Helmerich & Payne, Inc. Annual Bonus Plan for Executive Officers

Exhibit 10.1

Overview

Annual bonus awards are available to certain executive officers to recognize and reward desired performance. Each year the Human Resources Committee (the “Committee”) approves the participants, the performance measures, and the specific financial and strategic objectives. An executive officer’s bonus award opportunity is determined primarily by the individual’s position and level of responsibility.

Participation

The current participants in the Plan will be H&P’s executive management team, which includes

Hans Helmerich,
John Lindsay,
Alan Orr,
Doug Fears, and
Steve Mackey.

Bonus Award Opportunity

Participants are assigned target bonus awards expressed as percentages of base salary. These bonus awards are earned when performance objectives are achieved. The award percentages are as follows:

		Threshold				Target				Reach
Hans Helmerich			40	%			80	%			120	%
John Lindsay			25	%			50	%			75	%
Alan Orr			25	%			50	%			75	%
Doug Fears			20	%			45	%			70	%
Steve Mackey			20	%			45	%			70	%

Financial Performance Objectives

The financial performance objectives selected align management with shareholders. When these objectives are met, shareholders will realize greater value in their Company ownership. A participant’s bonus award will be based upon three disproportionately weighted financial measures being:

Financial Measure		Weighting
Earnings Per Share			35	%
Return on Invested Capital			35	%
Operating EBITDA			30	%

The Board of Directors annually approves an operating and capital budget at its September meeting. Each financial measure would be assigned threshold, target and reach numbers based upon this approved budget. Actual financial results would be compared to the budgeted numbers for each of the financial measures to determine the amount of any bonus. Based on the ___fiscal year budget, the following financial performance benchmarks have been developed for each financial measure:

Prior

Fiscal

Year

Threshold

Target

Reach

Actual

Earnings Per Share

Return on Invested Capital

Operating EBITDA

		Current				Prior
		Fiscal				Fiscal
		Year				Year
Assumptions		Target				Actual
Revenue Days — U.S. Land:
Revenue Per Day — U.S. Land:
U.S. Land Rig Utilization:
U.S. Offshore Utilization:
International Utilization:

Strategic Performance Objectives

The bonus, if any, derived from the Company’s financial performance may then be adjusted by a maximum of 30% as determined by the Committee (“adjustment factor”). Seventy-five percent of this adjustment factor would be based upon the Committee’s evaluation of the Company’s total shareholder return relative to an industry peer group. The remaining 25% of this adjustment factor would be based upon the Committee’s evaluation of the Company’s goal of attaining higher than industry average utilization and premium day rates.

This adjustment factor would be subject to a pre-determined safety performance threshold. For fiscal year ___, in order to meet that threshold, H&P’s OSHA and DAWFC rates must be ___below IADC averages. If this safety performance threshold is not met, then the bonus would not be increased by the adjustment factor. The bonus would not be decreased by the adjustment factor solely for the reason that safety performance threshold was not met. However, if the adjustment factor resulted in a decrease to the bonus, then the bonus would be decreased even if the safety performance threshold is met.