Phillip Gobe
Analyst · TPH & Company. Please go ahead
Thank you, David. As we've mentioned on today's call, our customer activity levels have modestly increased, given the improved commodity price environment. As we navigate the COVID-19 Delta and potentially other variants, volatility will remain, but all price fundamentals appear strong for a continued recovery. While progress is expected to be gradual, we have already obtained some price increases, and we're expecting to secure increases from all of our customers before the end of the quarter. Permian remains uncertain, as we're still in the early innings of what we view as a multi-year recovery. In short, our customers recognize the clear benefit of our industry-leading service offerings, our entire sectors in the process of recovering pricing discounts implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A return to normalized profitability is necessary for a healthy oil service capability, to answer the call for North American crude oil supply, as global demand is expected to continue to rise into the next year. In support of the needs of our blue chip customer base, committed to a substantial future operations in the Permian basin, we’re analyzing and investing in technologies to best position ProPetro for the impending energy transition. Discussions with our customers continue to progress in a positive direction, as they better understand how the operating landscape is expected to evolve in the years to come. We’re fully committed to evolving our equipment offering to be more environmentally friendly, and relevant to our customers’ demands, and remain convinced that pressure pumping equipment needs to evolve for the jobs of today and the future. Given our industry-leading execution, and strong financial footing, we believe we are in a leadership position to participate in this transition, which will benefit all of our stakeholders, including our shareholders. We know there will be changes from today's market conditions, but one constant will continue to be the need for innovation. As we discussed on our last call, with the downturn of 2020 now clearly transitioning to a recovery, we believe the impending reinvestment cycle, will further separate winners and losers in the US pressure pumping industry. We believe that only the highest quality service providers, working with the most efficient operators, will be able to properly invest in next-generation lower emissions equipment. Our debt-free balance sheet, ample liquidity, and rigorous capital discipline, served us well through the unprecedented challenges our industry faced in 2020, and places us in an even stronger position for success, as the market continues to steadily improve well into 2022 and beyond. Most importantly, commitment to safety is a primary responsibility we all share, and we utilize significant resources to ensure employees keep safety in mind in all that they do. Our teammates have grown to expect a strong safety culture, enthusiastic community involvement, and operational excellence when they come to work, and it shows in their performance on location, in the shop, and throughout our communities. I'm proud of the work they do every day. Commitment to sustainability is another responsibility that our team undertakes for the benefit of our broader ProPetro family. We're making good on our commitments by investing in next-generation technology, and vigorously evaluating sustainable solutions for the benefit of all stakeholders. From our electric fleet and dual-fuel fleet investments, to our environmentally-friendly and innovative modified acid products, ProPetro is delivering innovative and ESG-friendly products and services to the marketplace, which is a value-added opportunity for all stakeholders. As we announced last week in our press release, we're completing our planned executive transition, that is the result of a thorough succession planning process. Effective August 31st, I will be stepping down as CEO, to become Executive Chairman. Sam will take over as CEO, and Adam will become President and COO. I'd also like to recap a few accomplishments over the last 18 months. We worked with the board and our team to put in place strong corporate governance. We remained capital disciplined, generating positive free cash flow during a period of unprecedented industry decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. But I'm most proud of facilitating the transition and building of our go-forward leadership team. The continuity for our organization is strong, and I have great confidence in the entire team to lead our organization forward. This will be my last quarterly call as CEO. And while it has been a challenging 18 months, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. ProPetro is a great organization, with outstanding and dedicated employees, and I value the relationships, and will remain very engaged in my role as Executive Chairman. Before we open it up to Q&A, I will hand it off Sam for some closing comments. Go ahead, Sam.