Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
As described in “Forward–Looking Statements,” this 2022 Form 10–K contains forward–looking statements regarding us, our business and our industry. The risk factors described below, among others, could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations reflected in the forward–looking statements. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted.
Industry and General Economic Risks
Pandemics and other public health crises, including the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic, may continue to negatively affect demand for our services, and may continue to have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Pandemics, such as the COVID–19 pandemic, or other public health crises could significantly impact public health, economic growth, supply chains and markets. While the magnitude and duration of potential social, economic and labor instability as a direct result of the COVID–19 pandemic cannot be estimated at this time, we continue to closely monitor the effects of the pandemic on commodity demands and on our customers, as well as on our operations and employees. These effects may include adverse revenue and net income effects, disruptions to our operations and supply chain, customer shutdowns of oil and gas exploration and production, employee impacts from illness, school closures and other community response measures, and temporary inaccessibility or closures of our facilities or the facilities of our customers and suppliers.
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The extent to which our operating and financial results continue to be affected by the COVID–19 pandemic and may be affected by future pandemics or other public health crises will depend on various factors and consequences beyond our control, such as the duration and scope of such pandemic or public health crisis, additional actions by businesses and governments in response to the pandemic and the speed and effectiveness of responses to combat any such pandemic or public health crisis. Any future pandemic or public health crisis may materially adversely affect our operating and financial results in a manner that is not currently known to us or that we do not currently consider to present significant risks to our operations.
An increase in inflation could have adverse effects on our results of operation.
Inflation continues to rise and has caused the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates with indications of future increases, which has created further uncertainty for the economy and for our customers. If inflationary pressures continue into 2023, this will increase our labor costs and the costs of parts, lube oil and other materials used in our operations. Continued inflation or an increase in inflation rates could negatively affect our profitability and cash flows, due to higher wages, higher operating costs, higher financing costs, and/or higher supplier prices. We may be unable to pass along such higher costs to our customers. In addition, inflation may adversely affect customers’ financing costs, cash flows, and profitability, which could adversely impact their operations and our ability to collect receivables.
The conflict in Ukraine and related price volatility and geopolitical instability could negatively impact our business.
In late February 2022, Russia launched significant military action against Ukraine. The conflict has caused, and could intensify, volatility in natural gas prices, and the extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions could be significant and could potentially have a substantial negative impact on the global economy and/or our business for an unknown period of time. Any such volatility and disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section.
Business and Operational Risks
Our operations entail inherent risks that may result in substantial liability. We do not insure against all potential losses and could be seriously harmed by unexpected liabilities.
Our operations entail inherent risks, including equipment defects, malfunctions and failures and natural disasters, which could result in uncontrollable flows of natural gas or well fluids, fires and explosions. These risks may expose us, as an equipment operator, to liability for personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, pollution and other environmental damage. The insurance we carry against many of these risks may not be adequate to cover our claims or losses. Our insurance coverage includes property damage, general liability and commercial automobile liability and other coverage we believe is appropriate. Additionally, we are substantially self–insured for workers’ compensation and employee group health claims in view of the relatively high per–incident deductibles we absorb under our insurance arrangements for these risks. We are also self–insured for property damage to our offshore assets. Further, insurance covering the risks we expect to face or in the amounts we desire may not be available in the future or, if available, the premiums may not be commercially justifiable. If we were to incur substantial liability and such damages were not covered by insurance or were in excess of policy limits, or if we were to incur liability at a time when we are not able to obtain liability insurance, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
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We face significant competitive pressures that may cause us to lose market share and harm our financial performance.
Our business is highly competitive and there are low barriers to entry. Our competitors may be able to more quickly adapt to technological changes within our industry and changes in economic and market conditions as a whole, more readily take advantage of acquisitions and other opportunities and adopt more aggressive pricing policies. Our ability to renew or replace existing contract operations service agreements with our customers at rates sufficient to maintain current revenue and cash flows could be adversely affected by the activities of our competitors. If our competitors substantially increase the resources they devote to the development and marketing of competitive products, equipment or services or substantially decrease the price at which they offer their products, equipment or services, we may not be able to compete effectively.
In addition, we could face significant competition from new entrants into the compression services business. Some of our existing competitors or new entrants may expand or fabricate new compressors that would create additional competition for the services we provide to our customers. In addition, our customers may purchase and operate their own compression fleets in lieu of using our natural gas compression services. We also may not be able to take advantage of certain opportunities or make certain investments because of our debt levels and our other obligations. Any of these competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we do not make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth could be limited.
Our ability to grow depends, in part, on our ability to make accretive acquisitions. If we are unable to make accretive acquisitions either because we are (i) unable to identify attractive acquisition candidates or negotiate acceptable purchase contracts with them, (ii) unable to obtain financing for these acquisitions on economically acceptable terms or (iii) outbid by competitors, then our future growth and ability to maintain dividends could be limited. Furthermore, even if we make acquisitions that we believe will be accretive, these acquisitions may nevertheless result in a decrease in the cash generated from operations.
Any acquisition involves potential risks, including, among other things:
• an inability to successfully integrate the businesses we acquire;
• the assumption of unknown liabilities;
• limitations on rights to indemnity from the seller;
• mistaken assumptions about the cash generated or anticipated to be generated by the business acquired or the overall costs of equity or debt;
• the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;
• unforeseen operating difficulties; and
• customer or key employee losses at the acquired businesses.
If we consummate any future acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly and we will not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information that we will consider in determining the application of our future funds and other resources. In addition, competition from other buyers could reduce our acquisition opportunities or cause us to pay a higher price than we might otherwise pay.
An affiliate of Hilcorp holds a significant portion of our common stock, and Hilcorp’s interest as an equity holder may conflict with the interests of our other shareholders or our noteholders.
Old Ocean Reserves, an affiliate of our customer Hilcorp, has the right to designate one director to serve on our Board of Directors as long as Old Ocean Reserves or it successors (together with its affiliates) owns at least 7.5% of our outstanding common stock. As of December 31, 2022, Old Ocean Reserves owned 10.8% of our outstanding common stock. Given its ownership level and board representation, Old Ocean Reserves may have some influence over our operations and strategic direction and may have interests that conflict with the interests of other equity and debt holders.
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While we paid quarterly dividends of $0.145 per share of common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022, there can be no assurance that we will pay dividends in the future.
We paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.145 per share of common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022. We cannot provide assurance that we will, at any time in the future, again generate sufficient surplus cash that would be available for distribution to the holders of our common stock as a dividend or that our Board of Directors would determine to use any of our net profits to pay a dividend.
Future dividends may be affected by, among other factors:
• the availability of surplus or net profits, which in turn depend on the performance of our business and operating subsidiaries;
• our debt service requirements and other liabilities;
• our ability to refinance our debt in the future or borrow funds and access capital markets;
• restrictions contained in our Debt Agreements;
• our future capital requirements, including to fund our operating expenses and other working capital needs;
• the rates we charge for our services;
• the level of demand for our services;
• the creditworthiness of our customers;
• our level of operating expenses; and
• changes in U.S. federal, state and local income tax laws or corporate laws.
We cannot provide assurance that we will declare or pay dividends in any particular amount or at all in the future. A decision not to pay dividends or a reduction in our dividend payments in the future could have a negative effect on our stock price.
Financial Risks
We have a substantial amount of debt that could limit our ability to fund future growth and operations and increase our exposure to risk during adverse economic conditions.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.5 billion in outstanding debt obligations, net of unamortized debt premiums and unamortized deferred financing costs, outstanding under our Credit Facility and Senior Notes. Many factors, including factors beyond our control, may affect our ability to make payments on our outstanding indebtedness. These factors include those discussed elsewhere in these Risk Factors.
Our substantial debt level and associated commitments could have important consequences to our liquidity, particularly to the extent our borrowing capacity becomes covenant restricted. For example, these commitments could:
• make it more difficult for us to satisfy contractual obligations;
• increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
• limit our ability to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other corporate requirements;
• increase our vulnerability to interest rate fluctuations because the interest payments on a portion of our debt are based upon variable interest rates and a portion can adjust based on our credit statistics;
• limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and our industry;
• place us at a disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt or less restrictive covenants in such debt; and
• limit our ability to incur indebtedness in the future.
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Covenants in our Debt Agreements may impair our ability to operate our business.
Our Debt Agreements contain various covenants with which we or certain of our subsidiaries must comply, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the use of proceeds from borrowings, limitations on the incurrence of indebtedness, investments, acquisitions, making loans, liens on assets, repurchasing equity, making dividends, transactions with affiliates, mergers, consolidations, dispositions of assets and other provisions customary in similar types of agreements. The Debt Agreements also contain various covenants requiring mandatory prepayments from the net cash proceeds of certain asset transfers.
Our Credit Facility is also subject to financial covenants, including the following ratios, as defined in the corresponding agreement:
EBITDA to Interest Expense
2.5 to 1.0
Senior Secured Debt to EBITDA
3.0 to 1.0
Total Debt to EBITDA
January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023
5.50 to 1.0
Thereafter (1)
5.25 to 1.0
(1) Subject to a temporary increase to 5.50 to 1.0 for any quarter during which an acquisition satisfying certain thresholds is completed and for the two quarters immediately following such quarter.
If we were to anticipate non–compliance with these financial ratios, we may take actions to maintain compliance with them. These actions include reductions in our general and administrative expenses, capital expenditures or the payment of cash dividends. Any of these measures may reduce the amount of cash available for payment of dividends and the funding of our business requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our business, operations, cash flows or the price of our common stock.
The breach of any of the covenants under the Debt Agreements could result in a default under the Debt Agreements, which could cause indebtedness under the Debt Agreements to become due and payable. If the repayment obligations under the Debt Agreements were to be accelerated, we may not be able to repay the debt or refinance the debt on acceptable terms and our financial position would be materially adversely affected. A material adverse effect on our assets, liabilities, financial condition, business or operations that, taken as a whole, impacts our ability to perform the obligations under the Debt Agreements could lead to a default under those agreements. Further, a default under one or more of the Debt Agreements would trigger cross–default provisions under the other Debt Agreements, which would accelerate our obligation to repay the indebtedness under those agreements.
As of December 31, 2022, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Debt Agreements.
We may be unable to access the capital and credit markets or borrow on affordable terms to obtain additional capital that we may require.
Historically, we have financed acquisitions, operating expenditures and capital expenditures with a combination of cash provided by operating and financing activities. However, to the extent we are unable to finance our operating expenditures, capital expenditures, scheduled interest and debt repayments and any future dividends with net cash provided by operating activities and borrowings under the Credit Facility, we may require additional capital. Periods of instability in the capital and credit markets (both generally and in the oil and gas industry in particular) could limit our ability to access these markets to raise debt or equity capital on affordable terms or to obtain additional financing. Among other things, our lenders may seek to increase interest rates, enact tighter lending standards, refuse to refinance existing debt at maturity at favorable terms or at all and may reduce or cease to provide funding to us. If we are unable to access the capital and credit markets on favorable terms, or if we are not successful in raising capital within the time period required or at all, we may not be able to grow or maintain our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Our inability to fund purchases of additional compression equipment could adversely impact our financial results.
We may not be able to maintain or increase our asset and customer base unless we have access to sufficient capital to purchase additional compression equipment. Cash flow from our operations and availability under our Credit Facility may not provide us with sufficient cash to fund our capital expenditure requirements, including any funding requirements related to acquisitions. Our ability to grow our asset and customer base could be impacted by limits on our ability to access additional capital.
We may be vulnerable to interest rate increases due to our variable rate debt obligations.
Borrowings under our Credit Facility are subject to variable interest rates. Changes in economic conditions outside of our control could result in higher interest rates, thereby increasing our interest expense and reducing the funds available for capital investment, operations or other purposes. In addition, a substantial portion of our cash flow must be used to service our debt obligations. Any increase in our interest expense could negatively impact our results of operations and cash flows, including our ability to pay dividends in the future.
Our Credit Facility contains LIBOR benchmark replacement provisions. However, at this time, there can be no assurance as to whether any alternative benchmark or resulting interest rates may be more or less favorable than LIBOR or any other unforeseen impacts of the discontinuation of LIBOR. As a result, the proposals or consequences related to this transition could have a material adverse effect on our debt service obligations, financing costs, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows and could impair our access to the financial markets.
Uncertainty relating to the phasing out of LIBOR may adversely affect the market value of our current or future debt obligations, including our Credit Facility.
Borrowings under our Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum of either, at our election, the U.S. dollar LIBOR rate for specified interest periods or a base rate, plus an applicable margin. The publication of U.S. dollar LIBOR rates for the most common tenors (overnight and one, three, six and twelve months) will cease publication on June 30, 2023. Our Credit Facility requires that we execute an amendment that establishes an alternate reference rate should the U.S. dollar LIBOR cease to be published (among other circumstances), to be agreed upon by us and the administrative agent under our Credit Facility and giving due consideration to the then-prevailing market convention for determining a rate of interest for syndicated loans in the U.S. at such time, with notice rights subject to objection by required lenders under the Credit Facility. Until an alternate reference rate is established, borrowings under our Credit Facility will be limited to base rate borrowings, which may bear a higher interest rate than LIBOR and, in turn, potentially increase our interest expense. Uncertainty regarding the continued use and reliability of LIBOR as a benchmark rate and uncertainty regarding its replacement could disrupt the financial markets or adversely affect arrangements tied to LIBOR.
The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York organized the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”), which identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as its preferred alternative to U.S. dollar LIBOR in financial contracts. There can be no assurance that SOFR or any other alternative reference rate will perform in the same way as LIBOR would have at any time, including as a result of changes in interest and yield rates in the market, market volatility or global or regional economic, financial, political, regulatory, judicial or other events. Additionally, ARRC has recommended credit spread adjustments for use with SOFR due to LIBOR representing an unsecured lending rate while SOFR represents a secured lending rate. However, market acceptance of the ARRC–recommended credit spread adjustments, as opposed to no or alternative credit spread adjustments, has been mixed. Accordingly, we cannot predict whether changes related to the phase–out of LIBOR, including any credit spread adjustments, insufficient liquidity in the SOFR or alternative reference rate markets or other reforms, as they occur, will have an adverse effect on the market value of, the applicable interest rate on and the amount of interest paid on our current or future debt obligations, including the Credit Facility.
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Customer and Contract Risks
The erosion of the financial condition of our customers could adversely affect our business.
Many of our customers finance their exploration and production activities through cash flow from operations, the incurrence of debt or the issuance of equity. During times when the oil or natural gas markets weaken, our customers are more likely to experience a downturn in their financial condition. Additionally, some of our midstream customers may provide their gathering, transportation and related services to a limited number of companies in the oil and gas production business. A reduction in borrowing bases under reserve–based credit facilities, the lack of availability of debt or equity financing or other factors that negatively impact our customers’ financial condition could result in a reduction in our customers’ spending for our products and services, which may result in their cancellation of contracts, the cancellation or delay of scheduled maintenance of their existing natural gas compression equipment, their determination not to enter into new natural gas compression service contracts or their determination to cancel or delay orders for our services. Furthermore, the loss by our midstream customers of their key customers could reduce demand for their services and result in a deterioration of their financial condition, which would in turn decrease their demand for our services. Any such action by our customers would reduce demand for our services. Reduced demand for our services could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, in the event of the financial failure of a customer, we could experience a loss on all or a portion of our outstanding accounts receivable associated with that customer.
The loss of any of our most significant customers would result in a decline in our revenue and cash available to pay dividends to our common stockholders.
Our five most significant customers collectively accounted for 32%, 31% and 28% of our revenues during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our services are provided to these customers pursuant to contract operations service agreements, which typically have an initial term of 12 to 48 months and continue thereafter until terminated by either party with 30 days’ advance notice. The loss of all or even a portion of the services we provide to these customers, as a result of competition or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Many of our contract operations service agreements have short initial terms and are cancelable on short notice after the initial term, and we cannot be sure that such contracts will be extended or renewed after the end of the initial contractual term. Any such nonrenewals, or renewals at reduced rates or the loss of contracts with any significant customer could adversely impact our results of operations.
The length of our contract operations service agreements with customers varies based on operating conditions and customer needs. Our initial contract terms typically are not long enough to enable us to recoup the cost of the equipment we utilize to provide contract operations services, and these contracts are typically cancelable on short notice after the initial term. We cannot be sure that a substantial number of these contracts will be extended or renewed by our customers or that any of our customers will continue to contract with us. The inability to negotiate extensions or renew a substantial portion of our contract operations services contracts, the renewal of such contracts at reduced rates, the inability to contract for additional services with our customers or the loss of all or a significant portion of our services contracts with any significant customer could lead to a reduction in revenue and net income and could require us to record asset impairments. Moreover, we have limited ability to increase prices during our initial contract terms. As a result, we are unable to pass increases in the prices of the equipment, materials and services we utilize to provide contract operations services, as a result of inflation of otherwise, onto our customers, which could result in a reduction in net income. This could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
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Labor and Supply Chain Risks
Our ability to manage and grow our business effectively may be adversely affected if we lose management or operational personnel.
We believe that our ability to hire, train and retain qualified personnel will continue to be challenging and important. The supply of experienced operational and field personnel, in particular, decreases as other energy companies’ needs for the same personnel increase. Our ability to grow and to continue our current level of service to our customers will be adversely impacted if we are unable to successfully hire, train and retain these important personnel. In addition, the cost of labor has increased and may continue to increase in the future with increases in demand, which could require us to incur additional costs and negatively impact our results of operations.
We depend on particular suppliers and are vulnerable to product shortages and price increases. With respect to our suppliers of newly–fabricated compression equipment specifically, we occasionally experience long lead times, and therefore may at times make purchases in anticipation of future business. If we are unable to purchase compression equipment or other integral equipment, materials and services from third party suppliers, we may be unable to retain existing customers or compete for new customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Some equipment, materials and services used in our business are obtained from a limited group of suppliers. Our reliance on these suppliers involves several risks, including price increases (as a result of inflation or otherwise), inferior quality and a potential inability to obtain an adequate supply of such equipment, materials and services in a timely manner. Additionally, we occasionally experience long lead times from our suppliers of newly–fabricated compression equipment and may at times make purchases in anticipation of future business. We do not have long–term contracts with some of these suppliers, and the partial or complete loss of certain of these suppliers could have a negative impact on our results of operations and could damage our customer relationships.
If we are unable to purchase compression equipment, in particular, on a timely basis to meet the demands of our customers, our existing customers may terminate their contractual relationships with us, or we may not be able to compete for business from new or existing customers, which, in each case, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, supply chain bottlenecks could adversely affect our ability to obtain necessary materials, parts or lube oil used in our operations or increase the costs of such items. A significant increase in the price of such equipment, materials and services as a result of inflation, ongoing effect of the COBID–19 pandemic or otherwise, could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Information Technology and Cybersecurity Risks
We may not realize the intended benefits of our process and technology transformation project, which could have an adverse effect on our business.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, we began a process and technology transformation project, which has, among other things, replaced our existing ERP, supply chain and inventory management systems and expanded the remote monitoring capabilities of our compression fleet. By using technology to make our systems and processes more efficient, we intend to lower our internal costs and improve our profitability over time. However, the implementation of the process and technology transformation project has required significant capital and other resources from which we may not realize the benefits we expect to realize. Any such difficulties could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Threats of cyber-attacks or terrorism could affect our business.
We may be threatened by problems such as cyber-attacks, computer viruses or terrorism that may disrupt our operations and harm our operating results. Our industry requires the continued operation of sophisticated information technology systems and network infrastructure. Despite our implementation of security measures, our technology
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systems are vulnerable to disability or failures due to hacking, viruses, acts of war or terrorism and other causes. If our information technology systems were to fail and we were unable to recover in a timely way, we may be unable to fulfill critical business functions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition .
In addition, our assets may be targets of terrorist activities that could disrupt our ability to service our customers. We may be required by our regulators or by the future terrorist threat environment to make investments in security that we cannot currently predict. The implementation of security guidelines and measures and maintenance of insurance, to the extent available, addressing such activities could increase costs. These types of events could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, these types of events could require significant management attention and resources and could adversely affect our reputation among customers and the public.
Tax–related Risks
Tax legislation and administrative initiatives or challenges to our tax positions could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We operate in locations throughout the U.S. and, as a result, we are subject to the tax laws and regulations of U.S. federal, state and local governments. From time to time, various legislative or administrative initiatives may be proposed that could adversely affect our tax positions. There can be no assurance that our tax provision or tax payments will not be adversely affected by these initiatives. In addition, U.S. federal, state and local tax laws and regulations are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. There can be no assurance that our tax positions will not be challenged by relevant tax authorities or that we would be successful in any such challenge.
Our ability to use NOLs and interest expense limitation carryovers to offset future income may be limited.
Our ability to use any NOLs and interest expense limitation carryovers generated by us could be substantially limited if we were to experience an “ownership change” as defined under Section 382 of the Code. In general, an “ownership change” would occur if our “5–percent stockholders,” as defined under Section 382 of the Code, including certain groups of persons treated as “5–percent stockholders,” collectively increased their ownership in us by more than 50 percentage points over a rolling three–year period. An ownership change can occur as a result of a public offering of our common stock, as well as through secondary market purchases of our common stock and certain types of reorganization transactions. We have experienced ownership changes, which may result in an annual limitation on the use of its pre–ownership change NOLs (and certain other losses and/or credits) equal to the equity value of our stock immediately before the ownership change, multiplied by the long–term tax–exempt rate for the month in which the ownership change occurs. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the IRS proposed regulations that would prevent us from using unrealized built–in gains to increase this limitation. If these regulations were finalized and we experienced an ownership change our ability to use our NOLs (and certain other losses and/or credits) may be limited. Such a limitation could, for any given year, have the effect of increasing the amount of our U.S. federal and state income tax liability, which would negatively impact the amount of after–tax cash available for distribution to our stockholders and our financial condition.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
From time to time, we are subject to various claims, tax audits, litigation and other proceedings that could ultimately be resolved against us and require material future cash payments or charges, which could impair our financial condition or results of operations.
The size, nature and complexity of our business make us susceptible to various claims, tax audits, litigation and binding arbitration proceedings. We are currently, and may in the future become, subject to various claims, which, if not resolved within amounts we have accrued, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows, including our ability to pay dividends. Similarly, any claims, even if fully indemnified or insured, could negatively impact our reputation among our customers and the public, and make it more difficult for us to
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compete effectively or obtain adequate insurance in the future. See Part I, Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 15 to our Financial Statements for additional information regarding certain legal proceedings to which we are a party.
New regulations, proposed regulations and proposed modifications to existing regulations under the CAA, if implemented, could result in increased compliance costs.
In June 2016, the EPA issued final regulations amending the NSPS for the oil and natural gas source category and applying to sources of emissions of methane and VOC from certain processes, activities and equipment that is constructed, modified or reconstructed after September 18, 2015. Specifically, the regulation contains both methane and VOC standards for several emission sources not previously covered by the NSPS, such as fugitive emissions from compressor stations and pneumatic pumps and methane standards for certain emission sources that are already regulated for VOC, such as equipment leaks at natural gas processing plants. The amendments also establish methane standards for a subset of equipment that the current NSPS regulates, including reciprocating compressors and pneumatic controllers, and extend the current VOC standards to the remaining unregulated equipment.
While the EPA in 2020 adopted deregulatory amendments to the 2016 rule that removed the transmission and storage segments from the oil and natural gas source category and rescinded the methane–specific requirements for production and processing facilities, that 2020 rulemaking was voided by action of Congress and the President effective June 30, 2021. As a result, the 2016 rules became effective again immediately. Further, in November 2021, the EPA proposed the framework for more stringent methane rules for newer sources, along with emissions standards that will for the first time be applicable to existing sources, with both a supplemental rule proposal by the EPA and a separate BoLM rule proposal addressing methane emissions on public lands issued in November 2022. Among the newly proposed methane requirements that may impact our operations are broader applicability to compression equipment relative to the existing rules, increased work practices and inspection requirements and mandates to certain new zero–emission equipment.
Meanwhile, several states — including, most notably, New Mexico and Colorado — have been developing their own more stringent methane emissions rules that will or are anticipated to impose additional requirements on the industry and that may impose stricter requirements than any EPA rules. We, together with a consortium of other Gas Compressor Association member companies, were actively involved in the rulemaking effort in New Mexico, including working directly with the New Mexico Environmental Department and participating in the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board’s hearing in late 2021.
We do not believe that the current rules will have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, but we cannot yet definitively predict the impact of any revision of the current rules or issuance of new rules, which impact could be material.
On October 1, 2015, the EPA issued a new NAAQS ozone standard of 70 ppb, which is a tightening from the 75 ppb standard set in 2008. This new standard became effective on December 28, 2015, and the EPA completed designating attainment/non–attainment regions under the revised ozone standard in 2018. In November 2016, the EPA proposed an implementation rule for the 2015 NAAQS ozone standard, but the agency has yet to issue a final implementation rule. State implementation of the revised NAAQS could result in stricter permitting requirements, delay or prohibit our customers’ ability to obtain such permits and result in increased expenditures for pollution control equipment, the costs of which could be significant. By law, the EPA must review each NAAQS every five years. In December 2018 and again in December 2020, the EPA announced that it was retaining without revision the 2015 NAAQS ozone standard. In June 2021, the EPA announced it will reconsider the December 2020 decision, with a decision expected in 2023. In a draft assessment in April 2022, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee favored maintaining the 2015 NAAQS ozone standard. Those decisions have been subject to judicial challenge and remain subject to reconsideration by the EPA. We do not believe continued implementation of the NAAQS ozone standard will have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, but we cannot yet predict the impact, if any, of any new Federal Implementation Plan involving new NAAQS standards.
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New environmental regulations and proposals similar to these, when finalized, and any other new regulations requiring the installation of more sophisticated pollution control equipment or the adoption of other environmental protection measures, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Notably, opposition to energy development and infrastructure projects has led to regulatory and judicial challenges to new facilities, including compression facilities, in states such as Massachusetts and Virginia. While we have not directly faced any such challenges to the facilities at which we provide contract operations and know of no pending or threatened efforts targeting those facilities, expanded opposition to energy infrastructure, including facilities at which we provide contract operations, could potentially give rise to material impacts in the future.
We are subject to a variety of governmental regulations; failure to comply with these regulations may result in administrative, civil and criminal enforcement measures and changes in these regulations could increase our costs or liabilities.
We are subject to a variety of U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations, including relating to the environment, health and safety, labor and employment and taxation. Many of these laws and regulations are complex, change frequently, are becoming increasingly stringent, and the cost of compliance with these requirements can be expected to increase over time. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in a variety of administrative, civil and criminal enforcement measures, including assessment of monetary penalties, imposition of remedial requirements and issuance of injunctions as to future compliance. From time to time, as part of our operations, including newly acquired operations or in the future might otherwise have an opportunity to provide contract operations, we may be subject to compliance audits by regulatory authorities in the various states in which we operate.
Environmental laws and regulations may, in certain circumstances, impose strict liability for environmental contamination, which may render us liable for remediation costs, natural resource damages and other damages as a result of our conduct that was lawful at the time it occurred or the conduct of, or conditions caused by, prior owners or operators or other third parties. In addition, where contamination may be present, it is not uncommon for neighboring land owners and other third parties to file claims for personal injury, property damage and recovery of response costs. Remediation costs and other damages arising as a result of environmental laws and regulations, and costs associated with new information, changes in existing environmental laws and regulations or the adoption of new environmental laws and regulations could be substantial and could negatively impact our financial condition, profitability and results of operations. Moreover, failure to comply with these environmental laws and regulations may result in the imposition of administrative, civil and criminal penalties and the issuance of injunctions delaying or prohibiting operations.
We may need to apply for or amend facility permits or licenses from time to time with respect to storm water or wastewater discharges, waste handling, or air emissions relating to manufacturing activities or equipment operations, which subjects us to new or revised permitting conditions that may be onerous or costly to comply with. In addition, certain of our customer service arrangements may require us to operate, on behalf of a specific customer, petroleum storage units such as underground tanks or pipelines and other regulated units, all of which may impose additional compliance and permitting obligations. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining required permits, licenses and other governmental approvals by our customers could result in production delays and thereby, indirectly materially and adversely impact our operations and business.
We conduct operations at numerous facilities in a wide variety of locations across the continental U.S. The operations at many of these facilities require environmental permits or other authorizations. Additionally, natural gas compressors at many of our customers’ facilities require individual air permits or general authorizations to operate under various air regulatory programs established by rule or regulation. These permits and authorizations frequently contain numerous compliance requirements, including monitoring and reporting obligations and operational restrictions, such as emission limits. Given the large number of facilities in which we operate, and the numerous environmental permits and other authorizations that are applicable to our operations, we may occasionally identify or be notified of technical violations of certain requirements existing in various permits or other authorizations. Occasionally, we have been assessed penalties for our non–compliance, and we could be subject to such penalties in the future.
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We routinely deal with oil, natural gas and other petroleum products. Hydrocarbons or other hazardous substances or wastes may have been disposed or released on, under or from properties used by us to provide contract operations services or inactive compression storage or on or under other locations where such substances or wastes have been taken for disposal. These properties may be subject to investigatory, remediation and monitoring requirements under environmental laws and regulations, and such requirements may vary.
The modification or interpretation of existing environmental laws or regulations, the more vigorous enforcement of existing environmental laws or regulations, or the adoption of new environmental laws or regulations may also negatively impact oil and natural gas exploration and production, gathering and pipeline companies, including our customers, which in turn could have a negative impact on us.
Climate change legislation, regulatory initiatives and stakeholder pressures could result in increased compliance costs, financial risks and potential reduction in demand for our services.
Climate change legislation and regulatory initiatives may occur from a variety of sources, including international, national, regional and state levels of government and associated administrative bodies, seeking to restrict or regulate emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. At the international level, the Paris Agreement, which went into effect in November 2016, seeks to combat climate change through the establishment of individually–determined GHG emissions reduction goals. U.S. climate change strategy and implementation of that strategy through legislation and regulation may change from one administration to the next, as President Biden has recently recommitted the U.S. to the Paris Agreement after his predecessor withdrew the U.S. from the agreement. Given this uncertainty, U.S. companies may need to remain prepared to comply with requirements arising from participation in the Paris Agreement going forward. It has become increasingly likely that the U.S. will develop federal climate legislation in addition to existing energy legislation and other initiatives relevant to GHG emissions issues. Many U.S. states, either individually or through multi–state regional initiatives, have begun to address GHG emissions, primarily through the planned development of emission inventories or regional GHG cap and trade programs. Although most of the state–level initiatives have to date been focused on large sources of GHG emissions, such as electric power plants, it is possible that smaller sources such as our natural gas–powered compressors could become subject to GHG–related regulation. Depending on the particular program, we could be required to control emissions or to purchase and su r render allowances for GHG emissions resulting f rom our operations.
The legislative landscape continues to change and to be met with legal challenges with respect to climate–related laws and regulations, making it difficult to predict with certainty the ultimate impact they will have on us in the aggregate. Although it is not currently possible to predict how any proposed or future GHG legislation or regulation promulgated at the international, national, state or local levels will impact our business, any regulation of GHG emissions that may be imposed in areas in which we conduct business could result in increased compliance costs, additional operating restrictions or reduced demand for our services, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Additionally, in March 2022, the SEC proposed new rules relating to the disclosure of a range of climate–related data risks and opportunities, including financial impacts, physical and transition risks, related governance and strategy and GHG emissions, for certain public companies. We are currently assessing this rule but at this time we cannot predict the ultimate impact of the rule on our business or those of our customers. The SEC originally planned to issue a final rule by October 2022, but most commentators now expect a final rule to be issued in early 2023. To the extent this rule is finalized as proposed, we or our customers could incur increased costs related to the assessment and disclosure of climate-related risks and certain emissions metrics. In addition, enhanced climate disclosure requirements could accelerate the trend of certain stakeholders and lenders restricting or seeking more stringent conditions with respect to their investments in certain carbon intensive sectors.
In sum, any legislation, regulatory programs or social pressures related to climate change could increase our costs and require substantial capital, compliance, operating and maintenance costs, reduce demand for our services and reduce our access to financial markets. Current, as well as potential future, laws and regulations that limit GHG emissions or that otherwise promote the use of renewable energy over fossil fuel energy sources could increase the cost of our midstream services and, thereby, further reduce demand and adversely affect our sales volumes, revenues and margins.
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A climate–related decrease in demand for oil and natural gas could negatively affect our business.
Supply and demand for oil and natural gas is dependent upon a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include, among others, the potential adoption of new government regulations, including those related to fuel conservation measures and climate change regulations, technological advances in fuel economy and energy generation devices. For example, legislative, regulatory or executive actions intended to reduce emissions of GHGs could increase the cost of consuming crude oil and natural gas, thereby potentially causing a reduction in the demand for such products. A broader transition to alternative fuels or energy sources, whether resulting from potential new government regulation, carbon taxes or consumer preferences could result in decreased demand for crude oil, natural gas and NGLs. Any decrease in demand for these products could consequently reduce demand for our services and could have a negative effect on our business.
Also, recent activism directed at shifting funding away from companies with energy-related assets could result in a reduction of funding for the energy sector overall, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain external financing as well as negatively affect the cost of, and terms for, financing to fund capital expenditures or other aspects of our business.
Climate change may increase the frequency and severity of weather events that could result in severe personal injury, property and environmental damage, which could curtail our or our customers’ operations and otherwise materially adversely affect our cash flows.
Some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHG in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant weather–related effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, floods and other climatic events. If any of those effects were to occur, they could have an adverse effect on our assets and operations, including damages to our or our customers’ facilities and assets from powerful wind or rising waters. We may experience increased insurance costs, or difficulty obtaining adequate insurance coverage, for our assets in areas subject to more frequent severe weather. We may not be able to recoup these increased costs through the rates we charge our customers. Extreme weather events could cause damage to property or facilities that could exceed our insurance coverage and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Another possible consequence of climate change is increased volatility in seasonal temperatures. The market for natural gas and natural gas liquids is generally impacted by periods of colder weather and warmer weather, so any changes in climate could affect the market for those fuels, and thus demand for our services. Despite the use of the term “global warming” as a shorthand for climate change, some studies indicate that climate change could cause some areas to experience temperatures substantially colder than their historical averages. As a result, it is difficult to predict how the market for our services could be affected by increased temperature volatility.
Increased environmental, social and governance scrutiny and changing expectations from stakeholders may impose additional costs or additional risks.
In recent years, increasing attention has been given to corporate activities related to ESG matters. A number of advocacy groups, both domestically and internationally, have campaigned for governmental and private action to promote change at public companies related to ESG matters, including increasing attention and demands for action related to climate change, promoting the use of substitutes to fossil fuel products and encouraging the divestment of companies in the fossil fuel industry. Companies which do not adapt to or comply with expectations and standards on ESG matters, as they continue to evolve, or which are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, regardless of whether there is a legal requirement to do so, may suffer from reputational damage and the business, financial condition and/or stock price of such a company could be materially and adversely affected.
Our operations, projects and growth opportunities require us to have strong relationships with various key stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, local communities and others. We may face pressures from stakeholders, many of whom are increasingly focused on climate change, to prioritize sustainable energy practices, reduce our carbon footprint and promote sustainability while at the same time remaining a successfully operating public company. If we do not successfully manage expectations across these varied stakeholder interests, it
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could erode our stakeholder trust and thereby affect our brand and reputation. Such erosion of confidence could negatively impact our business through decreased demand and growth opportunities, delays in projects, increased legal action and regulatory oversight, adverse press coverage and other adverse public statements, difficulty hiring and retaining top talent, difficulty obtaining necessary approvals and permits from governments and regulatory agencies on a timely basis and on acceptable terms, and difficulty securing investors and access to capital. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.