SLB, §1A diff (2017 → 2018)

Item 1A. Risk Factors. The following discussion of risk factors known to us contains important information for the understanding of our “forward-looking statements,” which are discussed immediately following Item 7A. of this Form 10-K and elsewhere. These risk factors should also be read in conjunction with Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in this Form 10-K. We urge you to consider carefully the risks described below, as well as in other reports and materials that we file with the SEC and the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K. If any of the risks described below or elsewhere in this Form 10-K were to materialize, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or prospects could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Demand for our products and services is substantially dependent on the levels of expenditures by our customers. A substantial or an extended decline in oil and gas prices could result in lower expenditures by our customers, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Demand for our products and services depends substantially on expenditures by our customers for the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas reserves. These expenditures are generally dependent on our customers’ views of future oil and natural gas prices and are sensitive to our customers’ views of future economic growth and the resulting impact on demand for oil and natural gas. Declines, as well as anticipated declines, in oil and gas prices could result in project modifications, delays or cancellations, general business disruptions, and delays in payment of, or nonpayment of, amounts that are owed to us. These effects could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Historically, oil and natural gas prices have experienced significant volatility and can be affected by a variety of factors, including: ● demand for hydrocarbons, which is affected by general economic and business conditions; ● the ability or willingness of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) to set and maintain production levels for oil; ● oil and gas production levels by non-OPEC countries; ● the level of excess production capacity; ● political and economic uncertainty and geopolitical unrest; ● the level of worldwide oil and gas exploration and production activity; ● access to potential resources; ● governmental policies and subsidies; ● the costs of exploring for, producing and delivering oil and gas; ● technological advances affecting energy consumption; and ● weather conditions. The oil and gas industry has historically experienced periodic downturns, which have been characterized by diminished demand for our products and services as well as and downward pressure on the prices we charge. Sustained market uncertainty can also result in lower demand and pricing for our products and services. A significant downturn or sustained market uncertainty could result in a reduction in demand for oilfield services and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. A significant portion of our revenue is derived from our non-United States operations, which exposes us to risks inherent in doing business in each of the over 85 countries in which we operate. Our non-United States operations accounted for approximately 69% of our consolidated revenue in 2018, 74% in 2017 and 80% in 2016. Operations in countries other than the United States are subject to various risks, including: ● volatility in political, social and economic conditions; ● exposure to expropriation of our assets or other governmental actions; ● social unrest, acts of terrorism, war or other armed conflict; ● confiscatory taxation or other adverse tax policies; ● deprivation of contract rights; ● trade and economic sanctions or other restrictions imposed by the European Union, the United States or other countries; ● exposure under the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) or similar legislation; ● restrictions on the repatriation of income or capital; ● currency exchange controls; ● inflation; and ● currency exchange rate fluctuations and devaluations. Our failure to comply with complex US and foreign laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our operations. We are subject to complex US and foreign laws and regulations, such as the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act and various other anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. We are also subject to trade control regulations and trade sanctions laws that restrict the movement of certain goods to, and certain operations in, various countries or with certain persons. Our ability to transfer people, products and data among certain countries is subject to maintaining required licenses and complying with these laws and regulations. The internal controls, policies and procedures, and employee training and compliance programs we have implemented to deter prohibited practices may not be effective in preventing employees, contractors or agents from violating or circumventing such internal policies or violating applicable laws and regulations. Any determination that we have violated or are responsible for violations of anti-bribery, trade control, trade sanctions or anti-corruption laws could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. Violations of international and US laws and regulations or the loss of any required licenses may result in fines and penalties, criminal sanctions, administrative remedies or restrictions on business conduct, and could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and our business, operating results and financial condition. Demand for our products and services could be reduced by existing and future legislation or regulations. Environmental advocacy groups and regulatory agencies in the United States and other countries have been focusing considerable attention on the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gasses and their potential role in climate change. Existing or future legislation and regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, as well as government initiatives to conserve energy or promote the use of alternative energy sources, may significantly curtail demand for and production of fossil fuels such as oil and gas in areas of the world where our customers operate, and thus adversely affect future demand for our products and services. This may, in turn, adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Some international, national, state and local governments and agencies have also adopted laws and regulations or are evaluating proposed legislation and regulations that are focused on the extraction of shale gas or oil using hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is a stimulation treatment routinely performed on oil and gas wells in low-permeability reservoirs. Specially engineered fluids are pumped at high pressure and rate into the reservoir interval to be treated, causing cracks in the target formation. Proppant, such as sand of a particular size, is mixed with the treatment fluid to keep the cracks open when the treatment is complete. Future hydraulic fracturing-related legislation or regulations could limit or ban hydraulic fracturing, or lead to operational delays and increased costs, and therefore reduce demand for our pressure pumping services. If such additional international, national, state or local legislation or regulations are enacted, it could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Environmental compliance costs and liabilities could reduce our earnings and cash available for operations. We are subject to increasingly stringent laws and regulations relating to importation and use of hazardous materials, radioactive materials, chemicals and explosives and to environmental protection, including laws and regulations governing air emissions, hydraulic fracturing, water discharges and waste management. We incur, and expect to continue to incur, capital and operating costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations. The technical requirements of these laws and regulations are becoming increasingly complex, stringent and expensive to implement. These laws may provide for “strict liability” for remediation costs, damages to natural resources or threats to public health and safety. Strict liability can render a party liable for damages without regard to negligence or fault on the part of the party. Some environmental laws provide for joint and several strict liability for remediation of spills and releases of hazardous substances. We use and generate hazardous substances and wastes in our operations. In addition, many of our current and former properties are, or have been, used for industrial purposes. Accordingly, we could become subject to material liabilities relating to the investigation and cleanup of potentially contaminated properties, and to claims alleging personal injury or property damage as the result of exposures to, or releases of, hazardous substances. In addition, stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations, new laws and regulations, the discovery of previously unknown contamination or the imposition of new or increased requirements could require us to incur costs or become the basis for new or increased liabilities that could reduce our earnings and our cash available for operations. We could be subject to substantial liability claims, including catastrophic well incidents, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The technical complexities of our operations expose us to a wide range of significant health, safety and environmental risks. Our offerings involve production-related activities, radioactive materials, chemicals, explosives and other equipment and services that are deployed in challenging exploration, development and production environments. An accident involving these services or equipment, or a failure of a product, could cause personal injury, loss of life, damage to or destruction of property, equipment or the environment, or suspension of operations. Catastrophic well incidents, including blow outs at a well site, may expose us to additional liabilities. Generally, we rely on contractual indemnities, releases, limitations on liability with our customers and insurance to protect us from potential liability related to such events. However, our insurance may not protect us against liability for certain kinds of events, including events involving pollution, or against losses resulting from business interruption. Moreover, we may not be able to maintain insurance at levels of risk coverage or policy limits that we deem adequate. Any damages caused by our services or products that are not covered by insurance, or are in excess of policy limits or subject to substantial deductibles, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. If we are unable to maintain technology leadership, this could adversely affect any competitive advantage we hold. The oilfield service industry is highly competitive. Our ability to continually provide competitive technology and services can impact our ability to defend, maintain or increase prices for our products and services, maintain market share, and negotiate acceptable contract terms with our customers. If we are unable to continue to develop and produce competitive technology or deliver it to our clients in a timely and cost-competitive manner in the various markets we serve, it could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Limitations on our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, including our trade secrets, could cause a loss in revenue and any competitive advantage we hold. Some of our products or services, and the processes we use to produce or provide them, have been granted patent protection, have patent applications pending, or are trade secrets. Our business may be adversely affected if our patents are unenforceable, the claims allowed under our patents are not sufficient to protect our technology, our patent applications are denied or our trade secrets are not adequately protected. Our competitors may be able to develop technology independently that is similar to ours without infringing on our patents or gaining access to our trade secrets, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We may be subject to litigation if another party claims that we have infringed upon its intellectual property rights. The tools, techniques, methodologies, programs and components we use to provide our services may infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. Infringement claims generally result in significant legal and other costs, and may distract management from running our business. Royalty payments under licenses from third parties, if available, would increase our costs. Additionally, developing non-infringing technologies would increase our costs. If a license were not available, we might not be able to continue providing a particular service or product, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Failure to obtain and retain skilled technical personnel could impede our operations. We require highly skilled personnel to operate and provide technical services and support for our business. Competition for the personnel required for our businesses intensifies as activity increases. In periods of high utilization it may become more difficult to find and retain qualified individuals. This could increase our costs or have other adverse effects on our operations. Severe weather may adversely affect our operations. Our business may be materially affected by severe weather in areas where we operate. This may entail the evacuation of personnel and stoppage of services. In addition, if particularly severe weather affects platforms or structures, this may result in a suspension of activities. Any of these events could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Cyberattacks could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operation. We rely heavily on information systems to conduct our business, including systems operated by or under the control of third parties. Although we devote significant resources to protect our systems and proprietary data, we have experienced and will continue to experience varying degrees of cyber incidents in the normal conduct of our business. There can be no assurance that the systems we have designed to prevent or limit the effects of cyber incidents or attacks will be sufficient to prevent or detect such incidents or attacks, or to avoid a material adverse impact on our systems when such incidents or attacks do occur. If our systems, or the systems of third parties for protecting against cybersecurity risks are circumvented or breached, or we are subject to ransomware or other attacks, this could result in disruptions to our business operations; unauthorized access to (or the loss of Company access to) competitively sensitive, confidential or other critical data or systems; loss of customers; financial losses; regulatory fines; misuse or corruption of critical data and proprietary information. Item 1B.