training programs. These programs are geared to providing our employees with opportunities to advance throughout our company.

The safety of our employees and others is our highest priority, as our goal is to provide an incident-free work environment. We have robust safety training programs in place that are designed to comply with applicable laws and industry standards and to benefit our employees, communities and our business. All U.S. field-based employees are required to have safety education on an annual basis which incorporates learning associated with hazard awareness, safe systems of work, permission to work, time out for safety, energy isolation, material handling and management of change.

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented, and continue to maintain, safety protocols at our offices, facilities and worksites. These protocols include allowing many of our office-based employees to work from home.

Diversity, Inclusion and Respect – We are committed to fostering a work environment where all people feel valued and respected. We embrace our diversity of people, thoughts and talents, and combine these strengths to pursue extraordinary results for our company, our employees and our stockholders. We are committed to recruiting, hiring and retaining the highest caliber talent for our business by utilizing outreach initiatives and partnerships with a diverse group of organizations, industry associations and networks.

We require new supervisors and managers in the United States to attend an instructor-led course relative to diversity, inclusion and respect to ensure they understand our expectations regarding their obligations to promote a work environment where all employees are valued and respected. Supplemental diversity, inclusion and respect training for supervisors and managers is required on a biannual basis. All other employees are educated on our commitment to a respectful workplace for all to ensure they understand their role as they engage with co-workers.

Maintaining our Core Values – In 2021, we trained over 3,500 employees on our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which addresses conflicts of interest, confidentiality, fair dealing with others, proper use of company assets, compliance with laws, insider trading, keeping of books and records, zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment in the work environment, as well as reporting of violations.

Health and Benefits – Our health and benefits program provides for extensive preventative care and is designed to improve our employees’ fitness for work, personal safety on the job and overall well-being.

Government and Environmental Regulation

All of our operations and facilities are subject to numerous federal, state, foreign, regional and local laws, rules and regulations related to various aspects of our business, including:

To date, applicable environmental and other laws and regulations in the places in which we operate have not required the expenditure of significant resources outside the ordinary course of business. We do not anticipate any material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities or extraordinary expenditures to comply with environmental rules and regulations in the foreseeable future. However, compliance costs under existing laws or under any new requirements could become material, and we could incur liability in any instance of noncompliance.

Our business is generally affected by political developments and by federal, state, foreign, regional and local laws, rules and regulations that relate to the oil and natural gas industry. The adoption of laws, rules and regulations affecting the oil and natural gas industry for economic, environmental and other policy reasons could increase costs relating to drilling, completion and production, delay the permitting of, or related to, such operations, restrict or prohibit oil and gas development in certain areas, reduce the demand for oil and natural gas and otherwise have an adverse effect on our operations or business, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Federal, state, foreign, regional and local environmental laws, rules and regulations, including laws, rules, regulations and executive actions related to the mitigation of climate change or greenhouse gas emissions, currently apply to our operations and are likely to become more stringent in the future. Any limitation, suspension or moratorium of the services and products we or others provide, whether or not short-term in nature, by a federal, state, foreign, regional or local governmental authority, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We believe we use operating and disposal practices that are standard in the industry. However, hydrocarbons and other materials may have been disposed of, or released in or under properties currently or formerly owned or operated by us or our predecessors, which may have resulted, or may result, in soil and groundwater contamination in certain locations. Any contamination found on, under or originating from the properties may be subject to remediation requirements under federal, state, foreign, regional and local laws, rules and regulations. In addition, some of these properties have been operated by third parties over whom we have no control of their treatment of hydrocarbon and other materials or the manner in which they may have disposed of or released such materials. We could be required to remove or remediate wastes disposed of or released by prior owners or operators. In addition, it is possible we could be held responsible for oil and natural gas properties in which we own an interest but are not the operator.

Some of the environmental laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations are discussed in the following paragraphs, but the discussion does not cover all environmental laws and regulations that may govern our operations.

In the United States, the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, commonly known as CERCLA, and comparable state statutes impose strict liability on:

The Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), as amended, and comparable state statutes and implementing regulations govern the disposal of “hazardous wastes.” Although CERCLA currently excludes petroleum from the definition of “hazardous substances,” and RCRA also excludes certain classes of exploration and production wastes from regulation, such exemptions may be deleted, limited, or modified in the future. For example, in December 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and environmental groups entered into a consent decree to address the EPA’s alleged failure to timely assess its RCRA Subtitle D criteria regulations exempting certain exploration and production related oil and gas wastes from regulation as hazardous wastes under RCRA. The consent decree requires the EPA to propose a rulemaking by March 2019 for revision of certain Subtitle D criteria regulations pertaining to oil and gas wastes or to sign a determination that revision of the regulations is not necessary. The EPA issued a report on April 23, 2019, determining that no revisions were necessary. However, if changes are made to the classification of exploration and production wastes under CERCLA and/or RCRA in the future, we could be required to remove and remediate previously disposed of materials (including materials disposed of or released by prior owners or operators) from properties (including ground water contaminated with hydrocarbons) and to perform removal or remedial actions to prevent future contamination.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the “Clean Water Act”) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (the “Oil Pollution Act”), each as amended, and implementing regulations govern:

The Oil Pollution Act imposes strict liability for a comprehensive and expansive list of damages from an oil spill into jurisdictional waters from facilities. Liability may be imposed for oil removal costs and a variety of public and private damages. Penalties may also be imposed for violation of federal safety, construction and operating regulations, and for failure to report a spill or to cooperate fully in a clean-up.

The Oil Pollution Act also expands the authority and capability of the federal government to direct and manage oil spill clean-up and operations, and requires operators to prepare oil spill response plans in cases where it can reasonably be expected that substantial harm will be done to the environment by discharges on or into navigable waters. Failure to comply with ongoing requirements or inadequate cooperation during a spill event may subject a responsible party, such as us, to civil or criminal actions. Although the liability for owners and operators is the same under the Clean Water Act, the damages recoverable under the Oil Pollution Act are potentially much greater and can include natural resource damages.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) promulgates and enforces laws and regulations governing the protection of the health and safety of employees. The OSHA hazard communication standard, EPA community right-to-know regulations under Title III of CERCLA and similar state statutes require that information be maintained about hazardous materials used or produced in our operations and that this information be provided to employees, state and local governments and citizens. Also, OSHA has established a variety of standards related to workplace exposure to hazardous substances and employee health and safety.

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Our activities include the performance of hydraulic fracturing services to enhance the production of oil and natural gas from formations with low permeability, such as shale and other unconventional formations. Due to concerns raised relating to potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing, including on groundwater quality and seismic activity, legislative and regulatory efforts at the federal level and in some state and local jurisdictions have been initiated to render permitting and compliance requirements more stringent for hydraulic fracturing or prohibit the activity altogether. Certain politicians have also vocalized support for a nationwide ban on hydraulic fracturing. Additional legislation or regulation could lead to operational delays or increased operating costs in the production of oil and natural gas or could make it more difficult to perform hydraulic fracturing. These developments could also lead to litigation challenging proposed or existing wells. Such efforts could have an adverse effect on oil and natural gas production activities, which in turn could have an adverse effect on the hydraulic fracturing services that we provide for our exploration and production customers, and such efforts could adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Potential Legislation and Regulation Covering Hydraulic Fracturing or Other Aspects of the Oil and Gas Industry Could Increase Our Costs and Limit or Delay Our Operations.”

Other jurisdictions where we may conduct operations have similar environmental and regulatory regimes with which we would be required to comply. These laws, rules and regulations also require that facility sites and other properties associated with our operations be operated, maintained, abandoned and reclaimed to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities. In addition, new projects or changes to existing projects may require the submission and approval of environmental assessments or permit applications. These laws, rules and regulations are subject to frequent change, and the clear trend is to place increasingly stringent limitations on activities that may affect the environment.

Our operations are also subject to federal, state, foreign, regional and local laws, rules and regulations for the control of air emissions, including those associated with the Federal Clean Air Act. We and our customers may be required to make capital expenditures in the future for air pollution control equipment in connection with obtaining and maintaining operating permits and approvals for air emissions. We are also subject to regulation by numerous other regulatory agencies, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees employment practice standards.

For more information, please refer to our discussion under “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Laws and Regulations, Including Violations Thereof, Could Materially Adversely Affect Our Operating Results.”

There has been an increasing focus of local, state, national and international regulatory bodies on greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and climate change issues. There has also been legislation proposed by U.S. lawmakers to reduce GHG emissions, as well as GHG emissions regulations enacted by the EPA, and future federal action to address climate change is likely.

President Biden and the Democratic Party, which controls Congress, have identified climate change as a priority, and it is likely that additional executive orders, regulatory action, and/or legislation targeting greenhouse gas emissions, or prohibiting, delaying or restricting oil and gas development activities in certain areas, will be proposed and/or promulgated during the Biden Administration. For example, the acting Secretary of the Department of the Interior recently issued an order preventing staff from producing any new fossil fuel leases or permits without sign-off from a top political appointee, and President Biden recently announced a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices. President Biden’s order also established climate change as a primary foreign policy and national security consideration, affirms that achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by or before midcentury is a critical priority, affirms the Biden Administration’s desire to establish the United States as a leader in addressing climate change, generally further integrates climate change and environmental justice considerations into government agencies’ decision-making, and eliminates fossil fuel subsidies, among other measures. Although a federal judge for the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Louisiana issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the pause of oil and natural gas leasing on public lands or in offshore waters while litigation challenging that aspect of the executive order is ongoing, the Biden Administration may take other regulatory steps in the future that could impact our operations.

In February 2021, the United States rejoined the Paris Agreement, and in the future, the United States may also choose to adhere to other international agreements targeting GHG reductions. In April 2021, President Biden set a new goal for the United States to achieve a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030. Further, in November 2021, the Unites States and other countries entered into the Glasgow Climate Pact, which includes a range of measures designed to address climate change, including but not limited to the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030, and cooperating toward the advancement of the development of clean energy.

Several states and geographic regions in the United States have also adopted legislation and regulations to reduce emissions of GHGs, including cap and trade regimes and commitments to contribute to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

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We will continue to monitor and assess any new policies, legislation or regulations in the areas where we operate to determine the impact of GHG emissions and climate change on our operations and take appropriate actions, where necessary. Any direct and indirect costs of meeting these requirements may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Our and Our Customers’ Operations are Subject to a Number of Risks Arising Out of the Threat of Climate Change That Could Result in Increased Operating and Capital Costs, Limit the Areas in Which Oil and Natural Gas Production May Occur and Reduce Demand for Our Services.”

Risks and Insurance

Our operations are subject to many hazards inherent in the businesses in which we operate, including inclement weather, blowouts, explosions, fires, loss of well control, motor vehicle accidents, pollution, exposure and reservoir damage. These hazards could cause personal injury or death, work stoppage, and serious damage to equipment and other property, as well as significant environmental and reservoir damages. These risks could expose us to substantial liability for personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, loss of oil and natural gas production, pollution and other environmental damages. An accident or other event resulting in significant environmental or property damage, or injuries or fatalities involving our employees or other persons could also trigger investigations by federal, state or local authorities. Such an accident or other event could cause us to incur substantial expenses in connection with the investigation, remediation and resolution, as well as cause lasting damage to our reputation, loss of customers and an inability to obtain insurance.

We have indemnification agreements with many of our customers, and we also maintain liability and other forms of insurance. In general, our contracts typically contain provisions requiring our customers to indemnify us for, among other things, reservoir and certain pollution damage. Our right to indemnification may, however, be unenforceable or limited due to negligent or willful acts or omissions by us, our subcontractors and/or suppliers. Our customers and other third parties may dispute, or be unable to meet, their indemnification obligations to us due to financial, legal or other reasons. Accordingly, we may be unable to transfer these risks to our customers and other third parties by contract or indemnification agreements. Incurring a liability for which we are not fully indemnified or insured could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

We maintain insurance coverage of types and amounts that we believe to be customary in the industry, but we are not fully insured against all risks, either because insurance is not available or because of the high premium costs. The insurance coverage that we maintain includes insurance for fire, windstorm and other risks of physical loss to our equipment and certain other assets, employer’s liability, automobile liability, commercial general liability, workers’ compensation and insurance for other specific risks. We cannot assure, however, that any insurance obtained by us will be adequate to cover any losses or liabilities, or that this insurance will continue to be available, or available on terms that are acceptable to us. While we carry insurance to cover physical damage to, or loss of, a substantial portion of our equipment and certain other assets, such insurance does not cover the full replacement cost of such equipment or other assets. We have also elected in some cases to accept a greater amount of risk through increased deductibles on certain insurance policies. For example, in the United States we generally maintain a $1.5 million per occurrence deductible on our workers’ compensation insurance coverage, a $1.0 million per occurrence deductible on our equipment insurance coverage, a $10.0 million per occurrence deductible on our general liability coverage, a $2.0 million per occurrence deductible on our primary automobile liability insurance coverage, and a $5.0 million per occurrence deductible on our excess automobile liability insurance coverage. We also self-insure a number of other risks, including loss of earnings and business interruption and most cybersecurity risks, and we do not carry a significant amount of insurance to cover risks of underground reservoir damage.

Our insurance may not in all situations provide sufficient funds to protect us from all liabilities that could result from our operations. Our coverage includes aggregate policy limits and exclusions. As a result, we retain the risk for any loss in excess of these limits or that is otherwise excluded from our coverage. There can be no assurance that insurance will be available to cover any or all of our operational risks, or, even if available, that insurance premiums or other costs will not rise significantly in the future, so as to make the cost of such insurance prohibitive, or that our coverage will cover a specific loss. Further, we may experience difficulties in collecting from insurers or such insurers may deny all or a portion of our claims for insurance coverage. Incurring a liability for which we are not fully insured or indemnified could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

If a significant accident or other event occurs that is not fully covered by insurance or an enforceable and recoverable indemnity from a third party, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Our Operations Are Subject to a Number of Operational Risks, Including Environmental and Weather Risks, Which Could Expose Us to Significant Losses and Damage Claims. We Are Not Fully Insured Against All of These Risks and Our Contractual Indemnity Provisions May Not Fully Protect Us.”

Seasonality

Seasonality has not significantly affected our overall operations. Toward the end of calendar years, we experience slower activity in connection with the holidays and as customers’ capital expenditure budgets are depleted. Occasionally, our operations have been negatively impacted by severe weather conditions.

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Raw Materials and Subcontractors

We use many suppliers of raw materials and services. Although these materials and services have historically been available, there is no assurance that such materials and services will continue to be available on favorable terms or at all. We also utilize numerous independent subcontractors from various trades.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

You should consider each of the following factors as well as the other information in this Report in evaluating our business and our prospects. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations could be harmed. You should also refer to the other information set forth in this Report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes.

Business and Operating Risks

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Have Had, and Are Expected to Continue to Have, a Significant Adverse Impact on Our Business, Liquidity, Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including related governmental actions and restrictions, have had, and are expected to continue to have, a significant adverse impact on the global economy, including the worldwide demand for oil and natural gas, and the level of demand for our services, which has impacted and is expected to continue to impact our business, liquidity, results of operations and our financial condition.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental authorities have imposed mandatory closures, sought voluntary closures and imposed restrictions on, or advisories with respect to, travel, business operations and public gatherings or interactions. While many governmental authorities have loosened these restrictions, the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak may significantly worsen, and new strains of COVID-19 may emerge, which may cause governmental authorities to reconsider restrictions on travel, business and social activities. In the event governmental authorities retain, increase or reimpose restrictions, the loosening of restrictions may be further curtailed.

In early March 2020, OPEC+ was initially unable to reach an agreement to continue to impose limits on the production of crude oil, and shortly thereafter the World Health Organization determined the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. The convergence of these events created the unprecedented dual impact of a global oil demand decline coupled with the risk of a substantial increase in supply. In response to the rapid decline in commodity prices, exploration and production companies acted swiftly to reduce drilling and completion activity starting late in the first quarter of 2020. While oil prices and demand for our services have recovered in 2021, customer spending has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Given the nature and significance of the events described above, we are not able to enumerate all potential risks to our business from the recent volatility in crude oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic; however, we believe that in addition to the impacts described above, other current and potential impacts of these recent events include, but are not limited to:

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The full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business, liquidity, results of operations and financial condition will depend largely on future developments, including the duration and further spread of the virus, including any new strains of COVID-19, and the related impact on the oil and gas industry, the impact of governmental actions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the further development, availability, timely distribution and acceptance of effective treatments and vaccines, all of which are highly uncertain.

We Are Dependent on the Oil and Natural Gas Industry and Market Prices for Oil and Natural Gas. Declines in Customers’ Operating and Capital Expenditures and in Oil and Natural Gas Prices May Adversely Affect Our Operating Results.

We depend on our customers’ willingness to make operating and capital expenditures to explore for, develop and produce oil and natural gas in the United States. When these expenditures decline, our business may suffer. The rapid decline in oil prices resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the activities of OPEC+ caused a significant decline in both customer activity and prices for our services in 2020. While oil prices and demand for our services have recovered in 2021, activity has not fully recovered to its 2019 levels, and these events therefore continue to have, and are expected to continue to have, a significant impact on our business. Our customers’ willingness to explore, develop and produce depends largely upon prevailing industry conditions that are influenced by numerous factors over which we have no control, such as:

In particular, our revenues, profitability and cash flows are highly dependent upon prevailing prices for oil and natural gas and expectations about future prices. Oil and natural gas prices and markets can be extremely volatile. Prices, and expectations about future prices, are affected by factors such as:

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All of these factors are beyond our control. Oil prices remain extremely volatile, as the closing price of oil (WTI-Cushing) reached a first quarter 2020 high of $63.27 per barrel on January 6, 2020, declined to negative $36.98 per barrel on April 20, 2020, and recovered to reach a 2021 high of $85.64 per barrel on October 26, 2021. In response to the rapid decline in commodity prices, E&P companies acted swiftly to reduce drilling and completion activity starting late in the first quarter of 2020. While oil prices have recovered in 2021, and demand for our services has improved since the commodity price decline in 2020, our average number of rigs operating remains well below the number of our available rigs, and a significant portion of our pressure pumping horsepower remains stacked. Oil prices averaged $77.45 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2021.

We expect oil and natural gas prices to continue to be volatile and to affect our financial condition, operations and ability to access sources of capital. Higher oil and natural gas prices do not necessarily result in increased activity because demand for our services is generally driven by our customers’ expectations of future oil and natural gas prices, as well as our customers’ ability to access sources of capital to fund their operating and capital expenditures. A decline in demand for oil and natural gas, prolonged low oil or natural gas prices, expectations of decreases in oil and natural gas prices or a reduction in the ability of our customers to access capital would likely result in reduced capital expenditures by our customers and decreased demand for our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition and cash flows. Even during periods of historically moderate or high prices for oil and natural gas, companies exploring for oil and natural gas may cancel or curtail programs or reduce their levels of capital expenditures for exploration and production for a variety of reasons, which could reduce demand for our services.

Global Economic Conditions May Adversely Affect Our Operating Results.

Concerns regarding global economic conditions, energy costs, geopolitical issues, supply chain disruptions, inflation, the availability and cost of credit and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to increased economic uncertainty. Demand for energy and for oil and natural gas end products is highly sensitive to economic conditions; as a result, global economic conditions, indications that economic growth is slowing and volatility in commodity prices may cause our customers to reduce or curtail their drilling and well completion programs, which could result in a decrease in demand for our services. In addition, uncertainty in the capital markets, whether due to global economic conditions, including economic repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, low commodity prices or otherwise, may result in reduced access to, or an inability to obtain, financing by us, our customers and our suppliers and result in reduced demand for our services. An economic slowdown or recession in the United States or in any other country that significantly affects the supply of or demand for oil or natural gas could negatively impact our operations and therefore adversely affect our results. Furthermore, these factors may result in certain of our customers experiencing an inability or unwillingness to pay suppliers, including us. The global economic environment in the past has experienced significant deterioration in a relatively short period, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is no assurance that the global economic environment, or expectations for the global economic environment, will not quickly deteriorate again due to one or more factors, including due to uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. A deterioration in the global economic environment could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

A Surplus of Equipment and a Highly Competitive Oil Service Industry May Adversely Affect Our Utilization and Profit Margins and the Carrying Value of our Assets.

The land drilling and pressure pumping industries in the United States are highly competitive, and at times available land drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment exceed the demand for such equipment. A low commodity price environment or capital spending reductions by our customers due to customer consolidation, investor requirements or other reasons can result in substantially more drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment being available than are needed to meet demand. In addition, in recent years there has been a substantial increase in new and upgraded drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment. Low commodity prices and new and upgraded equipment can result in excess capacity and substantial competition for a declining number of drilling and pressure pumping contracts. Even in an environment of high oil and natural gas prices and/or increased drilling and completion activity, reactivation and improvement of existing drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment, construction of new technology drilling rigs and new pressure pumping equipment, and movement of drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment from region to region in response to market conditions or otherwise can lead to a surplus of equipment.

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In times of reduced demand for our industry’s services, certain of our industry competitors may initiate bankruptcy proceedings or engage in debt refinancing transactions, management changes, or other strategic initiatives in an attempt to reduce operating costs to maintain a position in the market. This could result in such competitors emerging with stronger or healthier balance sheets and, in turn, an improved ability to compete with us in the future. We may also see corporate consolidations among both our customers and competitors, which could significantly alter industry conditions and competition within the industry, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

We periodically seek to increase the prices on our services to offset rising costs, earn returns on our capital investment, and otherwise generate higher returns for our stockholders. However, we operate in a very competitive industry, and we are not always successful in raising or maintaining our existing prices. With drilling and completion activity well below the peak seen in 2014 and many rigs, including highly capable AC-powered rigs, and pressure pumping equipment still idle, there are limitations on the ability to raise or maintain prices across our fleet. Even if we are able to increase our prices, we may not be able to do so at a rate that is sufficient to offset rising costs without adversely affecting our activity levels. The inability to maintain our pricing and to increase our pricing as costs increase could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. In addition, we may be unable to replace fixed-term contracts that expire or are terminated early, extend expiring contracts or obtain new contracts in the spot market, and the rates and other material terms under any new or extended contracts may be on substantially less favorable rates and terms.

Accordingly, high competition and a surplus of equipment can cause oil and natural gas service contractors to have difficulty maintaining pricing, utilization and profit margins and, at times, result in operating losses. We cannot predict the future level of competition or surplus equipment in the oil and natural gas service businesses or the level of demand for our contract drilling, pressure pumping or directional drilling services.

The surplus of operable land drilling rigs, increasing rig specialization and surplus of pressure pumping and directional drilling equipment, which can be exacerbated by capital spending reductions by our customers, could affect the fair market value of our contract drilling, pressure pumping and directional drilling equipment, which in turn could result in additional impairments of our assets. A prolonged period of lower oil and natural gas prices or changes in customer preferences and requirements could result in future impairment to our long-lived assets. For example, we recognized impairment charges of $267 million, $423 million and $221 million in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Our Operations Are Subject to a Number of Operational Risks, Including Environmental and Weather Risks, Which Could Expose Us to Significant Losses and Damage Claims. We Are Not Fully Insured Against All of These Risks and Our Contractual Indemnity Provisions May Not Fully Protect Us.

Our operations are subject to many hazards inherent in the businesses in which we operate, including inclement weather, blowouts, explosions, fires, loss of well control, motor vehicle accidents, equipment failure, pollution, exposure and reservoir damage. These hazards could cause personal injury or death, work stoppage, and serious damage to equipment and other property, as well as significant environmental and reservoir damages. These risks could expose us to substantial liability for personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, loss of oil and natural gas production, pollution and other environmental damages. An accident or other event resulting in significant environmental or property damage, or injuries or fatalities involving our employees or other persons could also trigger investigations by federal, state or local authorities. Such an accident or other event could cause us to incur substantial expenses in connection with the investigation, remediation and resolution, as well as cause lasting damage to our reputation, loss of customers and an inability to obtain insurance.

We have indemnification agreements with many of our customers, and we also maintain liability and other forms of insurance. In general, our contracts typically contain provisions requiring our customers to indemnify us for, among other things, reservoir and certain pollution damage. Our right to indemnification may, however, be unenforceable or limited due to negligent or willful acts or omissions by us, our subcontractors and/or suppliers. In addition, certain states, including Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming, have enacted statutes generally referred to as “oilfield anti-indemnity acts” expressly prohibiting certain indemnity agreements contained in or related to oilfield services agreements. Such oilfield anti-indemnity acts may restrict or void a party’s indemnification of us.

Our customers and other third parties may dispute, or be unable to meet, their indemnification obligations to us due to financial, legal or other reasons. Accordingly, we may be unable to transfer these risks to our customers and other third parties by contract or indemnification agreements. Incurring a liability for which we are not fully indemnified or insured could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

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We maintain insurance coverage of types and amounts that we believe to be customary in the industry, but we are not fully insured against all risks, either because insurance is not available or because of the high premium costs. The insurance coverage that we maintain includes insurance for fire, windstorm and other risks of physical loss to our equipment and certain other assets, employer’s liability, automobile liability, commercial general liability, workers’ compensation and insurance for other specific risks. We cannot assure, however, that any insurance obtained by us will be adequate to cover any losses or liabilities, or that this insurance will continue to be available, or available on terms that are acceptable to us. While we carry insurance to cover physical damage to, or loss of, a substantial portion of our equipment and certain other assets, such insurance does not cover the full replacement cost of such equipment or other assets. We have also elected in some cases to accept a greater amount of risk through increased deductibles on certain insurance policies. For example, in the United States we generally maintain a $1.5 million per occurrence deductible on our workers’ compensation insurance coverage, a $1.0 million per occurrence deductible on our equipment insurance coverage, a $10.0 million per occurrence deductible on our general liability coverage, a $2.0 million per occurrence deductible on our primary automobile liability insurance coverage, and a $5.0 million per occurrence deductible on our excess automobile liability insurance coverage. We also self-insure a number of other risks, including loss of earnings and business interruption and most of our cybersecurity risks, and we do not carry a significant amount of insurance to cover risks of underground reservoir damage.

Our insurance may not in all situations provide sufficient funds to protect us from all liabilities that could result from our operations. Our coverage includes aggregate policy limits and exclusions. As a result, we retain the risk for any loss in excess of these limits or that is otherwise excluded from our coverage. There can be no assurance that insurance will be available to cover any or all of our operational risks, or, even if available, that insurance premiums or other costs will not rise significantly in the future, so as to make the cost of such insurance prohibitive, or that our coverage will cover a specific loss. Further, we may experience difficulties in collecting from insurers or such insurers may deny all or a portion of our claims for insurance coverage. Incurring a liability for which we are not fully insured or indemnified could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

If a significant accident or other event occurs that is not fully covered by insurance or an enforceable and recoverable indemnity from a third party, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

Our Current Backlog of Contract Drilling Revenue May Decline and May Not Ultimately Be Realized, as Fixed-Term Contracts May in Certain Instances Be Terminated Without an Early Termination Payment.

Fixed-term drilling contracts customarily provide for termination at the election of the customer, with an early termination payment to us if a contract is terminated prior to the expiration of the fixed term. However, in certain circumstances, for example, destruction of a drilling rig that is not replaced within a specified period of time, our bankruptcy, or a breach of our contract obligations, the customer may not be obligated to make an early termination payment to us. Additionally, during depressed market conditions or otherwise, customers may be unable to satisfy their contractual obligations or may seek to terminate or renegotiate or otherwise fail to honor their contractual obligations, including as a result of their bankruptcy. In addition, we may not be able to perform under these contracts due to events beyond our control, and our customers may seek to terminate or renegotiate our contracts for various reasons, including those described above. As a result, we may be unable to realize all of our current contract drilling backlog. In addition, the termination or renegotiation of fixed-term contracts without the receipt of early termination payments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. As of December 31, 2021, our contract drilling backlog in the United States for future revenues under term contracts, which we define as contracts with a fixed term of six months or more, was approximately $325 million. Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for a description of our calculation of backlog. Our contract drilling backlog may decline, as fixed-term drilling contract coverage over time may not be offset by new contracts or may be reduced by price adjustments to existing contracts, including as a result of the decline in the price of oil and natural gas, capital spending reductions by our customers or other factors. For these and other reasons, our contract drilling backlog may not generate sufficient liquidity for us during periods of reduced demand for our services.

New Technologies May Cause Our Operating Methods, Equipment and Services to Become Less Competitive, and Higher Levels of Capital Expenditures May Be Necessary to Remain Competitive.

The market for our services is characterized by continual technological and process developments that have resulted in, and will likely continue to result in, substantial improvements in the functionality and performance, including environmental performance, of drilling rigs and pressure pumping and other equipment. Our customers are increasingly demanding the services of newer, higher specification drilling rigs and pressure pumping and other equipment, as well as new and improved technology, such as drilling automation technology and lower-emissions operations and services, and data analytics. Accordingly, we may have to allocate a higher proportion of our capital expenditures to maintain and improve existing rigs and pressure pumping and other equipment, purchase and construct newer, higher specification drilling rigs and pressure pumping and other equipment to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of our customers, and develop new and improved technology and data analytics. In addition, technological changes, process improvements and other factors that increase operational efficiencies could continue to result in oil and natural gas wells being drilled and completed more quickly, which could reduce the number of revenue earning days. Technological and process developments in the pressure pumping and directional drilling businesses could have similar effects.

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In recent years, we have added drilling rigs to our fleet through new construction and acquisitions, purchased new pressure pumping equipment and acquired a directional drilling services company. We have also improved existing drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment by adding equipment and technology designed to enhance functionality and performance and reduce emissions. Although we take measures to ensure that we use advanced oil and natural gas drilling, pressure pumping and directional drilling technology, changes in technology, improvements in competitors’ equipment, increasing customer demands for new and improved technology, such as drilling automation technology and lower-emissions operations and services, and changes relating to the wells to be drilled and completed could make our equipment less competitive.

We continually attempt to develop new technologies for use in our business. In the event that we are successful in developing or acquiring new technologies for use in our business, there is no guarantee of future demand for those technologies. Customers may be reluctant or unwilling to adopt our new technologies. We may also have difficulty negotiating satisfactory terms for our new technologies, including terms that would enable us to obtain acceptable returns on our investment in the development or acquisition of new technologies.

Development and acquisition of new technology is critical to maintaining our competitiveness. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully develop or acquire technology that our customers demand. Some of our competitors have greater financial, technical and personnel resources that may allow them to enjoy technological advantages and develop, acquire and implement new technology on a more timely basis or in a more cost-effective manner. If we are not successful keeping pace with technological advances in a timely and cost-effective manner, demand for our services may decline. If any technology that we need to successfully compete is not available to us or that we implement in the future does not work as we expect, we may be adversely affected. Additionally, new technologies, services or standards could render some of our equipment and services obsolete, which could reduce our competitiveness and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operation.

Loss of Key Personnel and Competition for Experienced Personnel May Negatively Impact Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

We greatly depend on the efforts of our key employees to manage our operations. The loss of members of management could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we utilize highly skilled personnel in operating and supporting our businesses and in developing new technologies. In times of increasing demand for our services, it may be difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel, particularly after a prolonged industry downturn. During periods of high demand for our services or inflation, wage rates for operations personnel are also likely to increase, resulting in higher operating costs. During periods of lower demand for our services, we may experience reductions in force and voluntary departures of key personnel, which could adversely affect our business and make it more it difficult to meet customer demands when demand for our services improves. In addition, even in a period of generally lower demand for our services, if there is a high demand for our services in certain areas, it may be difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel to perform services in such areas. We may also face a loss of workers and labor shortages as a result of quarantines, vaccine mandates or requirements and enforcement of other COVID-19 regulations in jurisdictions where we operate. The loss of key employees, the failure to attract and retain qualified personnel and the increase in labor costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

The Loss of Large Customers Could Have a Material Adverse Effect on Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

With respect to our consolidated operating revenues in 2021, we received approximately 57% from our ten largest customers and approximately 39% from our five largest customers and 16% from our largest customer. The loss of, or reduction in business from, one or more of our larger customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

Shortages, Delays in Delivery, and Interruptions in Supply, of Equipment and Materials Could Adversely Affect Our Operating Results.

Periodically, the oilfield services industry has experienced shortages of equipment for upgrades, drill pipe, replacement parts and other equipment and materials, including, in the case of our pressure pumping operations, proppants, acid, gel and water. These shortages can cause the price of these items to increase significantly and require that orders for the items be placed well in advance of expected use. In addition, any interruption in supply could result in significant delays in delivery of equipment and materials or prevent operations. Interruptions may be caused by, among other reasons:

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These price increases, delays in delivery and interruptions in supply may require us to delay operations, increase capital and repair expenditures or otherwise incur higher operating costs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been significant disruptions and delays across the global supply chain, which have created a tightening of supplies and shortages in a number of areas, including basic raw materials. Severe shortages, delays in delivery and interruptions in supply could increase our costs and limit our ability to operate, maintain, upgrade and construct our drilling rigs and pressure pumping and other equipment and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

Our Business Is Subject to Cybersecurity Risks and Threats.

Our operations are increasingly dependent on effective and secure information technologies and services. Threats to information technology systems associated with cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents or attacks continue to grow, and include, among other things, storms and natural disasters, terrorist attacks, utility outages, attempts to gain unauthorized access to our data and systems, theft, viruses, malware, design defects, human error, or complications encountered as existing systems are maintained, repaired, replaced, or upgraded. Risks associated with these threats include, among other things:

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our office personnel have moved to a “remote work” model. This model has significantly increased the use of remote networking and online conferencing services that enable employees to work outside of our corporate infrastructure and, in some cases, use their own personal devices. This may expose us to additional cybersecurity risks or related incidents.

Although we utilize various procedures and controls to mitigate our exposure to the risks described above, cybersecurity attacks and other cyber events are evolving and unpredictable. There can be no assurance that the procedures and controls that we implement, or that we cause third party service providers to implement, will be sufficient to protect our people, systems, information or other property. Moreover, we have no control over the information technology systems of our customers, suppliers, and others with which our systems may connect and communicate. As a result, the occurrence of a cyber incident could go unnoticed for a period of time. We self-insure most of our cybersecurity risks, and any such incident could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. As cyber incidents continue to evolve, we may be required to incur additional costs to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate or remediate the effects of cyber incidents.

Our Commitments Under Supply Agreements Could Exceed Our Requirements, Exposing Us to Risks Including Price, Timing of Delivery and Quality of Equipment and Materials Upon Which Our Business Relies.

We have purchase commitments with certain vendors to supply equipment and materials, including, in the case of our pressure pumping business, proppants. Some of these agreements are take-or-pay agreements with minimum purchase obligations. If demand for our services decreases from current levels, demand for the equipment that we use and the materials that we supply as part of these services will also decrease. In addition, our customers may self-source certain materials. If demand for our services and/or materials decreases enough, we could have contractual minimum commitments that exceed the required amount of materials we need to supply to our customers. In this instance, we could be required to purchase materials that we do not have a present need for, pay for materials that we do not take delivery of or pay prices in excess of market prices at the time of purchase.

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Growth Through Acquisitions, the Building or Upgrading of Equipment and the Development of Technology Is Not Assured.

We have grown our drilling rig fleet and pressure pumping fleet and expanded our business lines and use of technology in the past through mergers, acquisitions, upgrades, new construction and technology development. For example, we completed the Pioneer acquisition during 2021. There can be no assurance that acquisition opportunities will be available in the future or that we will be able to execute timely or efficiently any plans for building or upgrading equipment or developing new technology. We are also likely to continue to face intense competition from other companies for available acquisition opportunities. In addition, because improved technology has enhanced the ability to recover oil and natural gas, our competitors may continue to upgrade and build new equipment and develop new technology, including drilling automation technology and lower-emissions operations and services.

There can be no assurance that we will:

Our failure to achieve consolidation savings, to integrate acquired businesses and technology and other assets into our existing operations successfully or to minimize any unforeseen operational difficulties could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we may incur liabilities arising from events prior to any acquisitions, prior to our establishment of adequate compliance oversight or in connection with disputes over acquired or developed technology. While we generally seek to obtain indemnities for liabilities arising from events occurring before such acquisitions, these are limited in amount and duration, may be held to be unenforceable or the seller may not be able to indemnify us.

We may incur substantial indebtedness to finance future acquisitions, build or upgrade equipment or acquire or develop new technology, and we also may issue equity, convertible or debt securities in connection with any such acquisitions or building or upgrade program. Debt service requirements could represent a significant burden on our results of operations and financial condition, and the issuance of additional equity or convertible securities could be dilutive to existing stockholders. Also, continued growth could strain our management, operations, employees and other resources.

Fuel Conservation Measures Could Reduce Demand for Oil and Natural Gas, Which Would, In Turn, Reduce the Demand for Our Services.

Fuel conservation measures, alternative fuel requirements and increasing consumer demand for alternatives to oil and natural gas could reduce demand for oil and natural gas. The impact of the changing demand for oil and natural gas may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Additionally, the increased competitiveness of alternative energy sources (such as wind, solar geothermal, tidal, and biofuels) or increased focus on reducing the use of oil and natural gas (such as governmental mandates that ban the sale of new gasoline-powered automobiles) could reduce demand for oil and natural gas and therefore for our services, which would lead to a reduction in our revenues.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

Potential Legislation and Regulation Covering Hydraulic Fracturing or Other Aspects of the Oil and Gas Industry Could Increase Our Costs and Limit or Delay Our Operations.

Numerous political and regulatory authorities, governmental bodies and officials, and environmental groups devote resources to campaigns aimed at eradicating hydraulic fracturing, a technology employed by our pressure pumping business, which involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into rock formations to stimulate oil and natural gas production.

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President Biden and other political candidates and officeholders stated that they would support either increased regulation or a ban on hydraulic fracturing; however, we cannot predict whether hydraulic fracturing regulations will be enacted during the Biden Administration or how stringent they may be. In addition, members of the U.S. Congress and the EPA have reviewed proposals for more stringent regulation of hydraulic fracturing, and various state and local initiatives have been or may be proposed or implemented to further regulate hydraulic fracturing. In addition, a number of lawsuits have been filed against other industry participants alleging damages and regulatory violations in connection with such activity. These and other ongoing or proposed studies could spur initiatives to further regulate hydraulic fracturing and other aspects of the oil and gas industry.

In addition, legislation has been proposed, but not enacted, and may be proposed in the future, in the U.S. Congress to require the disclosure of chemicals used by the oil and gas industry in the hydraulic fracturing process, which could make it easier for third parties opposing the hydraulic fracturing process to initiate legal proceedings based on allegations that specific chemicals used in the fracturing process are impairing ground water or causing other damage. These bills, if enacted, could establish an additional level of regulation at the federal or state level that could limit or delay operational activities or increase operating costs and could result in additional regulatory burdens that could make it more difficult to perform or limit hydraulic fracturing and increase our costs of compliance and doing business.

Regulatory efforts at the federal level and in many states have been initiated to require or make more stringent the permitting and compliance requirements for hydraulic fracturing operations. These regulatory initiatives could each spur further action toward federal and/or state legislation and regulation of hydraulic fracturing activities. Certain states where we operate have adopted or are considering disclosure legislation and/or regulations, including a variety of well construction, set back and disclosure regulations limiting how fracturing can be performed and requiring various degrees of chemical disclosure.

Some parties believe that there is a correlation between hydraulic fracturing and other oilfield related activities and the increased occurrence of seismic activity. When caused by human activity, such seismic activity is called induced seismicity. The extent of this correlation, if any, is the subject of studies of both state and federal agencies. In light of concerns about induced seismicity, some state regulatory agencies have modified their regulations or issued orders to address induced seismicity.

Finally, several jurisdictions have taken steps to enact hydraulic fracturing bans, moratoria or increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing practices. These actions have been the subject of legal challenges.

The full impact of the foregoing actions remains unclear, but the adoption of any future federal, state, foreign, regional or local laws that impact permitting requirements for, result in reporting obligations on, or otherwise limit or ban, the hydraulic fracturing process could restrict our ability, or make it more difficult, to perform hydraulic fracturing and could increase our costs of compliance and doing business and reduce demand for our services. Regulation that significantly restricts or prohibits hydraulic fracturing could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Additionally, the adoption of significant restrictions or a prohibition on hydraulic fracturing by a state, region or locality could result in a surplus of oilfield equipment in other states, regions or localities where hydraulic fracturing remains allowed.

Our and Our Customers’ Operations are Subject to a Number of Risks Arising Out of the Threat of Climate Change That Could Result in Increased Operating and Capital Costs, Limit the Areas in Which Oil and Natural Gas Production May Occur and Reduce Demand for Our Services.

The physical and regulatory effects of climate change could have a negative impact on our operations, our customers’ operations and the overall demand for our customers’ products and, accordingly, our services. There is an increasing focus of local, state, regional, national and international regulatory bodies on GHG emissions and climate change issues. Legislation to regulate GHG emissions has periodically been introduced in the U.S. Congress, and there has been a wide-ranging policy debate, both in the United States and internationally, regarding the impact of these gases and possible means for their regulation. These efforts have included consideration of cap-and-trade programs, carbon taxes, GHG reporting and tracking programs and regulations that directly limit GHG emissions from certain sources. Some of the proposals would require industries to meet stringent new standards that would require substantial reductions in carbon emissions. Those reductions could be costly and difficult to implement. In the absence of federal GHG-limiting legislation, the EPA has determined that GHG emissions present a danger to public health and the environment and has adopted regulations that, among other things, establish construction and operating permit reviews for GHG emissions from certain large stationary sources, require the monitoring and annual reporting of GHG emissions from certain oil and natural gas system sources, implement CAA emission standards directing the reduction of methane emissions from certain new, modified, or reconstructed facilities in the oil and natural gas sector, and together with the DOT, implement GHG emissions limits on vehicles manufactured for operation in the United States.

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In April 2016, the United States signed the Paris Agreement, which requires countries to review and “represent a progression” in their nationally determined contributions, which set emissions reduction goals, every five years. Under the Paris Agreement, the Biden Administration has committed the United States to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030. In November 2021, the Unites States and other countries entered into the Glasgow Climate Pact, which includes a range of measures designed to address climate change, including but not limited to the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, reducing methane emissions 30% by 2030, and cooperating toward the advancement of the development of clean energy. Several states and geographic regions in the United States have also adopted legislation and regulations to reduce emissions of GHGs, including cap and trade regimes and commitments to contribute to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Governmental, scientific, and public concern over the threat of climate change arising from GHG emissions has resulted in increasing political risks in the United States. President Biden and the Democratic Party, which currently controls Congress, have identified climate change as a priority, and it is likely that additional executive orders, regulatory action, and/or legislation targeting greenhouse gas emissions, or prohibiting or restricting oil and gas development activities in certain areas, will be proposed and/or promulgated during the Biden Administration. President Biden issued an executive order imposing a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices. President Biden’s order also established climate change as a primary foreign policy and national security consideration, affirms that achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by or before midcentury is a critical priority, affirms the Biden Administration’s desire to establish the United States as a leader in addressing climate change, generally further integrates climate change and environmental justice considerations into government agencies’ decision-making, and eliminates fossil fuel subsidies, among other measures. Other actions impacting oil and natural gas production activities that could be pursued by the Biden administration may include more restrictive requirements for the establishment of pipeline infrastructure or the permitting of liquified natural gas export facilities.

It is not possible at this time to predict the timing and effects of climate change or whether additional climate-related legislation, regulations or other measures will be adopted at the local, state, regional, national and international levels. However, continued efforts by governments and non-governmental organizations to reduce GHG emissions appear likely, and additional legislation, regulation or other measures that control or limit GHG emissions or otherwise seek to address climate change could adversely affect our business. The cost of complying with any new law, regulation or treaty will depend on the details of the particular program. We will continue to monitor and assess any new policies, legislation or regulations in the areas where we operate to determine the impact of GHG emissions and climate change on our operations and take appropriate actions, where necessary. Any direct and indirect costs of meeting these requirements may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Because our business depends on the level of activity in the oil and natural gas industry, existing or future laws or regulations related to GHGs and climate change, including incentives to conserve energy or use alternative energy sources, could have a negative impact on our business if such laws or regulations increase compliance costs, add operating restrictions, or reduce demand for our customers’ products and, accordingly, our services.

There are also increasing financial risks for oil and natural gas producers, as stockholders and bondholders currently invested in oil and natural gas companies concerned about the potential effects of climate change, ESG and other sustainability-related issues may elect in the future to shift some or all of their investments into non-fossil fuel energy related sectors, or into competitors who are perceived to have stronger ESG practices and disclosures. Our ESG practices and disclosures may not satisfy investor requirements or their requirements may not be made known to us. We may continue to face increasing pressure regarding our ESG practices and disclosures, which pressures have intensified recently in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, significant societal events and worldwide efforts to mitigate climate change. Additionally, the lending and investment practices of institutional lenders and investors have been the subject of intensive lobbying efforts in recent years, oftentimes public in nature, not to provide funding for oil and natural gas producers. Limitation of investments in and financings for oil and natural gas could result in the restriction, delay, or cancellation of drilling and completion programs or development of production activities. An increasing number of our customers consider sustainability factors in awarding work. If we are unable to meet the ESG standards or investment criteria set by our customers, investors and other parties, or if we are unable to successfully continue our sustainability enhancement efforts, we may lose customers, we may lose investors, our cost of capital may increase, our stock price may be negatively impacted, our reputation may be negatively affected, and it may be more difficult for us to effectively compete.

Increasing attention to the risks of climate change has resulted in an increased possibility of lawsuits or investigations brought by public and private entities against oil and natural gas companies in connection with their GHG emissions. Should we be targeted by any such litigation or investigations, we may incur liability, which, to the extent that societal pressures or political or other factors are involved, could be imposed without regard to the causation of or contribution to the asserted damage, or to other mitigating factors.

These political, litigation, and financial risks may result in our customers restricting or cancelling production activities, incurring liability for infrastructure damage as a result of climatic changes, or impairing their ability to continue to operate in an economic manner, which also could reduce demand for our products and services. One or more of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Finally, increasing concentrations of GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods and other climatic events. If any such effects were to occur, they could have an adverse effect on our operations.

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Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Laws and Regulations, Including Violations Thereof, Could Materially Adversely Affect Our Operating Results.

Our business is subject to numerous federal, state, foreign, regional and local laws, rules and regulations governing the discharge of substances into the environment, protection of the environment and worker health and safety, including, without limitation, laws concerning the containment and disposal of hazardous substances, oil field waste and other waste materials, the use of underground storage tanks, and the use of underground injection wells. The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations could be substantial. A failure to comply with these requirements could expose us to:

In addition, environmental laws and regulations in the places that we operate impose a variety of requirements on “responsible parties” related to the prevention of spills and liability for damages from such spills. As an owner and operator of land-based drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment, a manufacturer and servicer of equipment and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries and a provider of directional drilling and other services, we may be deemed to be a responsible party under these laws and regulations.

Technology Disputes Could Negatively Impact Our Operations or Increase Our Costs.

Our services and products use proprietary technology and equipment, which can involve potential infringement of a third party’s rights, or a third party’s infringement of our rights, including patent rights. The majority of the intellectual property rights relating to our drilling rigs, pressure pumping equipment and directional drilling services are owned by us or certain of our supplying vendors. However, in the event that we or one of our customers or supplying vendors becomes involved in a dispute over infringement of intellectual property rights relating to equipment or technology owned or used by us, services performed by us or products provided by us, we may lose access to important equipment or technology or our ability to provide services or products, or we could be required to cease use of some equipment or technology or forced to modify our equipment, technology, services or products. We could also be required to pay license fees or royalties for the use of equipment or technology or provision of services or products. In addition, we may lose a competitive advantage in the event we are unsuccessful in enforcing our rights against third parties. Regardless of the merits, any such claims may result in significant legal and other costs, including reputational harm, and may distract management from running our business. Technology disputes involving us or our customers or supplying vendors could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

The Design, Manufacture, Sale and Servicing of Products, including Electrical Controls, May Subject Us to Liability for Personal Injury, Property Damage and Environmental Contamination Should Such Equipment Fail to Perform to Specifications.

We provide products, including electrical controls, to customers involved in oil and gas exploration, development and production and in the marine and mining industries. Because of applications that use our products and services, a failure of such equipment, or a failure of our customer to maintain or operate the equipment properly, could cause harm to our reputation, contractual and warranty-related liability, damage to the equipment, damage to the property of customers and others, personal injury and environmental contamination, leading to claims against us.

Legal Proceedings and Governmental Investigations Could Have a Negative Impact on Our Business, Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The nature of our business makes us susceptible to legal proceedings and governmental investigations from time to time. In addition, during periods of depressed market conditions, we may be subject to an increased risk of our customers, vendors, current and former employees and others initiating legal proceedings against us. Additionally, actions or decisions we have taken or may take as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic may result in investigations, litigation or legal claims against us. Lawsuits or claims against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any legal proceedings or claims, even if fully indemnified or insured, could negatively affect our reputation among our customers and the public, and make it more difficult for us to compete effectively or obtain adequate insurance in the future. Please see “Our Operations Are Subject to a Number of Operational Risks, Including Environmental and Weather Risks, Which Could Expose Us to Significant Losses and Damage Claims. We Are Not Fully Insured Against All of These Risks and Our Contractual Indemnity Provisions May Not Fully Protect Us.”

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Political, Economic and Social Instability Risk and Laws Associated with Conducting International Operations Could Adversely Affect Our Opportunities and Future Business.

We provide contract drilling services in Colombia, we sell products, including electrical controls, for use in numerous oil and gas producing regions outside of North America, and through our Superior QC business, we occasionally provide remote data analytics and other services to customers to support their operations outside of the United States. We also continue to evaluate opportunities from time to time to provide our other services outside of the United States. International operations are subject to certain political, economic and other uncertainties generally not encountered in U.S. operations, including increased risks of social and political unrest, changing political conditions and changing laws and policies affecting trade and investment, strikes, work stoppages, labor disputes and other slowdowns, terrorism, war, kidnapping of employees, regional economic downturns, nationalization, forced negotiation or modification of contracts, difficulty resolving disputes and enforcing contractual rights, difficulty in collecting international accounts receivable, potentially longer payment cycles, expropriation of equipment as well as expropriation of oil and gas exploration and drilling rights, foreign taxation and customs regulations, the overlap of different tax structures, changes in taxation policies, foreign exchange restrictions and restrictions on repatriation of income and capital, currency rate fluctuations, increased governmental ownership and regulation of the economy and industry in the markets in which we may operate, economic and financial instability of national oil companies, and restrictive governmental regulation, bureaucratic delays and general hazards associated with foreign sovereignty over certain areas in which operations are conducted.

There can be no assurance that there will not be changes in local laws, regulations and administrative requirements, or the interpretation thereof, which could have a material adverse effect on the cost of entry into international markets, the profitability of international operations or the ability to continue those operations in certain areas. Because of the impact of local laws, any future international operations in certain areas may be conducted through entities in which local citizens own interests and through entities (including joint ventures) in which we hold only a minority interest or pursuant to arrangements under which we conduct operations under contract to local entities. While we believe that neither operating through such entities nor pursuant to such arrangements would have a material adverse effect on our operations or revenues, there can be no assurance that we will in all cases be able to structure or restructure our operations to conform to local law (or the administration thereof) on terms we find acceptable. Additionally, we may be subject to foreign governmental regulations favoring or requiring the awarding of contracts to local contractors or requiring foreign contractors to employ citizens of, or purchase supplies from, a particular jurisdiction. These regulations could adversely affect our ability to compete.

There can be no assurance that we will:

In addition, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Some parts of the world where our services could be provided or where our consumers for products are located have experienced governmental corruption to some degree and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practice and could impact business. Any failure to comply with the FCPA or other anti-bribery legislation could subject to us to civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties or other sanctions, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operation. In addition, investors could negatively view potential violations, inquiries or allegations of misconduct under the FCPA or similar laws, which could adversely affect our reputation and the market for our shares. We could also face fines, sanctions and other penalties from authorities in the relevant foreign jurisdictions, including prohibition of our participating in or curtailment of business operations in those jurisdictions and the seizure of drilling rigs, pressure pumping equipment or other assets.

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Many countries, including the United States, control the import and export of certain goods, services and technology and impose related import and export recordkeeping and reporting obligations. Governments also may impose economic sanctions against certain countries, persons and other entities that may restrict or prohibit transactions involving such countries, persons and entities. In particular, U.S. sanctions are targeted against certain countries that are heavily involved in the oil and gas industry. The laws and regulations concerning import and export activity, recordkeeping and reporting, including customs, export controls and economic sanctions, are complex and constantly changing. Any failure to comply with applicable legal or regulatory requirements governing international trade could also result in criminal and civil penalties and sanctions, such as fines, imprisonment, debarment from government contracts, seizure of shipments and loss of import and export privileges.

We may incur substantial indebtedness to finance an international transaction or operations, and we also may issue equity, convertible or debt securities in connection with any such transactions or operations. Debt service requirements could represent a significant burden on our results of operations and financial condition, and the issuance of additional equity or convertible securities could be dilutive to existing stockholders. Also, international expansion could strain our management, operations, employees and other resources.

The occurrence of one or more events arising from the types of risks described above could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Financial Risks

We Are Dependent Upon Our Subsidiaries to Meet our Obligations Under Our Long-Term Debt.

We have borrowings outstanding under our senior notes and, from time to time, our revolving credit facility. Our ability to meet our interest and principal payment obligations depends in large part on cash flows from our subsidiaries. If our subsidiaries do not generate sufficient cash flows, we may be unable to meet our interest and principal payment obligations.

Variable Rate Indebtedness Subjects Us to Interest Rate Risk, Which Could Cause Our Debt Service Obligations to Increase Significantly.

We have in place a committed senior unsecured credit facility that includes a revolving credit facility. Interest is paid on the outstanding principal amount of borrowings under the credit facility at a floating rate based on, at our election, LIBOR or a base rate. The applicable margin on LIBOR rate loans varies from 1.00% to 2.00% and the applicable margin on base rate loans varies from 0.00% to 1.00%, in each case determined based upon our credit rating. As of December 31, 2021, the applicable margin on LIBOR rate loans was 1.75% and the applicable margin on base rate loans was 0.75%. As of December 31, 2021, we had no borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility.

We also have in place a reimbursement agreement pursuant to which we are required to reimburse the issuing bank on demand for any amounts that it has disbursed under any of our letters of credit issued thereunder. We are obligated to pay the issuing bank interest on all amounts not paid by us on the date of demand or when otherwise due at the LIBOR rate plus 2.25% per annum. As of December 31, 2021, no amounts had been disbursed under any letters of credit.

Interest rates could rise for various reasons in the future and increase our total interest expense, depending upon the amounts borrowed at floating rates under these agreements or under future agreements.

A Downgrade in Our Credit Rating Could Negatively Impact Our Cost of and Ability to Access Capital.

Our ability to access capital markets or to otherwise obtain sufficient financing is enhanced by our senior unsecured debt ratings as provided by major U.S. credit rating agencies. Factors that may impact our credit ratings include debt levels, liquidity, asset quality, cost structure, commodity pricing levels, industry conditions and other considerations, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A ratings downgrade could adversely impact our ability in the future to access debt markets, increase the cost of future debt, and potentially require us to post letters of credit for certain obligations.

We May Not Be Able to Generate Sufficient Cash to Service All of Our Debt and We May Be Forced to Take Other Actions to Satisfy Our Obligations Under Our Debt, which May Not Be Successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.

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In addition, if our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our debt. We cannot assure you that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and would permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements. In the absence of such cash flows and capital resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. However, our debt agreements contain restrictions on our ability to dispose of assets. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions, and any proceeds may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock and Corporate Structure

The Market Price of Our Common Stock May Be Highly Volatile, and Investors May Not Be Able to Resell Shares at or Above the Price Paid.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile. Securities markets worldwide experience significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as other general economic, market or political conditions, could reduce the market price of our common stock in spite of our operating and/or financial performance. The following factors, in addition to other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Report, may have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:

Anti-takeover Measures in Our Charter Documents and Under State Law Could Discourage an Acquisition and Thereby Affect the Related Purchase Price.

We are a Delaware corporation subject to the Delaware General Corporation Law, including Section 203, an anti-takeover law. Our restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our Board of Directors to issue up to one million shares of preferred stock and to determine the price, rights (including voting rights), conversion ratios, preferences and privileges of that stock without further vote or action by the holders of the common stock. It also prohibits stockholders from acting by written consent without the holding of a meeting. In addition, our bylaws impose certain advance notification requirements as to business that can be brought by a stockholder before annual stockholder meetings and as to persons nominated as directors by a stockholder. As a result of these measures and others, potential acquirers might find it more difficult or be discouraged from attempting to effect an acquisition transaction with us. This may deprive holders of our securities of certain opportunities to sell or otherwise dispose of the securities at above-market prices pursuant to any such transactions.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our property consists primarily of drilling rigs, pressure pumping equipment and related equipment. We own substantially all of the equipment used in our businesses.

Our corporate headquarters is in leased office space and is located at 10713 W. Sam Houston Parkway N., Suite 800, Houston, Texas, 77064. Our telephone number at that address is (281) 765-7100. Our primary administrative office, which is located in Snyder, Texas, is owned and includes approximately 37,000 square feet of office and storage space.

Contract Drilling — Our drilling services are supported by multiple offices and yard facilities located throughout our areas of operations, including Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and internationally in Colombia.

Pressure Pumping — Our pressure pumping services are supported by multiple offices and yard facilities located in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Directional Drilling — Our directional drilling services are supported by multiple offices and yard facilities located throughout our areas of operations, including Texas, North Dakota, and Ohio.

Our oilfield rental operations are supported by offices and yard facilities located in Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio. Our servicing of equipment for drilling contractors is supported by offices and yard facilities located in Texas. Our electrical controls and automation operation is supported by an office and yard facility in Texas. Our interests in oil and natural gas properties are primarily located in Texas and New Mexico.

We own our administrative offices in Snyder, Texas, as well as several other facilities. We also lease a number of facilities, and we do not believe that any one of the leased facilities is individually material to our operations. We believe that our existing facilities are suitable and adequate to meet our needs.

We incorporate by reference in response to this item the information set forth in Item 1 of this Report and the information set forth in Note 6 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

We are party to various legal proceedings arising in the normal course of our business. We do not believe that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

(a) Market Information

Our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and is quoted under the symbol “PTEN.” Our common stock is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and several other market indices.

(b) Holders

As of February 10, 2022, there were approximately 1,000 holders of record of our common stock.

(c) Dividends

On February 9, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a cash dividend on our common stock in the amount of $0.04 per share to be paid on March 17, 2022 to holders of record as of March 3, 2022. The amount and timing of all future dividend payments, if any, are subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon business conditions, results of operations, financial condition, terms of our debt agreements and other factors. Our Board of Directors may, without advance notice, reduce or suspend our dividend in order to improve our financial flexibility and best position our company for long-term success. There can be no assurance that we will pay a dividend in the future.

(d) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The table below sets forth the information with respect to purchases of our common stock made by us during the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

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(e) Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative stockholder return of our common stock for the period from December 31, 2016 through December 31, 2021, with the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Index, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, the Oilfield Service Index and a peer group determined by us. We changed our peer group in 2021 to align with the peer group used by the compensation committee of our Board of Directors. Our new peer group consists of Archrock, Inc., Bristow Group Inc., Cactus, Inc., ChampionX Corp., EQT Corporation, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., Helmerich & Payne, Inc., Liberty Oilfield Services, Inc., Nabors Industries Ltd., NexTier Oilfield Solutions, Inc., NOV Inc., Oceaneering International, Inc., Oil States International, Inc., PDC Energy, Inc., Precision Drilling Corporation, Range Resources Corporation, TechnipFMC Plc. and Transocean Ltd. Our old peer group consisted of ChampionX Corporation, Archrock, Inc., Cimarex Energy Co., Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., EQT Corporation, Helmerich & Payne, Inc., Liberty Oilfield Services, Inc., Nabors Industries Ltd., NexTier Oilfield Solutions, Inc., NOV Inc., Noble Corporation plc., Oceaneering International, Inc., Oil States International, Inc., PDC Energy, Inc., Precision Drilling Corporation, Range Resources Corporation, TechnipFMC Plc, Transocean Ltd., Valaris plc and WPX Energy, Inc.

The graph assumes investment of $100 on December 31, 2016 and reinvestment of all dividends.

Index Data: Copyright Standard and Poor’s, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

The foregoing graph is based on historical data and is not necessarily indicative of future performance. This graph shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulations 14A or 14C under the Exchange Act or to the liabilities of Section 18 under such Act.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Management Overview and Recent Developments in Market Conditions — We are a Houston, Texas-based oilfield services company that primarily owns and operates one of the largest fleets of land-based drilling rigs in the United States and a large fleet of pressure pumping equipment.

Our contract drilling business operates in the continental United States and internationally in Colombia and, from time to time, we pursue contract drilling opportunities in other select markets. Our pressure pumping business operates primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region. We also provide a comprehensive suite of directional drilling services in most major producing onshore oil and gas basins in the United States, and we provide services that improve the statistical accuracy of directional and horizontal wellbores. We have other operations through which we provide oilfield rental tools in select markets in the United States. We also service equipment for drilling contractors, and we provide electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries, in North America and other select markets. In addition, we own and invest, as a non-operating working interest owner, in oil and natural gas assets that are primarily located in Texas and New Mexico.

During 2020, reduced demand for crude oil and refined products related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with production increases from OPEC+ early in the year, led to a significant reduction in crude oil prices and demand for drilling and completion services in the United States. Although OPEC+ agreed in April 2020 to cut oil production, OPEC+ has been gradually reducing such cuts, and in July 2021 agreed to further reduce such cuts on a monthly basis with a goal of phasing out all production cuts towards the end of 2022. There is no assurance that the most recent OPEC+ agreement will be observed by its parties, and OPEC+ may change its agreement based on market conditions or other reasons.

Oil prices remain extremely volatile, as the closing price of oil (WTI-Cushing) reached a first quarter 2020 high of $63.27 per barrel on January 6, 2020, declined to negative $36.98 per barrel on April 20, 2020, and recovered to reach a 2021 high of $85.64 per barrel on October 26, 2021. In response to the rapid decline in commodity prices, E&P companies acted swiftly to reduce drilling and completion activity starting late in the first quarter of 2020. While oil prices have recovered in 2021, and demand for our services has improved since the commodity price decline in 2020, our average number of rigs operating remains well below the number of our available rigs, and a significant portion of our pressure pumping horsepower remains stacked. Oil prices averaged $77.45 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Quarterly average oil prices and our quarterly average number of rigs operating in the United States for 2019, 2020 and 2021 are as follows:

Although our active rig count has not fully recovered to its 2019 levels, it increased in 2021 after a significant decline in 2020. Our average active rig count in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2021 was 106 rigs. This was an increase from our average active rig count for the third quarter of 2021 of 80 rigs. The increase was partially due to our acquisition of active U.S. rigs from Pioneer, which averaged 13 active rigs during the fourth quarter of 2021. Our active U.S. rig count at December 31, 2021 of 111 rigs was more than the rig count of 65 rigs at December 31, 2020, partially due to the increase in rigs from the Pioneer acquisition and, more significantly, due to the recovery of oil prices and improved demand for drilling services in the United States. Term contracts help support our operating rig count. Based on contracts currently in place in the United States, we expect an average of 51 rigs operating under term contracts during the first quarter, and an average of 39 rigs operating under term contracts during 2022.

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We ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with 11 active pressure pumping spreads compared to ten at the end of the third quarter. Our average active spread count was approximately ten spreads and effective utilization was close to 11 spreads for the fourth quarter of 2021. We calculated average active spreads as the average number of spreads that were crewed and actively marketed during the period, and we calculated effective utilization as total pumping days during the quarter divided by 75 days, which we consider full effective utilization for a spread for the period. We expect to average approximately 11 active spreads in the first quarter of 2022. The pressure pumping market has improved but remains oversupplied.

Due to improving activity levels and increasing tightness in the overall labor market, we saw general oilfield cost inflation across our segments during 2021, including increases in the cost of labor, services and supplies. This inflation, combined with the increasing challenge of attracting employees to the industry, is increasing the complexity of reactivating equipment. We believe this challenge, combined with the increasing market tightness for premium drilling and completion services, will support higher pricing for our services in 2022. During 2021, we increased our capital expenditure forecast to approximately $170 million, in part, based on conversations with customers about increasing activity levels into 2022. Actual 2021 capital expenditures excluding discontinued operations totaled $166 million.

Recent Developments in Financial Matters and Merger and Acquisition Activity — On October 1, 2021, we completed the acquisition of Pioneer by acquiring 100% of its equity interests. Total consideration for the acquisition included the issuance of approximately 26.3 million shares of our common stock and payment of $30 million cash, which based on the closing price of our common stock of $9.44 on October 1, 2021, valued the transaction at approximately $278 million.

Pioneer provided land-based contract drilling services and production services to a diverse group of oil and gas exploration and production companies in the United States and internationally in Colombia. Through the Pioneer acquisition, we acquired Pioneer’s 100% pad-capable drilling rig fleet consisting of 17 AC-powered rigs in the United States and eight SCR rigs in Colombia and production services assets consisting of 123 well servicing rigs and 72 wireline services units. We believe the acquisition of Pioneer enhances our position as a leading provider of contract drilling services in the United States and expands our geographic footprint into Latin America.

On December 31, 2021, we completed the sale of Pioneer Production Services to Clearwell. The sale price was $43.0 million in cash consideration, subject to customary purchase price adjustments at closing for cash and working capital. The results of operations of these businesses have been presented as a discontinued operation in these consolidated financial statements. In connection with the sale of our Pioneer Production Services business, we entered into a transition services agreement with Clearwell, pursuant to which we agreed to provide each other certain administrative and operational services on an interim, transitional basis through June 30, 2022.

On December 30, 2021, we repaid the final $50 million of borrowings under the Term Loan Agreement, and as a result had no remaining borrowings under the Term Loan Agreement as of December 31, 2021.

During the fourth quarter of 2020, we elected to repurchase portions of our 2028 Notes and 2029 Notes (as defined below) in the open market. The principal amounts retired through these transactions totaled $15.5 million related to our 2028 Notes and $0.8 million related to our 2029 Notes, plus accrued interest. We recorded corresponding gains on the extinguishment of these amounts totaling $3.4 million and $0.2 million, respectively, net of the proportional write-off of associated deferred financing costs and original issuance discounts. These gains are included in “Interest expense, net of amount capitalized” in the consolidated statements of operations.

On March 27, 2020, we entered into Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (“Amendment No. 2”) to, among other things, extend the maturity date for $550 million of revolving credit commitments of certain lenders under the Credit Agreement (as defined below) from March 27, 2024 to March 27, 2025. We have the option, subject to certain conditions, to exercise an additional one-year extension of the maturity date.

During the second quarter of 2020, we implemented a restructuring plan to improve operating margins, achieve operational efficiencies and reduce indirect support costs. The restructuring included workforce reductions, changes to management structure and facility consolidations and closures. We recorded $38.3 million of charges associated with this plan in the second quarter of 2020. We completed the restructuring plan during the third quarter of 2020 and did not incur additional expenses related to the plan. There have been no restructuring charges in 2021.

Our revenues, profitability and cash flows are highly dependent upon prevailing prices for oil and natural gas and upon our customers’ ability to access capital to fund their operating and capital expenditures. During periods of improved oil and natural gas prices, the capital spending budgets of oil and natural gas operators tend to expand, which generally results in increased demand for our services. Conversely, in periods when oil and natural gas prices are relatively low or when our customers have a reduced ability to access capital, the demand for our services generally weakens, and we experience downward pressure on pricing for our services. We may also be impacted by delayed customer payments and payment defaults associated with customer liquidity issues and bankruptcies.

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The North American oil and natural gas services industry is cyclical and at times experiences downturns in demand. During these periods, there has been substantially more oil and natural gas service equipment available than necessary to meet demand. As a result, oil and natural gas service contractors have had difficulty sustaining profit margins and, at times, have incurred losses during the downturn periods. While the market for premium equipment has tightened, there remains an excess supply of drilling rigs, pressure pumping equipment and directional drilling equipment. We cannot predict either the future level of demand for our oil and natural gas services or future conditions in the oil and natural gas service businesses.

In addition to the dependence on oil and natural gas prices and demand for our services, we are highly impacted by operational risks, competition, labor issues, weather, the availability, from time to time, of products used in our pressure pumping business, supplier delays and various other factors that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Report.

For the three years ended December 31, 2021, our operating revenues consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

Contract Drilling

We have addressed our customers’ needs for drilling horizontal wells in shale and other unconventional resource plays by improving the capabilities of our drilling fleet during the last several years. The U.S. land rig industry has in recent years referred to certain high specification rigs as “super-spec” rigs, which we consider to be at least a 1,500 horsepower, AC-powered rig that has at least a 750,000-pound hookload, a 7,500-psi circulating system, and is pad-capable. Due to evolving customer preferences, we have begun to refer to certain premium rigs as “Tier-1, super spec” rigs, which we consider as being a super-spec rig that also has a third mud pump and raised drawworks that allow for more clearance underneath the rig floor. As of December 31, 2021, our rig fleet included 171 super-spec rigs, of which 107 were Tier-1, super-spec rigs.

We maintain a backlog of commitments for contract drilling services under term contracts, which we define as contracts with a duration of six months or more. Our contract drilling backlog in the United States as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $325 million and $301 million, respectively. Approximately 22% of the total contract drilling backlog in the United States at December 31, 2021 is reasonably expected to remain after 2022. We generally calculate our backlog by multiplying the dayrate under our term drilling contracts by the number of days remaining under the contract. The calculation does not include any revenues related to fees for other services such as for mobilization, other than initial mobilization, demobilization and customer reimbursables, nor does it include potential reductions in rates for unscheduled standby or during periods in which the rig is moving or incurring maintenance and repair time in excess of what is permitted under the drilling contract. For contracts that contain variable dayrate pricing, our backlog calculation uses the dayrate in effect for periods where the dayrate is fixed, and, for periods that remain subject to variable pricing, uses the commodity price in effect at December 31, 2021. In addition, our term drilling contracts are generally subject to termination by the customer on short notice and provide for an early termination payment to us in the event that the contract is terminated by the customer. For contracts on which we have received notice for the rig to be placed on standby, our backlog calculation uses the standby rate for the period over which we expect to receive the standby rate. For contracts on which we have received an early termination notice, our backlog calculation includes the early termination rate, instead of the dayrate, for the period over which we expect to receive the lower rate. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Our Current Backlog of Contract Drilling Revenue May Decline and May Not Ultimately Be Realized, as Fixed-Term Contracts May in Certain Instances Be Terminated Without an Early Termination Payment.”

Pressure Pumping

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 1.1 million horsepower in our pressure pumping fleet. The pressure pumping market has improved but remains oversupplied. In response to oversupplied market conditions, we implemented changes during the second quarter of 2020 that were intended to further streamline our operations, improve our efficiencies, and reduce our overall cost structure, while maintaining our customer service levels.

Directional Drilling

We provide a comprehensive suite of directional drilling services in most major producing onshore oil and gas basins in the United States. Our directional drilling services include directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling and supply and rental of downhole performance motors. We also provide services that improve the statistical accuracy of directional and horizontal wellbores.

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Other Operations

Our oilfield rentals business, with a fleet of premium oilfield rental tools, along with the results of our ownership, as a non-operating working interest owner, in oil and gas assets located in Texas and New Mexico, provide the largest revenue contributions to our other operations. Other operations also includes the results of our electrical controls and automation business and the results of our drilling equipment service business.

Capital Expenditures

Cash capital expenditures for 2021, excluding discontinued operations, totaled $166 million. This was an increase from the $145 million of cash capital expenditures for 2020, due largely to higher activity levels in 2021. Based on our current outlook for activity, we expect our capital expenditures for 2022 to be approximately $350 million.

For the three years ended December 31, 2021, our operating losses consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

While demand for our services improved in 2021, our average number of rigs operating remains well below the number of our available rigs, and a significant portion of our pressure pumping horsepower remains stacked. This reduced demand, combined with impairments to our contract drilling, pressure pumping and directional drilling equipment contributed to a consolidated net loss of $655 million for 2021, compared to a consolidated net loss of $804 million for 2020 and consolidated net loss of $426 million for 2019.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

The following tables summarize results of operations by business segment for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:

Reduced demand for crude oil and refined products related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with production increases from OPEC+, led to a significant reduction in crude oil prices and demand for contract drilling services in 2020 and early 2021.

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Generally, the revenues in our contract drilling segment are most impacted by two primary factors: our average number of rigs operating and our average revenue per operating day. Our average revenue per operating day is largely dependent on the pricing terms of our rig contracts. Lump sum early termination revenues were $4.1 million in 2021, which was less than the $13.3 million recorded during the comparable period of 2020.

Revenues remained relatively flat in 2021 as compared to 2020 despite this reduction in lump sum early termination revenues. However, $41.5 million of our revenues in 2021 related to additional drilling rigs from the Pioneer acquisition. Without the impact of the Pioneer acquisition, 2021 revenues would have been approximately $623 million, a 7% decrease, and operating days from our U.S. operations would have been 28,722, a 3.8% decrease from 2020. The reduction in lump sum early termination revenues from 2020 resulted in an incremental 1.4% decrease. Average revenue per operating day excluding the effects of the Pioneer acquisition did not change significantly.

The Pioneer acquisition added $30.5 million of direct operating costs in 2021, which contributed to an 8.0% increase as compared to 2020. Apart from the increase attributed to the Pioneer acquisition, direct operating costs increased $52.2 million, or 13.7%, as compared to 2020. Apart from the Pioneer acquisition, average direct operating costs per operating day in the U.S. were $15,069, an 18.8% increase. The increases in direct operating costs and average direct operating costs per day were primarily due to a reduction in the proportion of rigs on standby and rig reactivation costs. Rigs on standby have very little associated cost.

Restructuring expenses were recognized in 2020 and primarily related to severance costs. See Note 20 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

The change in other operating expenses (income), net is primarily due to an insurance reimbursement for damaged drilling equipment in 2020.

Depreciation, amortization and impairment expense increased primarily due to a $220 million impairment charge related to abandonment of 43 legacy non-super-spec rigs and equipment. Based on the strong customer preference across the industry for super-spec drilling rigs, we believed the 43 rigs that were abandoned had limited commercial opportunity. In the second quarter of 2020 we recorded an impairment of $8.3 million related to the closing of our Canadian drilling operations. Without the impairment charge in 2021, depreciation and amortization expense would have decreased to approximately $399 million, an 8.1% decrease as compared to 2020. The decrease excluding impairment was due to lower cumulative capital expenditures in recent years, which reduced our depreciable asset base as depreciation, amortization and impairment outpaced capital expenditures between the periods. This decline was partially offset by incremental depreciation and amortization associated with the additional rigs from the Pioneer acquisition, which contributed three months of expense after the October 1, 2021 closing date.

All of the goodwill associated with our contract drilling reporting unit was impaired in 2020. See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included as a part of Item 8 of this Report.

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Reduced demand for crude oil and refined products related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with production increases from OPEC+, led to a significant reduction in crude oil prices and demand for pressure pumping services in 2020 and early 2021.

Generally, the revenues in our pressure pumping segment are most impacted by our number of fracturing jobs and the size (including whether or not we provide proppant and other materials) of those jobs, which is reflected in our average revenue per fracturing job. Direct operating costs are also most impacted by these same factors. Our average revenue per fracturing job is largely dependent on the pricing terms of our pressure pumping contracts and the size of the jobs.

Revenues and direct operating costs increased primarily due to an increase in fracturing jobs as activity levels continue to recover from the industry downturn in 2020. Average revenue per total job increased primarily due to a mix of activity weighted toward higher revenue fracturing jobs. Average direct operating costs per total job increased also as a result of the significant increase in fracturing jobs, which generally have higher direct operating costs. We exited 2021 with 11 active spreads as compared to five active spreads on December 31, 2020.

Restructuring expenses were recognized in the second quarter of 2020. These restructuring expenses included $7.3 million related to right-of-use asset abandonments, $3.5 million of severance costs and $20.4 million of contract termination costs. See Note 20 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily as a result of cost reduction efforts.

Depreciation, amortization and impairment expense increased as a result of a $32.2 million impairment charge related to the abandonment of approximately 0.2 million horsepower within our pressure pumping fleet. The majority of these units were frac pumps but also included pump down units. These units were abandoned due to a combination of customer preference for dual fuel units, advancements in technology, and prohibitive reactivation costs. Excluding the impairment charge in 2021, depreciation and amortization would have been $127 million, a 16.7% decline. The decrease excluding impairment is due to lower cumulative capital expenditures in recent years, which reduced our depreciable asset base as depreciation, amortization and impairment outpaced capital expenditures between periods.

Capital expenditures increased due to increased maintenance capital, mostly related to engines and transmissions as well as higher inflationary pressure on replacement items.

Reduced demand for crude oil and refined products related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with production increases from OPEC+, led to a significant reduction in crude oil prices and demand for directional drilling services in 2020 and early 2021.

Directional drilling revenue and direct operating costs increased from 2020 primarily due to increased job activity. We averaged 30.1 jobs per day in 2021 as compared to 18.9 jobs per day for the comparable period in 2020. Additionally, a portion of the increase in direct operating costs relates to an inventory write-down of $4.0 million in 2021. Excluding the effects of this write-down, direct operating costs would have been approximately $97.6 million, an increase of 41.3% as compared to 2020. See Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for additional information regarding the inventory write-down.

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Restructuring expenses were recognized in the second quarter of 2020 and were primarily attributable to severance and right-of-use asset abandonments. See Note 20 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for additional information.

Depreciation, amortization and impairment increased as a result of the abandonment of an $11.4 million developed technology intangible asset and $2.5 million of directional drilling equipment in 2021. Excluding these charges, depreciation and amortization expense would have been $26.4 million, a 27.8% decline as compared to 2020. The decrease excluding impairments is due to lower cumulative capital expenditures in recent years, which reduced our depreciable asset base as depreciation, amortization and impairment outpaced capital expenditures between the periods.

Capital expenditures increased due to higher levels of activity requiring premium equipment to meet market demands.