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RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2025
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS  
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

20.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

We intend that all transactions between us and our executive officers, directors, holders of 10% or more of the shares of any class of our common stock and affiliates thereof, will be on terms no less favorable than those terms given to unaffiliated third parties and will be approved by a majority of our independent outside directors not having any interest in the transaction.

On April 29, 2022, the Company entered into a $1.0 million promissory note agreement with Corns Enterprises as partial consideration for the purchase of Tri-State Paving. This four-year agreement requires $250,000 principal installment payments on or before the end of each twelve (12) full calendar month period beginning April 29, 2022. Interest payments due will be calculated on the principal balance remaining and will be at the stated rate of 3.5% per year. The Company has made $750,000 in principal payments on this note as of September 30, 2025.

Subsequent to the April 29, 2022 acquisition of Tri-State Paving, the Company entered into an operating lease for facilities in Hurricane, West Virginia with Corns Enterprises. This thirty-six-month lease is treated as a right to use asset and has payments of $7,000 per month. The total net present value at inception was $236,000 with no carrying value at September 30, 2025. The Company signed a one-year renewal after the lease expired and is evaluating whether to renew for additional periods. In May 2025, David E. Corns, member of Corns Enterprises and President of Tri-State Paving, retired.

SQP made an equity investment of $156,000 in 1030 Quarrier Development, LLC (“Development”) in August 2022. Development is a variable interest entity (“VIE”) that is 75% owned by 1030 Quarrier Ventures, LLC (“Ventures”) and 25% owned by SQP. SQP is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE and therefore will not consolidate Development into its consolidated financial statements. Instead, SQP will apply the equity method of accounting for its investment in Development. Development, a 1% owner, and United Bank, a 99% owner, formed 1030 Quarrier Landlord, LLC (“Landlord”). Landlord decided to pursue the following development project (the “Project”): a historical building at 1030 Quarrier Street, Charleston, West Virginia as well as associated land (the “Property”) was purchased to be developed/rehabilitated into a commercial project including apartments and commercial space. Upon the completion of development, the Property will be used to generate rental income. SQP has been awarded the construction contract for the Project. United Bank provided $5.0 million in loans to fund the Project. SQP and Ventures have jointly provided an unconditional guarantee for the $5.0 million of obligations associated with the Project.

CJ Hughes entered into an agreement, cancelable at any time, with Construction Specialty Services (“CSS”), which is owned by Chuck Austin, the President of CJ Hughes. CSS rents equipment, periodically, to and as requested by CJ Hughes. The equipment rental rates are below the rates that the equipment can be rented from any unaffiliated rental company. CJ Hughes is not obliged to rent any equipment and does so only when CJ Hughes does not have equipment available of its own and would otherwise need to rent such equipment as the demand increases throughout the construction season. In the fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the rental amounts for these specific years were $339,000, and $318,000, respectively.

Other than mentioned above, there were no new material related party transactions entered into during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025.

Certain Energy Services subsidiaries routinely engage in transactions in the normal course of business with each other, including sharing employee benefit plan coverage, payment for insurance and other expenses on behalf of other affiliates, and other services incidental to business of each of the affiliates. All revenue and related expense transactions, as well as the related accounts payable and accounts receivable have been eliminated in consolidation.