| Commitments and Contingencies | 14. Commitments and Contingencies Our business is governed by laws and regulations, including those directed to the oilfield service industry, promulgated by U.S. federal and state governments and regulatory agencies, as well as international governmental authorities in the many countries in which we conduct business. In the United States these governmental authorities include: the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Controls, state and international environmental agencies and many others. We are unaware of any material liabilities in connection with our compliance with such laws. New laws, regulations and enforcement policies may result in additional, presently unquantifiable, or unknown, costs or liabilities. The Company is involved in various claims, regulatory agency audits and pending or threatened legal actions involving a variety of matters. The Company maintains insurance that covers many of the claims arising from risks associated with the business activities of the Company, including claims for premises liability, product liability and other such claims. The Company carries substantial insurance to cover such risks above a self-insured retention. The Company believes, and the Company’s experience has been, that such insurance has been enough to cover any such material risks. The Company is also a party to claims, threatened and actual litigation, private arbitration, internal investigations of potential regulatory and compliance matters which arise both from legacy businesses that the Company has acquired over many years and from the Company’s current ordinary day-to-day business activities. These regulatory matters and disputes involve private parties and/or government authorities, which assert claims against the Company for a broad spectrum of potential claims including: employment law claims, collective actions or class action claims under employment laws, intellectual property claims (such as alleged patent infringement, and/or misappropriation of trade secrets by the company), premises liability claims, environmental claims, product liability claims, warranty claims, personal injury claims arising from exposure to or use of allegedly defective products, alleged regulatory violations, alleged violations of anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws and other commercial and/or regulatory claims seeking recovery for alleged actual or exemplary damages or fines and penalties. Such claims involve various theories of liability which include: negligence, strict liability, product liability, and other theories of liability. For some of these contingent claims, the Company’s insurance coverage is inapplicable or an exclusion to coverage may apply. In such instances, settlement or other resolution of such claims, individually or collectively, could have a material financial or reputational impact on the Company. As of June 30, 2022, the Company recorded reserves in an amount believed to be sufficient, given the range of potential outcomes, for contingent liabilities representing all contingencies believed to be probable. These reserves include all costs expected for reclamation of a closed barite mine and product liability claims, as well as other circumstances involving material claims. Risks and Uncertainties The Company has assessed the potential for additional losses above the amounts accrued as well as potential losses for matters that are believed to be not probable, but are reasonably possible. The Company sets accruals in accordance with GAAP based on its best judgment about the probable results of disputed claims, regulatory enforcement actions, tax and other governmental audits, and other contingencies. The litigation process as well as the outcome of regulatory oversight is inherently uncertain, and our best judgement concerning the probable outcome of litigation or regulatory enforcement matters may prove to be incorrect. No assurance can be given as to the outcome of these matters. The total potential loss on these matters cannot be determined; however, in our opinion, any ultimate liability, to the extent not otherwise provided for, will not materially affect our financial position, cash flow or results of operations. These estimated liabilities are based on the Company’s assessment of the nature of these matters, their progress toward resolution, the advice of legal counsel and outside experts as well as management’s experience. Because of uncertainty and risk inherent to litigation, arbitration, audits, governmental investigations and enforcement actions, the Company’s actual liabilities incurred may exceed our estimated liabilities and reserves, which could have a material financial or reputational impact on the Company. Recently, the Company received and paid a $ 51 million transfer pricing tax assessment in Denmark. The Company and its advisors believe the assessment is without merit. The Company is presently appealing and believes it will be reimbursed following a successful appeals process. The payment has been recorded as a long term receivable. In many instances, the Company’s products and services embody or incorporate trade secrets or patented inventions. From time to time, we are engaged in disputes concerning protection of the Company’s trade secrets and confidential information, patents, and other intellectual property rights. Such disputes frequently involve complex, factual, technical and/or legal issues which result in high costs to adjudicate our rights and for which it may be difficult to predict the ultimate outcome. At any given time, the Company may be a plaintiff or defendant in disputes involving disputed intellectual property rights. The Company is currently pursuing claims involving technology related to drill bits. Because of the importance of the Company’s intellectual property to the Company’s performance, an adverse result in such disputes could result in a material loss of revenue from royalties or a decline in sales of products protected by patents, which could materially and adversely impact our financial performance. Further, in some instances, direct or indirect consumers of our products and services, entities providing financing for purchases of our products and services or members of the supply chain for our products and services become involved in governmental investigations, internal investigations, political or other enforcement matters. In such circumstances, such investigations may adversely impact the ability of consumers of our products, entities providing financial support to such consumers or entities in the supply chain to timely perform their business plans or to timely perform under agreements with us. We may, from time to time, become involved in these investigations, at substantial cost to the Company. We also are subject to trade regulations, supply chain regulations, and other regulatory compliance in which the laws and regulations of different jurisdictions conflict or these regulations may conflict with contractual terms. In such circumstances, our compliance with U.S. laws and regulations may subject us to risk of fines, penalties, or contractual liability in other jurisdictions. Our efforts to actively manage such risks may not always be successful which could lead to negative impacts on revenue or earnings. The Company is exposed to customs and trade regulation risk in the countries in which we do business and countries from which or to which we import or export goods. Such trade regulations can be complex and conflicting, as different countries use trade regulation to promote conflicting policy objectives. Compliance with these laws and regulations present challenges which could result in future liabilities (for example, when laws conflict between countries). The Company may face increased tariffs and trade costs, loss of revenue, loss of customers, increased costs, the need for renegotiation of agreements, and other business disruptions. In addition, trade regulations, export controls, and other laws may adversely impact our ability to do business in certain countries, e.g.: Iran, Syria, Russia, China and Venezuela. In response to additional sanctions enacted by governments in the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other countries as a result of active armed conflict in Ukraine, we ceased new investments in Russia and have curtailed our activities in Russia. We are actively examining our alternatives, including the potential to further curtail our activities, sell some or all of our businesses, or wind down our remaining operations in Russia. We have sold our business in Belarus subsequent to June 30, 2022. Litigation may result from the confluence of these events in Russia and Belarus and our response to the various sanctions as we work to comply with applicable laws and regulations. We also may incur severance costs as a result of conditions in Russia and Belarus. As a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions on activities related to Russia and Belarus, we recorded impairment and other charges of $ 8 million and $ 49 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. The Company has approximately $ 10 million in remaining assets and $ 74 million in currency translation losses related to Russia and Belarus recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of June 30, 2022. The currency translation losses related to Belarus of approximately $ 20 million will be taken to results of operations in the third quarter 2022 upon recording the sale of the business. The continued impact of existing sanctions or imposition of increasingly severe sanctions and the potentially broader impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could result in additional impairments, write downs or charges which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely impact many jurisdictions and disrupt normal economic activities. For example, lockdowns in China have disrupted supply chains for the Company’s vendors and products. The Company’s ability to manufacture equipment and perform services could also be impaired and the Company could be exposed to liabilities resulting from additional interruption or delay in its ability to perform due to limited manpower, travel restrictions, difficulty obtaining visas, adverse health consequences to employees, supply chain disruption, inflationary pressures, and materials shortages. The Company continues to see operational delays due to supply chain disruption and closure or limitations imposed on our facilities and work force from “shelter in place” regulation in different jurisdictions around the world. We also face sometimes conflicting regulatory and legal prescriptions concerning vaccine mandates and prohibitions of vaccine mandates. We may face loss of workers, labor shortages, litigation, fines and/or other adverse consequences resulting from vaccine mandates and enforcement of other COVID-19 regulations. Disputes may arise regarding application of force majeure contract provisions and allocation of responsibility among customers, the Company, and suppliers, resulting in material added cost and/or litigation. Our customers may attempt to cancel or delay projects, cancel contracts, or may invoke force majeure clauses. Our customers may also seek to delay or may default on their payments to us. As a result, the Company may be exposed to additional costs, liabilities and risks which could materially, adversely impact our financial performance and results. These potential operational and service delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could result in contractual or other legal claims from our customers. At this time, it is not possible to quantify all these risks, but the combination of these factors could have a material impact on our financial results. Due to market conditions and ongoing concerns about the energy transition, demand for our products and services may decline. Legal restrictions on exploration and production may impede our customer’s ability to do business in certain jurisdictions. The political environment may adversely impact demand for hydrocarbons in different jurisdictions or worldwide. The demand for energy may be constrained with adverse consequences for our customers and for the company. |
