This year’s front cover photo was taken at one of Vermilion’s field offices in southern France. It represents the seeds of our international expansion in 1997, which was a major pillar of our free cash flow-generating business model, and our commitment to ESG matters of importance. Vermilion prioritizes health, safety and the environment in all of our operations – and we take this even further. Partnering with our stakeholders to enrich the lives of the people in the communities where we live and work is fundamental in our approach to what we do every day, and has been a focus for more than two decades.

The photo also represents a return to a more conservative approach to executing our business model, as we did with subsequent international expansions. This provides a renewed focus on our core business principles, which are (i) maintaining a strong balance sheet with low leverage; (ii) managing a total payout ratio of less than 100%; (iii) consistently delivering results that meet or exceed expectations; (iv) protecting equity to minimize dilution; and (v) maintaining a strong corporate culture. These principles were implemented when Vermilion started paying a distribution as an energy trust in 2003, and will shepherd us to providing long-term value creation for our shareholders moving forward.