physics

Superior Energy Services

Superior Energy Services is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Superior Energy Services rather than just read about it. In short: Superior Energy Services is an American oil services company that operates as a holding company for a portfolio of oilfield equipment rentals and well oil and gas services brands. It is structured as a C-corporation and was restructured in 2021 when it was delisted from the stock exchange.

Key takeaways

Superior Energy Services belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Superior Energy Services to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Superior Energy Services from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Superior Energy Services is an American oil services company that operates as a holding company for a portfolio of oilfield equipment rentals and well oil and gas services brands. It is structured as a C-corporation and was restructured in 2021 when it was delisted from the stock exchange. Its majority beneficial owners as of 2022, were GoldenTree Asset Management LP and Monarch GP LLC. Superior is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its business units are located in North America and internationally in order to serve its oil gas company customers.

History

Foundation and early years The company was founded in 1989 by Terence Hall, a native of Louisiana. It had an initial public offering in 1995, when it became listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Hall remained CEO of the company until he stepped down in 2010 and was replaced by David Dunlap. In 2005, in response to Hurricane Katrina, the Company launched a Catastrophic Relief Fund to provide grants to employees who experience property damage and other losses during emergencies and natural disasters. Since its inception, the Fund has granted more than 500 awards totaling nearly $1.4 million. In 2021, when many employees experienced losses during Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Ida, the Fund made 52 grants totaling $188,865. In 2012, the company grew significantly with its acquisition of Complete Production Services for approximately $2.7 billion.

Strategic transaction 2019 In December 2019, Superior Energy Services announced a transaction to divest certain U.S. land-based service lines and combine them with Forbes Energy Services Ltd. to form a new publicly traded entity focused on U.S. completion, production, and water solutions. The divested businesses included service rigs, coiled tubing, wireline, pressure control, flowback, fluid management, and accommodations. Under the terms of the agreement, Superior Energy would retain a controlling economic interest in the combined entity (“Newco”), initially approximately 65%, adjusting to approximately 52% following the conversion of preferred equity. The transaction also included plans to reduce up to $500 million of the company’s 2021 senior notes through a combination of debt reduction and maturity extension. The transaction was approved by the boards of both companies and was expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. David Dunlap was expected to become Chief Executive Officer of the new entity, while Chief Financial Officer Westy Ballard was designated to succeed him as President and Chief Executive Officer of Superior Energy Services. According to the company, the appointment reflected its formal succession planning process and Ballard's experience across global operations, finance, and strategy. However, in early 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting disruption in global energy markets and capital markets delayed and ultimately prevented the completion of the transaction as originally contemplated.

Restructuring 2020 - 2021 In 2020, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries announced their intent to file for Chapter 11 protective bankruptcy which was approved in January 2021. On February 3, 2021, Superior Energy released a press release stating the company had emerged from bankruptcy. On February 4, 2021, Superior Energy stock, under symbol SPNX, was deleted. This had been foretold by the company in documents filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of its bankruptcy process. On March 22, 2021, Superior Energy Services announced the mutual resignations of President and Chief Executive Officer David Dunlap and Chief Financial Officer Westy Ballard. The company credited both executives with leading the organization through a period of significant financial challenge, resulting in a streamlined portfolio of operating companies, positive cash flow, and a strengthened balance sheet with reduced debt. In 2021, the company also divested certain North American labor-intensive businesses, including assets that had previously been identified for separation in the company’s 2019 strategic transaction, as part of a broader transformation initiative.

New direction 2022 - Present On January 21, 2022, Superior released a PR announcing the appointment of Brian K. Moore as President and CEO. Mr. Moore had previously held the position of Senior Executive Vice President at Superior for 16 years. In 2024, the company announced a change in leadership with Brian Moore stepping down and the appointment of David J. Lesar, who was the previous CEO of Halliburton.

Portfolio of Brands

Rentals Superior has three business units that provide oilfield rentals ranging from premium tubulars to highly specialized downhole tools and accessories.

Services Superior has forty-three business units that provide specialized products for drilling, production, completion and decommissioning.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Superior Energy Services

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Superior Energy Services claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Superior Energy Services before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Superior Energy Services ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Superior Energy Services

In research: Superior Energy Services appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Superior Energy Services in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Superior Energy Services is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Companies based in Houston, Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Superior Energy Services outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Superior Energy Services in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Superior Energy Services means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Superior Energy Services out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Superior Energy Services in simple terms?

Why does Superior Energy Services matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Superior Energy Services?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Superior Energy Services.