Superior Drilling Products (SDPI) Risk Analysis

Our manufacturing operations depend upon obtaining adequate supplies of raw materials from third parties. Events beyond our control may impact the ability of these third parties to deliver raw materials. Any interruption in the supply of raw materials needed to manufacture our products could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation with our customers.

We rely on the availability of volume and quality of synthetic diamond cutters for drill bit refurbishment and manufacturing and for our drill string tool manufacturing business. In addition, we must have a reliable source of steel available for manufacturing which is both of sufficient quality, and available at a cost-effective price. We do not have fixed price contracts or arrangements for all of the raw materials and other supplies that we purchase. Baker Hughes provides the diamond cutters for our drill bit refurbishment. However, sourcing cost-effective supplies of quality steel in the relatively low volumes that our tool manufacturing requires can be challenging. Shortages of, and price increases for, steel and other raw materials and supplies that we use in our business may occur. Future shortages or price fluctuations in synthetic diamond cutters or steel could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct either our drill bit refurbishment or our drill tool manufacturing in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The drilling industry is driven primarily by cost minimization, and our strategy is aimed at reducing drilling costs through the application of new drill bit assembly and drill string tool technologies. Our continued success will depend on our ability to meet our customers' changing needs, on a timely and cost-effective basis, by successfully enhancing our current products and processes; developing, producing and marketing new products and processes; and responding to evolving industry standards and other technological changes. We cannot assure you that our products will be able to satisfy the specifications of our customers or that we will be able to perform the testing necessary to prove that the product specifications are satisfied in the future, or that the costs of modifications to our products to satisfy their requirements will not adversely affect our results of operations. We believe our Strider technology for horizontal drilling offers advantages compared to competition, but failure to meet our customer's demand for services may adversely affect our business. We may encounter resource constraints, competition, or other difficulties that may delay our ability to expand our bit remanufacturing services to the level desired or required by our customer. If our products are unable to satisfy such requirements, or we are unable to perform any required testing, our customers may cancel their contracts and/or seek new suppliers, and our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial position may be adversely affected.

Our success will be affected by our development and implementation of new product designs and improvements and by our ability to protect and maintain critical intellectual property assets related to these developments. Although in many cases our products are not protected by any registered intellectual property rights, in other cases we rely on a combination of patents and trade secret laws to establish and protect this proprietary technology. We currently hold multiple U.S. patents and have multiple pending patent applications for products and processes in the U.S. and certain non-U.S. countries. Patent rights give the owner of a patent the right to exclude third parties from making, using, selling, and offering for sale the inventions claimed in the patents in the applicable country. Patent rights do not necessarily grant the owner of a patent the right to practice the invention claimed in a patent, but merely the right to exclude others from practicing the invention claimed in the patent. It may also be possible for a third party to design around our patents. Furthermore, patent rights have strict territorial limits. Some of our work will be conducted in international waters and therefore may not fall within the scope of any country's patent jurisdiction. We may not be able to enforce our patents against infringement occurring in international waters and other "non-covered" territories. Also, we do not have patents in every jurisdiction in which we conduct business and our patent portfolio will not protect all aspects of our business and may relate to obsolete or unusual methods, which would not prevent third parties from entering the same market. We attempt to limit access to and distribution of our technology by customarily entering into confidentiality and/or license agreements with our employees, customers and potential customers and suppliers. Our rights in our confidential information, trade secrets, and confidential know-how will not prevent third parties from independently developing similar information. Publicly available information (e.g. information in expired issued patents, published patent applications, and scientific literature) can also be used by third parties to independently develop technology. We cannot provide assurance that this independently developed technology will not be equivalent or superior to our proprietary technology. Our competitors may infringe upon, misappropriate, violate or challenge the validity or enforceability of our intellectual property and we may not able to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights in the future.

Uncertainty in the credit markets may negatively impact the ability of our customers to finance purchases of our products and services and could result in a decrease in, or cancellation of, orders or adversely affect the collectability of our receivables. If the availability of credit to our customers is reduced, they may reduce their drilling and production expenditures, thereby decreasing demand for our products and services, which could have a negative impact on our financial position. Additionally, unsettled conditions could have an impact on our suppliers, causing them to be unable to meet their obligations to us. Although we do not currently anticipate a need to access the credit markets in the short term, a prolonged constriction on future lending by banks or investors could result in higher interest rates on future debt obligations or could restrict our ability to obtain sufficient financing to meet our long-term operational and capital needs. In addition, the global financial system may be impacted by the effects of global health epidemics and concerns of turmoil and military actions. Weakness or deterioration of the global economy could reduce our customers' spending levels and could impact our revenues and operating results. We are unable to predict the effect of this on our business and results of operations.

We have operations in the Middle East. Our International segment's operations generated 15% and 11% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. In general, the risk factors identified above also have relevance to our International operations. In addition, our International operations also expose us to other risks, including those related to, for example: - political conditions and geopolitical events, including war and terrorism;         - economic conditions, including monetary and fiscal policies and tax rules;         - legal and regulatory environments;         - rules governing international trade and potential changes to trade policies or trade agreements and ownership of foreign entities;         - risks associated with foreign currency exchange rates;         - cultural differences that we may be unable to anticipate or respond to appropriately;         - different rules or practices regarding employee relations, including the existence of works councils or unions;         - difficulties in enforcing intellectual property rights; and         - difficulties encountered in exerting appropriate management oversight to operations in remote locations. These factors could significantly disrupt our International operations and have a material adverse effect on our revenue and profitability and could lead us to incur material impairments and other exit costs.

Terrorist activities, anti-terrorist efforts and other armed conflicts involving the United States or other countries may adversely affect the United States and global economies and could prevent us from meeting our financial and other obligations. The events in Russia and surrounding areas and the historic volatility in the Middle East may result in political instability and societal disruption could reduce overall demand for oil and natural gas, potentially putting downward pressure on demand for our services and causing a reduction in our revenue. Oil and natural gas related facilities could be direct targets of terrorist attacks, and our operations could be adversely impacted if infrastructure integral to our customers' operations is destroyed or damaged. Costs for insurance and other security may increase as a result of these threats, and some insurance coverage may become more difficult to obtain, if available at all.

The United States has in the past announced the implementation of tariffs on imported steel and could in the future consider tariffs on additional items. If this were to occur, it could result in the adoption of additional tariffs by other countries as well. Any resulting trade war could negatively impact the global market for oil field products and services and could have a significant adverse effect on our business. While we cannot predict how any future enacted tariffs will impact our business, the imposition of tariffs on items we import from other countries could increase our costs and could result in lowering our gross margin on products sold. The Company has not experienced a negative impact as a result of tariffs imposed on imported oil and gas products.

Our operations and the operations of our customers are also subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and the environment. These environmental laws and regulations affect the products and services we design, market and sell, as well as the facilities where we manufacture our products. For example, our operations are subject to numerous and complex laws and regulations that, among other things, may regulate the management and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes; require acquisition of environmental permits related to our operations; restrict the types, quantities and concentrations of various materials that can be released into the environment; limit or prohibit operation activities in certain ecologically sensitive and other protected areas; regulate specific health and safety criteria addressing worker protection; require compliance with operational and equipment standards; impose testing, reporting and record-keeping requirements; and require remedial measures to mitigate pollution from former and ongoing operations at our facilities or at facilities where wastes generated by our operations have been disposed. Sanctions for noncompliance may include revocation of permits, corrective action orders, administrative or civil penalties or other enforcement, and criminal prosecution. We are required to invest financial and managerial resources to comply with such environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and anticipate that we will continue to be required to do so in the future. In addition, environmental laws and regulations could limit our customers' exploration and production activities. These laws and regulations change frequently, which makes it impossible for us to predict their cost or impact on our future operations. The adoption of legislation or regulatory programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could also increase the cost of consuming, and thereby reduce demand for, the hydrocarbons that our customers produce. Consequently, such legislation or regulatory programs could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. It is too early to determine whether, or in what form, further regulatory action regarding greenhouse gas emissions may ultimately be adopted or what specific impact a new regulatory action might have on us or our customers. Generally, the anticipated regulatory actions do not appear to affect us in any material respect that is different, or to any materially greater or lesser extent, than other companies that are our competitors. However, our business and prospects could be adversely affected to the extent laws are enacted or modified or other governmental action is taken that prohibits or restricts our customers' exploration and production activities or imposes environmental protection requirements that result in increased costs to us or our customers. Environmental laws may provide for "strict liability" for damages to natural resources or threats to public health and safety, rendering a party liable for environmental damage without regard to negligence or fault on the part of such party. Some environmental laws and regulations provide for joint and several strict liability for remediation of spills and releases of hazardous substances. In addition, we may be subject to claims alleging personal injury or property damage as a result of alleged exposure to hazardous substances, as well as damage to natural resources. These laws and regulations also may expose us to liability for the conduct of or conditions caused by others, or for our acts that were in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations at the time such acts were performed. Any of these laws and regulations could result in claims, fines or expenditures that could be material to results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

Several of our competitors are diversified multinational companies with substantially larger operating staffs and greater capital resources than ours and which have been engaged in the manufacturing business for a much longer time than us. If these competitors substantially increase the resources they devote to developing and marketing competitive products and services, we may not be able to compete effectively. Similarly, consolidation among our competitors could enhance their competing market share, product and service offerings and financial resources, further intensifying competition.

We had two large customers that comprised 85% of our total revenue in 2023 and 88% in 2022. It is likely that we will continue to derive a significant portion of our revenue from a relatively small number of customers in the future. If a major customer decided not to continue to use our services or has a significant reduction in its business, our revenue would decline, and our operating results and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, we are subject to credit risk due to the concentration of our customer base. Any increase in the non-payment of and non-performance by our counterparties, either as a result of changes in financial and economic conditions or otherwise, could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and could adversely affect our liquidity.