Drilling Tools International Corp

Risks Related to Our Business

Demand for our products and services depends on oil and gas industry activity and customer expenditure levels, which are directly affected by trends in the demand for, and price of, crude oil and natural gas as well as the availability of capital.

Demand for our products and services depends primarily upon the general level of activity in the oil and gas industry, including the number of drilling rigs in operation, the number of oil and gas wells being drilled, the depth and drilling conditions of these wells, the volume of production, the number of well completions and the cumulative feet drilled, the level of well remediation activity, and the corresponding capital spending by oil and gas companies. Oil and gas activity is in turn heavily influenced by, among other factors, current and anticipated oil and natural gas prices locally and worldwide. Historically, such prices have been volatile, and declines, whether actual or anticipated, thereof could negatively affect the level of oil and gas activity and related capital spending. Decreases in oil and gas activity and related capital spending could, in turn, adversely affect demand for our products and services and, in certain instances, result in the cancellation, modification or curtailing of demand for our services and the ability of our customers to pay us for our products and services. These factors could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Factors affecting the prices of oil and natural gas include, but are not limited to, the following:

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demand for hydrocarbons, which is affected by worldwide population growth, economic growth rates and general economic and business conditions;

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available excess production capacity within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) and the level of oil and gas production by non-OPEC countries;

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oil and gas inventory levels, production capacity and investment levels;

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the continued development of shale plays which may influence worldwide supply;

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transportation differentials associated with reduced capacity in and out of the storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma;

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costs of exploring for, producing and delivering oil and natural gas;

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political and economic uncertainty and geopolitical unrest;

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oil refining activity and shifts in end-customer preferences toward fuel efficiency and increased transition to electric vehicles;

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conservation measures and technological advances affecting energy consumption;

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government initiatives to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, including incentives to promote alternative energy sources;

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potential acceleration of the commercial development of alternative energy sources and adjacent products, such as wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, fuel cells and biofuels;

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access to capital and credit markets and investors’ focus on shareholder returns, which may affect our customers’ activity levels and spending for our products and services;

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changes in laws and regulations related to hydraulic fracturing activities, saltwater disposal or oil and gas drilling, particularly on public properties;

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changes in environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to the use of coal in power plants, as such laws and regulations can impact the demand for natural gas;

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adverse weather conditions, changes in weather patterns and natural disasters, including those related to climate change;

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supply disruptions in key oil producing regions;

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terrorist attacks and armed conflicts, including the current conflict between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas, which could cause temporary price increases, thereby dampening demand; and

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global pandemics

The oil and gas industry is cyclical and has historically experienced periodic downturns. These downturns have been characterized by diminished demand for our products and services and downward pressure on the prices we charge. These downturns generally cause many E&P companies to reduce their capital budgets and drilling activity. Any future downturn or expected downturn could result in a significant decline in demand for OFS and adversely affect our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Customer expenditure levels could also drop if our customers face difficulty in accessing capital. If commodity prices drop, our customers may face liquidity constraints and the deterioration of their respective credit worthiness. Moreover, our customers may have limited viable financing alternatives in light of unfavorable lending and investment policies held by financial institutions associated with concerns about environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry or its products. Similarly, certain institutional investors have divested themselves of investments in this industry. If any of our customers experience any of these challenges, they may reduce spending, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Growth in U.S. drilling activity, and our ability to benefit from such growth, could be adversely affected by any significant constraints in equipment, labor or takeaway capacity in the regions in which we operate.

Growth in U.S. drilling activity may be impacted by, among other things, the availability and cost of drilling equipment, pipeline capacity, and material and labor shortages. Significant growth in drilling activity could strain availability of the equipment, materials and labor required to drill and complete a well, together with the ability to move the produced oil and natural gas to market. Should significant constraints develop that materially impact the efficiency and economics of oil and gas producers, growth in U.S. drilling activity could be adversely affected. This would have an adverse impact on the demand for the products we sell and rent, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

We depend on a relatively small number of customers in a single industry. The loss of an important customer could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our customers are primarily diversified OFS companies and E&P operators. Historically, we have been dependent on a relatively small number of customers for our revenues. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, 28.2% and 27.6%, respectively, of our total revenue was earned from our two largest customers. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if an important customer ceases to engage us for our services on favorable terms, or at all, or fails to pay or delays paying us significant amounts of our outstanding receivables.

We have operated under a first call supply agreement with our largest customer since 2013. We and this customer have agreed to multiple extensions of this agreement, the most recent of which extends the agreement until February 28, 2025. However, if we are unable to successfully negotiate extensions in the future, then our ability to do business with this customer may be greatly reduced. Moreover, the supply agreements that we have entered into with our other customers are also of limited duration and require periodic extensions. Similarly, a failure to agree to such extensions may hinder our ability to do business with these customers.

Additionally, the E&P industry is characterized by frequent consolidation activity. Changes in ownership of our customers may result in the loss of, or reduction in, business from those customers. Moreover, customers may use their size and purchasing power to seek economies of scale and pricing concessions. Consolidation may also result in reduced capital spending by some of our customers, which may lead to a decreased demand for our services and equipment. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our level of sales to a customer that has consolidated or replace that revenue with increased business activity with other customers. As a result, the acquisition of one or more of our primary customers may have a significant negative impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. We are unable to predict what effect consolidations in the industry may have on price, capital spending by our customers, our market share and selling strategies, our competitive position, our ability to retain customers or our ability to negotiate favorable agreements with our customers.

Termination of, or failure to comply with, the terms of our non-exclusive distribution agreement with SDPI could have a material adverse effect on our business.

In 2016, we entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with SDPI with respect to the Drill-N-Ream™. In 2017, SDPI determined that we did not meet defined market share goals, and as a result our distribution rights with respect to the Drill-N-Ream™ are no longer contractually exclusive. Accordingly, SDPI could choose to distribute the Drill-N-Ream™ through other companies who will then compete with us in this space. These risks could be exacerbated if SDPI were to enter into an exclusive distribution agreement with, or sell the intellectual property rights to the Drill-N-Ream™ to, one of our competitors, or if one of our competitors were to acquire SDPI. While we remain the Drill-N-Ream™’s sole North American distributor, we cannot guarantee that this will remain the case. Our inability to remain the sole North American distributor of the Drill-N-Ream™ could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

We may be unable to employ a sufficient number of skilled and qualified workers to sustain or expand our current operations.

The delivery of our products and services requires personnel with specialized skills and experience. Our ability to be productive and profitable will depend upon our ability to attract and retain skilled workers. In addition, our ability to expand our operations depends in part on our ability to increase the size of our skilled labor force. The demand for skilled workers is high, and the cost to attract and retain qualified personnel has increased. During industry downturns, skilled workers may leave the industry, reducing the availability of qualified workers when conditions improve. In addition, a significant increase in the wages paid by competing employers both within and outside of our industry could result in increases in the wage rates that we must pay. Throughout 2021 and 2022, our expenses related to salaries and wages increased materially, especially those expenses related to certain key oil and gas producing regions, as we sought to meet increasing customer demand. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we experienced similar increases. If we are not able to employ and retain skilled workers, our ability to respond quickly to customer demands or strong market conditions may inhibit our growth, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business depends on the continuing services of certain of our key managers and employees.

We depend on key personnel. The loss of key personnel could adversely impact our business if we are unable to implement our strategy and successfully manage our business in their absence. The loss of qualified employees or an inability to retain and motivate additional highly-skilled employees required for the operation and expansion of our business could hinder our ability to successfully maintain and expand our market share.

Equity interests in us are a substantial portion of the net worth of our executive officers and several of our other senior managers. As a result, those executive officers and senior managers may have less incentive to remain employed by us if they were to sell their equity interests. After terminating their employment with us, some of them may become employed by our competitors.

We are an emerging growth company and smaller reporting company and as such are subject to various risks unique only to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, including but not limited to, no requirement to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Out Business Startups Act of 2012 ("JOBS Act"). We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) December 31, 2026, the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the ROC initial public offering; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.235 billion or more; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under applicable Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") rules.

We expect that we will remain an emerging growth company for the foreseeable future but cannot retain our emerging growth company status indefinitely and will no longer qualify as an emerging growth company on or before December 31, 2026. References herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on exemptions from specified disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include:

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not being required to comply with the requirement of auditor attestation of our internal controls over financial reporting;

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not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;

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reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation; and

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Additionally, as an emerging growth company and smaller reporting company our status as such carries various unique risks such as the risk that our financial statements may not be comparable to those of other public companies, and the risk that we will not be required to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting until our second annual report following our initial public offering.

For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we expect that we will take advantage of the reduced disclosure obligations available to us as a result of that classification. We have taken advantage of certain of those reduced reporting burdens in these financial statements. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock.

An emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will not be required to adopt new or revised accounting standards on the dates on which adoption of such standards is required for other public reporting companies.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, and have elected to take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosure available for smaller reporting companies.

The lack of availability of the tools we purchase to rent to our customers and inflation may increase our cost of operations beyond what we can recover through price increases.

Our ability to source tools, such as drill collars, stabilizers, crossover subs, wellbore conditioning tools, drill pipe, hevi-wate drill pipe and tubing, at reasonable cost is critical to our ability to successfully compete. Due to a shortage of steel caused primarily by production disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased demand as economies rebounded, steel and assembled component prices have been and continue to be elevated. Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected by our inability to manage rising costs and the availability of the tools that we rent to our customers. Additionally, freight costs, specifically ocean freight costs, have risen significantly due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, a scarcity of shipping containers, congested seaports, a shortage of commercial drivers, capacity constraints on vessels or lockdowns in certain markets. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to purchase and move these tools on a timely basis or at commercially viable prices, nor can we be certain of the impact of changes to tariffs and future legislation that may impact trade with China or other countries. Should our current suppliers be unable to provide the necessary tools or otherwise fail to deliver such tools timely and in the quantities required, resulting delays in the provision of rentals to our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

The United States has recently experienced the highest inflation in decades primarily due to supply-chain issues, a shortage of labor and a build-up of demand for goods and services. The most noticeable adverse impact to our business has been increased freight, materials and vehicle-related costs as well as higher salaries and wages. To date, we do not believe that inflation has had a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations because we have been able to increase the prices we receive from our customers. We cannot be sure how long elevated inflation rates will continue. We cannot be confident that all costs will return to the lower levels experienced in prior years even as the rate of inflation abates. Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected by these rising costs to the extent we are unable to recoup them from our customers.

Delays in obtaining, or inability to obtain or renew, permits or authorizations by our customers for their operations could impair our business.

Our customers are required to obtain permits or authorizations from one or more governmental agencies or other third parties to perform drilling and completion activities, including hydraulic fracturing. Such permits or approvals are typically required by state agencies but can also be required by federal and local governmental agencies or other third parties. The requirements for such permits or authorizations vary depending on the location where such drilling and completion activities will be conducted. As with most permitting and authorization processes, there is a degree of uncertainty as to whether a permit will be granted, the time it will take for a permit or approval to be issued and the conditions which may be imposed in connection with the granting of the permit. In some jurisdictions, certain regulatory authorities have delayed or suspended the issuance of permits or authorizations while the potential environmental impacts associated with issuing such permits can be studied and appropriate mitigation measures evaluated.

In Texas, rural water districts have begun to impose restrictions on water use and may require permits for water used in drilling and completion activities. In addition, in January 2021, President Biden indefinitely suspended new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices. Although the moratorium was enjoined nationwide in June 2021, and again in August 2022 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the June 2021 injunction, the Biden Administration may take further actions to limit new oil and natural gas leases.

In November 2021, the Department of the Interior completed its review and issued a report on the federal oil and gas leasing program. The Department of the Interior’s report recommends several changes to federal leasing practices, including changes to royalty payments, bidding and bonding requirements. The effects of this report or other initiatives to reform the federal leasing process could result in additional restrictions or limitations on the issuance of federal leases and permits for drilling on public lands. Permitting, authorization or renewal delays, the inability to obtain new permits or the revocation of current permits could impact our customers’ operations and cause a loss of revenue and potentially have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Competition within the oil and gas drilling tool rental industry may adversely affect our ability to market our services.

The oil and gas drilling tool rental tool industry is highly competitive and fragmented. The number of rental tool companies active in a given market may exceed the corresponding demand therefor, which could result in active price competition. Some oil and gas drilling companies prioritize rental prices when choosing to contract with a rental tool company, which may further increase competition based primarily on price. In addition, adverse market conditions lower demand for drilling equipment, which results in excess equipment and lower utilization rates. If market conditions in our operating areas deteriorate from current levels or if adverse market conditions persist, the prices we are able to charge and utilization rates may decline. Moreover, our customers may choose to purchase some or all of the tools that they typically rent from us, thereby reducing the volume of business that we conduct with such customers. Any significant future increase in overall market capacity for the rental equipment or services that we offer could adversely affect our business, results of operations and cash flows.

We may fail to fully execute, integrate, or realize the benefits expected from acquisitions, which may require significant management attention, disrupt our business and adversely affect our results of operations.

As part of our business strategy and to remain competitive, we continually evaluate acquiring or making investments in complementary companies, products or technologies. We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates or complete such acquisitions on favorable terms. We may incur significant expenses, divert employee and management time and attention from other business-related tasks and our organic strategy and incur other unanticipated complications while engaging with potential target companies where no transaction is eventually completed.

If we do complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals or expected growth, and any acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by our customers, or we could experience unexpected competition from market participants. Any integration process may require significant time and resources. We may not be able to manage the process successfully and may experience a decline in our profitability as we incur expenses prior to fully realizing the benefits of the acquisition. We could also expend significant cash and incur acquisition related costs and other unanticipated liabilities associated with the acquisition, the product or the technology, such as contractual obligations, potential security vulnerabilities of the acquired company and its products and services and potential intellectual property infringement. In addition, any acquired technology or product may not comply with legal or regulatory requirements and may expose us to regulatory risk and require us to make additional investments to make them compliant.

We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology or personnel, or accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction, including accounting charges and tax liabilities. We could become subject to legal claims following an acquisition or fail to accurately forecast the potential impact of any claims. Any of these issues could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

New technology that enhances the functionality, performance reliability and design of downhole drilling tools currently on the market may become prevalent in the OFS industry. We may face difficulty obtaining these new tools for the purpose of renting them to our customers. Although we believe our fleet of rental equipment currently gives us a competitive advantage, if competitors develop fleets that are more technically advanced than ours, we may lose market share or be placed at a competitive disadvantage. Further, we may face competitive pressure to acquire certain new tools at a substantial cost. Some of our competitors have greater financial, technical and personnel resources that may allow them to enjoy various competitive advantages in the acquisition of new tools. We cannot be certain that we will be able to continue to acquire new tools or convert our existing tools to meet new performance requirements. Such an inability may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows, including a reduction in the value of assets, and the rates that may be charged for their rental.

We rent tools used in the drilling of oil and gas wells. This equipment may subject us to liability, including claims for personal injury, property damage and environmental contamination, or reputational harm if it fails to perform to specifications.

We rent tools used in oil and gas exploration, development and production. Some of these tools are designed to operate in high-temperature and/or high-pressure environments, and some tools are designed for use in hydraulic fracturing operations. Because of applications to which our tools are exposed, particularly those involving high pressure environments, a failure of such tools, or a failure of our customers to maintain or operate the tools properly, could cause damage to the tools, damage to the property of customers and others, personal injury and environmental contamination and could lead to a variety of claims against us or reputational harm that could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

We indemnify our customers against certain claims and liabilities resulting or arising from our provision of goods or services to them. In addition, we rely on customer indemnifications, generally, and third-party insurance as part of our risk mitigation strategy. However, our insurance may not be adequate to cover our liabilities. In addition, our customers may be unable to satisfy indemnification claims against them. Further, insurance companies may refuse to honor their policies, or insurance may not generally be available in the future, or if available, premiums may not be commercially justifiable. We could incur substantial liabilities and damages that are either not covered by insurance or that are in excess of policy limits, or incur liability at a time when we are not able to obtain liability insurance. Such potential liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Our operations, and those of our customers, are subject to hazards inherent in the oil and gas industry, which could expose us, and our customers, to substantial liability and cause us to lose substantial revenue.

Risks inherent in our industry include the risks of equipment defects, installation errors, the presence of multiple contractors at the wellsite over which we have no control, vehicle accidents, fires, explosions, blowouts, surface cratering, uncontrollable flows of gas or well fluids, pipe or pipeline failures, abnormally pressured formations and various environmental hazards such as oil spills and releases of, and exposure to, hazardous substances. For example, our operations are subject to risks associated with hydraulic fracturing, including any mishandling, surface spillage or potential underground migration of fracturing fluids, including chemical additives. Both we and our customers are subject to these risks.

The occurrence of any of these events could result in substantial losses to us or to our customers due to injury or loss of life, severe damage to or destruction of property, natural resources and equipment, pollution or other environmental damage, clean-up responsibilities, regulatory investigations and penalties, suspension of operations and repairs required to resume operations. The cost of managing such risks may be significant. The frequency and severity of such incidents will affect operating costs, insurability and relationships with customers, employees and regulators.

Should these risks materialize for us, our customers may elect not to rent our tools or utilize our services if they view our environmental or safety record as unacceptable, which could cause us to lose customers and substantial revenues. Should these risks materialize for our customers, they may also suffer similar negative consequences with respect to their own customers and clients. If this were to happen, our customers may no longer be in a position to do business with us, thereby adversely affecting our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Our insurance may not be adequate to cover all losses or liabilities we may suffer. Also, insurance may no longer be available to us, or its availability may be at premium levels that do not justify its purchase. The occurrence of a significant uninsured claim, a claim in excess of the insurance coverage limits maintained by us or a claim at a time when we are not able to obtain liability insurance could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct normal business operations and on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, we may not be able to secure additional insurance or bonding that might be required by new governmental regulations. This may cause us to restrict our operations, which might severely impact our business, results of operations and cash flows.

We typically enter into agreements with our customers governing the provision of our services, which usually include certain indemnification provisions for losses resulting from operations. Such agreements may require each party to indemnify the other against certain claims regardless of the negligence or other fault of the indemnified party. However, many states place limitations on contractual indemnity agreements, particularly agreements that indemnify a party against the consequences of its own negligence. Furthermore, certain states, including Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming, have enacted statutes generally referred to as “oilfield anti-indemnity acts” expressly prohibiting certain indemnity agreements contained in or related to OFS agreements. Such oilfield anti-indemnity acts may restrict or void a party’s indemnification of us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Restrictive covenants in the Credit Facility Agreement could limit our growth and our ability to finance our operations, fund our capital needs, respond to changing conditions and engage in other business activities that may be in our best interests.

The Amended and Restated Revolving Credit, Security and Guaranty Agreement among Drilling Tools International, Inc., certain of its subsidiaries, DTIC and PNC Bank, National Association, dated June 20, 2023 (“Credit Facility Agreement”) imposes operating and financial restrictions. These restrictions limit our ability to, among other things, subject to permitted exceptions:

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incur additional indebtedness;

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make investments or loans;

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create liens;

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consummate mergers and similar fundamental changes;

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declare and pay dividends and distributions; and

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enter into certain transactions with affiliates.

The restrictions contained in the Credit Facility Agreement could:

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limit the ability to plan for, or react to, market conditions, to meet capital needs or otherwise to restrict our activities or business plan; and

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adversely affect the ability to finance our operations or to engage in other business activities that would be in our interest.

The Credit Facility Agreement requires compliance with a specified financial ratio. The ability to comply with this ratio may be affected by events beyond our control and, as a result, this ratio may not be met in circumstances when it is tested. This financial ratio restriction could limit the ability to obtain future financings, make needed capital expenditures, withstand a continued downturn in our business or a downturn in the economy in general or otherwise conduct necessary corporate activities. Declines in oil and natural gas prices, and therefore a reduction in our customers’ activity, could result in failure to meet one or more of the covenants under the Credit Facility Agreement which could require refinancing or amendment of such obligations resulting in the payment of consent fees or higher interest rates, or require a capital raise at an inopportune time or on terms not favorable.

A breach of any of these covenants or the inability to comply with the required financial ratios or financial condition tests could result in a default under the Credit Facility Agreement. A default under the Credit Facility Agreement, if not cured or waived, could result in acceleration of all indebtedness outstanding thereunder.

We may incur indebtedness to execute our long-term growth strategy, which may reduce our profitability.

Maintaining a relevant rental fleet requires significant capital. We may require additional capital in the future to maintain and refresh our fleet. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we spent $44 million, and $25 million, respectively, to purchase property, plant and equipment. Historically, we have financed these investments through cash flows from operations and external borrowings. These sources of capital may not be available to us in the future. If we are unable to fund capital expenditures for any reason, we may not be able to capture available growth opportunities or effectively maintain our existing assets and any such failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we incur additional indebtedness, our profitability may be reduced.

Political, regulatory, economic and social disruptions in the countries in which we conduct business could adversely affect our business or results of operations.

In addition to our facilities in the United States, we operate stocking points in Scotland and Germany and facilities in Canada and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, we rent downhole drilling tools in Ukraine to Ukraine-based directional drilling companies and drilling contractors through Denimex, which acts as our representative in Ukraine. Instability and unforeseen changes in any of the markets in which we conduct business could have an adverse effect on the demand for, or supply of, the products that we rent and the services that we provide, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows. These factors include, but are not limited to:

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nationalization and expropriation;

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potentially burdensome taxation;

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inflationary and recessionary markets, including capital and equity markets;

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civil unrest, labor issues, political instability, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, cyber-terrorism, military activity and wars;

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outbreaks of pandemic or contagious diseases;

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supply disruptions in key oil producing countries;

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tariffs, trade restrictions, trade protection measures or price controls;

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foreign ownership restrictions;

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import or export licensing requirements;

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restrictions on operations, trade practices, trade partners and investment decisions resulting from domestic and foreign laws and regulations;

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changes in, and the administration of, laws and regulations;

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inability to repatriate income or capital;

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reductions in availability of qualified personnel;

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development and implementation of new technologies;

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foreign currency fluctuations or currency restrictions; and

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fluctuations in the interest rate component of forward foreign currency rates.

We may not be able to manage our growth successfully.

The growth of our operations will depend upon our ability to expand our customer base in our existing markets and to enter new markets in a timely manner at reasonable costs, organically or through acquisitions. In order for us to recover expenses incurred in entering new markets and obtaining new customers, we must attract and retain customers on economic terms and for extended periods. Customer growth depends on several factors outside of our control, including economic and demographic conditions, such as population changes, job and income growth, housing starts, new business formation and the overall level of economic activity. We may experience difficulty managing our growth, integrating new customers and employees, and complying with applicable regulations. Expanding our operations also may require continued development of our operating and financial controls and may place additional stress on our management and operational resources. We may be unable to manage our growth and development successfully.

A failure of our information technology infrastructure and cyberattacks could adversely impact us.

We depend on our IT systems, in particular COMPASS, for the efficient operation of our business. Accordingly, we rely upon the capacity, reliability and security of our IT hardware and software infrastructure and our ability to expand and update this infrastructure in response to our changing needs. Despite our implementation of security measures, our systems are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, natural disasters, incursions by intruders or hackers, failures in hardware or software, power fluctuations, cyber terrorists and other similar disruptions. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that COMPASS, or features thereof, are not the protected intellectual property of third parties. If this is the case, these third parties may seek to protect their respective intellectual property rights, thereby hindering, or completely eliminating, our ability to use COMPASS and leverage its benefits.

Additionally, we rely on third parties to support the operation of our IT hardware and software infrastructure, and in certain instances, utilize web-based applications. We also provide proprietary and client data to certain third parties, and such third parties may be the subject of IT failures or cyberattacks. The failure of our IT systems or those of our vendors or third parties to whom we disclose certain information to perform as anticipated for any reason or any significant breach of security could disrupt our business and result in numerous adverse consequences, including reduced effectiveness and efficiency of operations, inappropriate disclosure of confidential and proprietary information, reputational harm, increased overhead costs and loss of important information, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, we may be required to incur significant costs to protect against damage caused by these disruptions or security breaches in the future.

Our results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted by changes in accounting principles.

The accounting for our business is subject to change based on the evolution of our business model, interpretations of relevant accounting principles, enforcement of existing or new regulations, and changes in policies, rules, regulations, and interpretations of accounting and financial reporting requirements of the SEC or other regulatory agencies. Adoption of a change in accounting principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported results of operations and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the adoption of such change. It is difficult to predict the impact of future changes to accounting principles and accounting policies over financial reporting, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and could require significant investment in systems and personnel.

Adverse and unusual weather conditions may affect our operations.

Our operations may be materially affected by severe weather conditions in areas where we operate. Severe weather, such as hurricanes, high winds and seas, blizzards and extreme temperatures may cause evacuation of personnel, curtailment of services and suspension of operations, inability to deliver tools to customers in accordance with contract schedules and loss of or damage to our tools and facilities. In addition, variations from normal weather patterns can have a significant impact on demand for oil and natural gas, thereby reducing demand for our tools and services.

Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters

Our operations require us to comply with various domestic and international regulations, violations of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We are exposed to a variety of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations relating to matters such as environmental, workplace, health and safety, labor and employment, customs and tariffs, export and re-export controls, economic sanctions, currency exchange, bribery and corruption and taxation. These laws and regulations are complex, frequently change and have tended to become more stringent over time. They may be adopted, enacted, amended, enforced or interpreted in such a manner that the incremental cost of compliance could adversely impact our business, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition to our U.S. operations, we operate stocking points in Scotland and Germany and facilities in Canada and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, we rent downhole drilling tools in Ukraine to Ukraine-based directional drilling companies and drilling contractors through Denimex, which acts as our representative in Ukraine. Our operations outside of the United States require us to comply with numerous anti-bribery and anti-corruption regulations. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, among others, applies to us and our operations. Our policies, procedures and programs may not always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents, and severe criminal or civil sanctions may be imposed as a result of violations of these laws. We are also subject to the risks that our employees and agents outside of the United States may fail to comply with applicable laws.

In addition, we purchase tools for use in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine for use in such countries. Most movement of these tools involves imports and exports. As a result, compliance with multiple trade sanctions, embargoes and import/export laws and regulations pose a constant challenge and risk to us since a portion of our business is conducted outside of the United States through our subsidiaries. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could materially affect our business, results of operations and cash flows.

Compliance with environmental laws and regulations may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Environmental laws and regulations in the United States and foreign countries affect the services we provide and the equipment we rent and service, as well as the facilities we operate. Such laws and regulations also impact the oil and gas industry more broadly, thereby impacting demand for our products and equipment. For example, we may be affected by such laws as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Further, our customers may be subject to a range of laws and regulations governing hydraulic fracturing, drilling and greenhouse gas emissions.

We are required to invest financial and managerial resources to comply with environmental laws and regulations and believe that we will continue to be required to do so in the future. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial and mitigation obligations, and the issuance of orders enjoining operations. These laws and regulations, as well as the finalizing of other new laws and regulations affecting our operations or the exploration and production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas by our customers, could adversely affect our business and operating results by increasing our costs of compliance, increasing the costs of compliance and costs of doing business for our customers, limiting the demand for our products and services, or restricting our operations. Increased regulation or a move away from the use of fossil fuels caused by additional regulation could also reduce demand for our products and services.

Existing or future laws and regulations related to greenhouse gases and climate change and related public and governmental initiatives and additional compliance obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, prospects, and financial condition.

Changes in environmental requirements related to greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, or alternative energy sources may negatively impact demand for our products and services. For example, oil and natural gas E&P may decline as a result of environmental requirements or laws, regulations and policies promoting the use of alternative forms of energy, including land use policies and other actions to restrict oil and gas leasing and permitting in response to environmental and climate change concerns. In January 2021, the Acting Secretary of the Department of the Interior issued an order suspending new leasing and drilling permits for fossil fuel production on federal lands and waters for 60 days. President Biden then issued an executive order indefinitely suspending new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices. Several states filed lawsuits challenging the suspension and in June 2021, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a nationwide temporary injunction blocking the suspension. The Department of the Interior successfully appealed the U.S. District Court’s ruling in August 2022, but the moratorium was again enjoined that month. However, the Biden Administration may take further actions to limit new oil and natural gas leases. Further, to the extent that the Department of Interior’s report or other initiatives to reform federal leasing practices result in the development of additional restrictions on drilling, limitations on the availability of leases, or restrictions on the ability to obtain required permits, it could impact our customers’ opportunities and reduce demand for our products and services in the aforementioned areas.

Federal, state and local agencies continue to evaluate climate-related legislation and other regulatory initiatives that would restrict emissions of greenhouse gases in areas in which we conduct business. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new methane emissions regulations for certain oil and gas facilities, while the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 established a charge on methane emissions above certain limits from such facilities . Because our business depends on the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, existing or future laws and regulations related to greenhouse gases could have a negative impact on our business if such laws or regulations reduce demand for oil and natural gas. Likewise, such laws or regulations may result in additional compliance obligations with respect to the release, capture, sequestration and use of greenhouse gases. These additional obligations could increase our costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition.

Many of our customers utilize hydraulic fracturing in their operations. Environmental concerns have been raised regarding the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing on underground water supplies and seismic activity. These concerns have led to several regulatory and governmental initiatives in the United States to restrict the hydraulic fracturing process, which could have an adverse impact on our customers’ production activities. Although we do not conduct hydraulic fracturing, increased regulation and attention given to the hydraulic fracturing process could lead to greater opposition to oil and gas production activities using hydraulic fracturing techniques. In December 2021, the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, suspended the use of deep wastewater disposal wells in four oil-producing counties in West Texas. The suspension is intended to mitigate earthquakes thought to be caused by the injection of waste fluids, including saltwater, that are a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing into disposal wells. The ban will require oil and gas production companies to find other options to handle the wastewater, which may include piping or trucking it longer distances to other locations not under the ban. The finalization of new laws or regulations at the federal, state, local or foreign level imposing reporting obligations on, or otherwise limiting, delaying or banning, the hydraulic fracturing process or other processes on which hydraulic fracturing and subsequent hydrocarbon production relies, such as water disposal, could make it more difficult to complete oil and natural gas wells. Further, it could increase our customers’ costs of compliance and doing business, and otherwise adversely affect the hydraulic fracturing services they perform, which could negatively impact demand for our products.

Increasing attention by the public and government agencies to climate change and Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) matters could also negatively impact demand for our products and services and the products of our oil and gas producing customers. In recent years, increasing attention has been given to corporate activities related to ESG in public discourse and the investment community. 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 through the investment and voting practices of investment advisers, public pension funds, universities and other members of the investing community. These activities include increasing attention and demands for action related to climate change and energy rebalancing matters, such as promoting the use of substitutes to fossil fuel products and encouraging the divestment of fossil fuel equities, as well as pressuring lenders and other financial services companies to limit or curtail activities with fossil fuel companies. If this were to continue, it could have a material adverse effect on the valuation of the Common Stock and our ability to access equity capital markets.

In addition, our business could be impacted by initiatives to address greenhouse gases and climate change and incentives to conserve energy or use alternative energy sources. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, includes financial and other incentives to increase wind and solar electric generation and encourage consumers to use these alternative energy sources. Additional similar state or federal initiatives to incentivize a shift away from fossil fuels could reduce demand for hydrocarbons, thereby reducing demand for our products and services and negatively impacting our business.

Changes in tax laws or tax rates, adverse positions taken by taxing authorities and tax audits could impact our operating results.

We are subject to the jurisdiction of numerous domestic and foreign taxing authorities. Changes in tax laws or tax rates, the resolution of tax assessments or audits by various tax authorities could impact our operating results. In addition, we may periodically restructure our legal entity organization. If taxing authorities were to disagree with our tax positions in connection with any such restructurings, our effective income tax rate could be impacted. The final determination of our income tax liabilities involves the interpretation of local tax laws, tax treaties and related authorities in each taxing jurisdiction, as well as the significant use of estimates and assumptions regarding future operations and results and the timing of income and expenses. We may be audited and receive tax assessments from taxing authorities that may result in assessment of additional taxes that are ultimately resolved with the authorities or through the courts. We believe these assessments may occasionally be based on erroneous and even arbitrary interpretations of local tax law. Resolution of any tax matter involves uncertainties and there are no assurances that the outcomes will be favorable. If U.S. or foreign tax authorities change applicable tax laws, our overall taxes could increase, and our business, financial condition or results of operating may be adversely impacted.

If we are unable to fully protect our intellectual property rights or trade secrets, we may suffer a loss in revenue or any competitive advantage or market share we hold, or we may incur costs in litigation defending intellectual property rights.

While we have some patents and others pending, we do not have patents relating to many of our key processes and technology. If we are not able to maintain the confidentiality of our trade secrets, or if our competitors are able to replicate our technology or services, our competitive advantage would be diminished. We also cannot provide any assurance that any patents we may obtain in the future would provide us with any significant commercial benefit or would allow us to prevent our competitors from employing comparable technologies or processes. We may initiate litigation from time to time to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights. In any such litigation, a defendant may assert that our intellectual property rights are invalid or unenforceable. Third parties from time to time may also initiate litigation against us by asserting that our businesses infringe, impair, misappropriate, dilute or otherwise violate another party’s intellectual property rights. We may not prevail in any such litigation, and our intellectual property rights may be found invalid or unenforceable or our products and services may be found to infringe, impair, misappropriate, dilute or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others. The results or costs of any such litigation may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any litigation concerning intellectual property could be protracted and costly, is inherently unpredictable and could have an adverse effect on our business, regardless of its outcome.

Moreover, third parties on whom we rely for certain tools may be subject to litigation to defend their intellectual property rights. If such litigation ends adversely for the third party with whom we deal, our ability to obtain such tools could be significantly limited or restricted. This could have a material adverse effect on our business.

As a result of plans to expand our business operations, including to jurisdictions in which tax laws may not be favorable, our obligations may change or fluctuate, become significantly more complex or become subject to greater risk of examination by taxing authorities, any of which could adversely affect our after-tax profitability and financial results.

Our effective tax rates may fluctuate widely in the future, particularly if our business expands domestically or internationally. Future effective tax rates could be affected by operating losses in jurisdictions where no tax benefit can be recorded under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in tax laws. Factors that could materially affect our future effective tax rates include, but are not limited to: (a) changes in tax laws or the regulatory environment, (b) changes in accounting and tax standards or practices, (c) changes in the composition of operating income by tax jurisdiction and (d) pre-tax operating results of our business.

Additionally, we are subject to significant income, withholding, and other tax obligations in the United States and may become subject to taxation in numerous additional U.S. state and local and non-U.S. jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Our after-tax profitability and financial results could be subject to volatility or be affected by numerous factors, including (a) the availability of tax deductions, credits, exemptions, refunds and other benefits to reduce tax liabilities, (b) changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, if any, (c) the expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances, (d) the tax treatment of stock-based compensation, (e) changes in the relative amount of earnings subject to tax in the various jurisdictions, (f) the potential business expansion into, or otherwise becoming subject to tax in, additional jurisdictions, (g) changes to existing intercompany structure (and any costs related thereto) and business operations, (h) the extent of intercompany transactions and the extent to which taxing authorities in relevant jurisdictions respect those intercompany transactions, and (i) the ability to structure business operations in an efficient and competitive manner. Outcomes from audits or examinations by taxing authorities could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition. Additionally, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and several foreign tax authorities have increasingly focused attention on intercompany transfer pricing with respect to sales of products and services and the use of intangibles. Tax authorities could disagree with our intercompany charges, cross-jurisdictional transfer pricing or other matters and assess additional taxes. If we do not prevail in any such disagreements, our profitability may be affected.

Risks Related to Ownership of the Common Stock

If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the market price of the Common Stock.

As a public company, we are required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We continue to refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in filings with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules, and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and financial officers.

We will continue to refine our internal control over financial reporting. We will be required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with these requirements within the prescribed time period, we have been engaging, and will continue to engage, in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting. This process is both costly and challenging, and requires us to dedicate significant internal resources. We may also engage outside consultants and hire new employees with the requisite skillset and experience. We are developing a plan to assess and document the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. There is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed time period or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Moreover, our testing, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal additional deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses.

Any failure to implement and maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, including the identification of one or more material weaknesses, could cause investors to lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial statements and reports, which would likely adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock. In addition, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC and other regulatory authorities.

The market price of the Common Stock may be volatile, which could cause the value of your investment to decline.

The market price of the Common Stock has been and may continue to be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations depending on a number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the Common Stock. Factors affecting the trading price of the Common Stock may include:

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changes in financial estimates prepared by and recommendations provided by securities analysts concerning us or the market in general;

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the perceived success of the Merger;

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announced or completed acquisitions of businesses, commercial relationships, products, services or technologies by us or our competitors;

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sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of the Common Stock;

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any major change in the composition of the board of directors of DTIC ("the Board") or our management;

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general economic and political conditions such as recessions, interest rates, fuel prices, trade wars, pandemics (such as COVID-19), currency fluctuations and acts of war or terrorism; and

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other risk factors listed under this “Risk Factors” section.

Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of the Common Stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The stock markets have, from time to time, experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. Stock prices of many companies have fluctuated in a manner often unrelated to the operating performance of those companies. Shareholder activism, which could take many forms or arise in a variety of situations, has been increasing recently. Volatility in the market price of the Common Stock or other reasons may in the future cause us to become the target of securities litigation or shareholder activism. Shareholder activism or securities litigation could give rise to perceived uncertainties regarding the future of our business and it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business and adversely affect relationships with suppliers and other parties.

Further, although the Common Stock is currently listed on Nasdaq, an active trading market for the Common Stock may not be sustained. Accordingly, if an active trading market for these securities is not maintained, the liquidity of the Common Stock, your ability to sell your shares of the Common Stock when desired and the prices that you may obtain for your shares will be adversely affected.

We expect our expenditures to continue to be significant in the foreseeable future as we expand our business, and that our level of expenditures will be significantly affected by the performance of the oil and gas industry. Our future capital requirements may be uncertain and actual capital requirements may be different from those currently anticipated, as we look to expand the size of our business, both in terms of fleet size and geographic scope. We may need to seek equity or debt financing to finance a portion of our capital expenditures. Such financing might not be available to us in a timely manner or on terms that are acceptable, or at all.

Our ability to obtain the necessary financing to carry out our business plan is subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and investor acceptance of our business model. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms and conditions of such financing unattractive or unavailable to us. If we are unable to raise sufficient funds, we may have to significantly reduce our spending, delay or cancel our planned activities or substantially change our corporate structure. We might not be able to obtain any funding, and we might not have sufficient resources to conduct our business as planned, both of which could mean that we would be forced to curtail or discontinue our operations.

In addition, our future capital needs and other business reasons could require us to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain additional borrowing capacity under a credit facility. The sale of additional equity or equity-linked securities could dilute our holders of Common Stock ("Stockholders"). Moreover, the net proceeds received by us from an offering of equity securities could be reduced if the price of the Common Stock is negatively impacted by a sale of a large number of the shares of Common Stock registered by the Registration Statement. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could subject us to operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations or our ability to pay dividends to our Stockholders. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need or want them, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

As a public company, we will incur significant increased expenses and administrative burdens which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

As a public company, we face increased legal, accounting, administrative and other costs and expenses that we did not incur as a private company. These expenses may increase even more after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the requirements of Section 404, and rules and regulations subsequently implemented by the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the rules and regulations promulgated and to be promulgated thereunder, the PCAOB and Nasdaq, impose additional reporting and other obligations on public companies. Compliance with public company requirements will continue to lead to increased costs and make certain activities more time consuming. A number of those requirements require us to carry out activities we have not done previously. For example, we have created new board committees, have entered into new insurance policies and adopted new internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. In addition, we have incurred, and will continue to incur, expenses associated with SEC reporting requirements. We have expanded our staff and may be required to continue expanding to ensure that our workforce has the requisite experience to implement these changes.

Furthermore, if any issues in complying with those requirements are identified (for example, if management or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies a material weakness in the internal control over financial reporting), we could incur additional costs rectifying those issues, the existence of those issues could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of it and it may be more expensive to obtain director and officer liability insurance. Risks associated with our status as a public company may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on the Board or as executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims and the time and resources necessary to resolve them could divert the resources of our management and adversely affect our business and results of operations. The additional reporting and other obligations imposed by these rules and regulations will increase legal and financial compliance costs and the costs of related legal, accounting and administrative activities. These increased costs will require us to divert a significant amount of money that could otherwise be used to expand the business and achieve strategic objectives. Advocacy efforts by Stockholders and third parties may also prompt additional changes in governance and reporting requirements, which could further increase costs.

Our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of DTIC ("Certificate of Incorporation") designates specific courts as the exclusive forum for substantially all stockholder litigation matters, which could limit the ability of our Stockholders to obtain a favorable forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our Certificate of Incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against current or former directors, officers or other employees for breach of fiduciary duty, any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware ("DGCL"), our Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware or any other action asserting an “internal corporate claim” (as defined in Section 115 of the DGCL), confer jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware or other state courts of the State of Delaware), unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum. This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. This provision may limit a Stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us and our directors, officers or other employees and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers and other employees. Furthermore, Stockholders may be subject to increased costs to bring these claims, and the exclusive forum provision could have the effect of discouraging claims or limiting investors’ ability to bring claims in a judicial forum that they find favorable.

In addition, the enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with one or more actions or proceedings described above, a court could rule that this provision in our Certificate of Incorporation is inapplicable or unenforceable. In March 2020, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a decision in Salzberg, et al. v. Sciabacucchi which found that an exclusive forum provision providing for claims under the Securities Act to be brought in federal court is facially valid under Delaware law. We intend to enforce this provision, but we do not know whether courts in other jurisdictions will agree with this decision or enforce it. If a court were to find the exclusive forum provision contained in our Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Shareholder litigation and regulatory inquiries and investigations are expensive and could harm our business, financial condition and operating results and could divert management attention.

In the past, securities class action litigation and/or shareholder derivative litigation and inquiries or investigations by regulatory authorities have often followed certain significant business transactions, such as the sale of a company or announcement of any other strategic transaction, such as the Merger. Any shareholder litigation and/or regulatory investigations against us, whether or not resolved in our favor, could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and cash resources and the ultimate value of our securities.

While we have not received demand letters, we may in the future receive demand letters or complaints, from purported holders of the Common Stock regarding certain actions taken in connection with the Merger, the adequacy of the registration statement filed therewith or this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These demand letters or complaints may lead to litigation against our directors and officers in connection with the Merger. Defending against any lawsuits could require us to incur significant costs and draw the attention of our management away from the day-to-day operations of our business.

Past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team, directors, advisors and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team, directors, advisors and such affiliates is not a guarantee of the future success of our business and operations. You should not rely on the historical performance of our management team, directors and advisors or that of their respective affiliates as indicative of our future performance, of an investment in us, or the returns the Common Stock will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

HHEP-Directional, L.P. ("HHEP") owns a significant equity interest in us and may take actions that conflict with your interests.

The interests of HHEP may not align with our interests and those of our Stockholders. HHEP is in the business of making investments in companies and may acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. HHEP (and its affiliates, partners, and associate entities), may also pursue business opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, those business opportunities may not be available to us. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or being offered an opportunity to participate in, business opportunities that may be presented to any Stockholder, director, officer or any other person or entity (including, with respect to any of the foregoing that are entities, any affiliates and their respective directors, officers, partners, members and associated entities) in each case who is not a full-time employee of DTIC or any of its subsidiaries (each, an “Exempted Person”). Our Certificate of Incorporation further provides that no Exempted Person has a duty to communicate the receipt of knowledge of any potential circumstances, transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be Corporate Opportunity (as defined therein).

Sales of substantial amounts of Common Stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales could occur, could reduce the price that the Common Stock might otherwise attain.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of the Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock and may make it more difficult for investors to sell their shares of the Common Stock at a time and price that investors deem appropriate.

Approximately 17.5 million shares of Common Stock are subject to transfer restrictions set forth in the lock-up agreement between DTIC and Michael W. Domino, Jr., the lock-up agreement between DTIC and HHEP, and the lock-up agreement between DTIC and RobJon (the “Lock-Up Agreements”). As a result of the Lock-Up agreements, dated June 20, 2023, a significant portion of our total outstanding shares are restricted from immediate resale but may be sold into the market in the near future. Under the terms of the Lock-Up Agreements, the Stockholder Parties agreed, subject to certain customary exceptions, that during the period that is the earlier of (i) the date that is 180 days following June 20, 2023 and (ii) the date specified in a written waiver of the provisions of the Lock-Up Agreements duly executed by ROC Holdings and DTIC, not to dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of the Common Stock subject to their respective Lock-Up Agreement, or take other related actions with respect to such shares. The shares of the Common Stock subject to the Lock- Up Agreements include all shares held by the Stockholder Parties, except for shares of the Common Stock issued pursuant to the Exchange Agreements.

Other than R. Wayne Prejean, who is the President, Manager and sole owner of RobJon’s general partner, and Mr. Domino, no directors, officers or employees of DTIC are party to any lock-up agreement with respect to the Common Stock.

The Registration Statement has become effective and during such time as it remains effective, Alberto Pontonio, Aldo Rodriguez, Ashley Lane, CFH Ventures, Ltd., Charles E. Crass, Curtis L. Crofford, David R. Johnson, EarlyBirdCapital, the EarlyBird Affiliates, HHEP, FP SPAC 2, Hicks Holdings Operating LLC, John D. “Jack” Furst, MHH Ventures, Ltd., Michael W. Domino, Jr., MV Partners I LP, Oak Stream Investors II, Ltd., R. Wayne Prejean, RBH Ventures, Ltd., RobJon Holdings, L.P., ROC Holdings, Thomas O. Hicks, TOH, Jr. Ventures, Ltd. and WCH Ventures, Ltd., and their respective permitted transferees (the “Selling Stockholders”) will be permitted, subject to the lock-up restrictions described above, to sell the shares registered hereby. Sales of our shares as restrictions end or pursuant to registration rights may make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. These sales also could cause the trading price of the Common Stock to fall and make it more difficult for you to sell shares of the Common Stock. We expect that, because of the significant number of shares offered hereby, the Selling Stockholders will continue to offer shares covered by this prospectus for a significant period of time, the precise duration of which cannot be predicted. Accordingly, the adverse market and price pressures resulting from an offering pursuant to this prospectus may continue for an extended period of time. As of December 31, 2023, these Lock-Up agreements have expired.

We may issue additional shares of Common Stock or other equity securities without your approval, which would dilute your ownership interests and may depress the market price of your shares.

We may issue additional shares of Common Stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions or repayment of outstanding indebtedness, without Stockholder approval, in a number of circumstances. The issuance of additional shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank could have the following effects:

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existing Stockholders’ proportionate ownership interest will decrease;

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We have access to a significant amount of cash and our management has broad discretion over the use of that cash. Our management may use the cash in ways that our Stockholders may not approve.

We have broad discretion over the use of our cash and cash equivalents. You may not agree with our use of such cash and cash equivalents. Our failure to apply these resources effectively could compromise our ability to pursue our growth strategy and we might not be able to yield a significant return, if any, on our investment of these assets. You will not have the opportunity to influence directly our decisions on how to use our cash resources.

Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on the Common Stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell the Common Stock at a price greater than what you paid for it.

We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and there are no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made by the Board and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness DTIC or its subsidiaries incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in Common Stock unless you sell your shares of Common Stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

DTIC’s sole material asset is its direct equity interest in DTIH and, accordingly, it is dependent upon distributions from DTIH to pay taxes and cover its corporate and other overhead expenses and pay dividends, if any, on the Common Stock.

DTIC is a holding company and has no material assets other than its direct equity interest in DTIH. We have no independent means of generating revenue. To the extent DTIH has available cash, DTIC will cause DTIH to make distributions of cash to pay taxes, cover its corporate and other overhead expenses and pay dividends, if any, on the Common Stock. To the extent that DTIC needs funds and DTIH’s operating subsidiaries fail to generate sufficient cash flow to distribute funds to DTIC or is restricted from making such distributions or payments under applicable law or regulation or under the terms of DTIC’s financing arrangements, or is otherwise unable to provide such funds, DTIC’s liquidity and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Nasdaq Capital Market ("Nasdaq") may delist the Common Stock from trading, which could limit investors’ ability to execute transactions in the Common Stock and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

We cannot assure you that the Common Stock will continue to be listed on Nasdaq. If Nasdaq delists the Common Stock from trading and we are unable to list the Common Stock on another national securities exchange, we expect the Common Stock could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

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a limited availability of market quotations for the Common Stock;

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reduced liquidity for the Common Stock;

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a determination that the Common Stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in the Common Stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for the Common Stock;

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The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because the Common Stock is listed on Nasdaq, the Common Stock qualifies as a covered security. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of the Common Stock, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, shares of Common Stock would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer the Common Stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding the Common Stock adversely, the price and trading volume of the Common Stock could decline.

The trading market for the Common Stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the price of the Common Stock would likely decline. If an analyst that covers us ceases its coverage or fails to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the applicable rules of Nasdaq and, as a result, qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. If we rely on these exemptions, our Stockholders will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

HHEP controls more than 50% of the voting power for the election of the Board. Accordingly, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq rules. A “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements to have:

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a board of directors with the majority comprised of independent directors;

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a compensation committee; and

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independent oversight of director nominations.

While we do not currently rely on these exemptions, we may take advantage of these exemptions in the future. As a result, our Stockholders may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements.