The demand for our products and services depends upon the existence of construction and maintenance projects primarily in the energy markets, including LNG, hydrogen, renewable energy, midstream and downstream petroleum, and other heavy industries in the United States and Canada. Therefore, it is likely that our business will continue to be cyclical in nature and vulnerable to general downturns in the United States, Canadian and world economies and negative changes in commodity and energy prices, which could adversely affect the demand for our products and services.
The availability of engineering and construction projects is dependent upon economic conditions and the outlook for renewable energy, hydrogen, natural gas, oil, petrochemical, industrial, and power industries, and specifically, the level of capital expenditures on energy infrastructure. Additionally, we expect our customers to benefit from bills such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. While spending and stimulus bills are expected to provide funding in many of the markets in which we operate, we may not be able to obtain the expected benefits from these bills or similar bills in the future. Our failure to obtain projects, the delay of project awards, the cancellation of projects or delays in the execution of contracts has resulted and may continue to result in under-utilization of our resources, which could adversely impact our revenue, margins, operating results and cash flow. There are numerous factors beyond our control that influence the level of maintenance and capital expenditures of our customers, including:
- the demand for alternative and renewable energy products, including hydrogen;- ability and demand to export LNG and other hydrocarbon products;- the demand for natural gas, oil and electricity;- current or projected commodity prices, including natural gas, oil, power and mineral prices;- refining margins;- the ability of energy and industrial companies to generate, access and deploy capital;- interest rates and inflation;- technological challenges and advances;- tax incentives, including those for alternative energy projects;- regulatory restraints on the rates that power companies may charge their customers; and - local, national and international political and economic conditions.