Subcontractor fees/travel expenses/salaries The problem here is the cost to perform these surveys is much much higher than what the company actually brings in. Pioneer is doing(or subcontracting) these surveys at a loss, I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. You just need to look back at their last posted Q3 financials to see how bad it really is. Hard to get excited about more work when it translates to more losses. Management desperately needs to trim costs significantly and try to start actually making money not losing it hand over fist!