Lean Team, Big Wins: How Cresta’s CEO Optimized Operations and Maximized ROI Using ComboCurve

If you’re going in and you want to take a batch of 50 wells, curve them, and come up with the norm curve probabilistic analysis–ComboCurve’s going to save you a day at that point. That’s just the truth.”

– Edward Banner, Founder & CEO, Cresta Investment Group, LLC 

Cresta Investment Group, LLC a Dallas-based firm, manages multiple funds, including Cresta Royalty Partners, focusing on blending mineral interests and non-op ventures. ComboCurve aids in creating unit-level type curves, filtering by operator, and analyzing well data efficiently, tasks previously time-consuming and complex. Edward Banner, Founder & CEO, has been instrumental in leveraging ComboCurve to streamline Cresta’s operations. 

Early Adopters of ComboCurve

Transitioning from a publicly traded energy company and founding Cresta, Edward Banner was seeking a new level of efficiency. He no longer had a supportive technical team in place. ComboCurve’s potential was appealing from the get-go compared to that of the cumbersome ubiquitous legacy solutions available.  

“I saw the potential in ComboCurve the second we did the demo – that was when it had 10% of the features that it has now. I was able to look at so much data in one place and not deal with the 80s-style programming difficulties with some of the other tools we had used.”

Legacy Solutions Weren’t Cutting It 

Before implementing ComboCurve, Edward was using Excel spreadsheets, PHDwin, and ARIES, industry-standard tools that proved frustrating and inefficient for handling large datasets. “It took a ridiculous amount of time even when the data was readily available. I mean, it’s right there. But trying to take data from multiple wells, norm curve them, and come up with a probabilistic distribution? Yeah, not going to happen.” 

Edward’s engineering and business background made him acutely aware of how dated these tools were. ComboCurve looked to present a more accurate, efficient alternative.

Cresta’s Top ComboCurve features? 

Auto-forecasting, type curve and norm curve functions, probabilistic distribution, and filtering capabilities collectively streamline research, enable precise data modeling, and facilitate better decision-making in location evaluations. “Honestly, those are all my favorite functions – because you can take data from so many different wells and normalize it.” 

“So much of reservoir engineering is finance too. Understanding the numbers excites the engineer in me because this tool makes you feel like a prudent, good engineer by getting the most accurate data you can. That’s what this does. You can rely on the numbers, and that’s what matters.” 

– Edward Banner, Founder & CEO, Cresta Investment Group, LLC

Advanced Forecasting

Edward confirms that ComboCurve’s auto-forecasting stands out as the number one function for Cresta, “Auto forecast is #1, and the type curve, the norm curve, and probabilistic distribution go hand in hand with that.” These features streamline research and enhance data modeling plus the flexibility in editing and customization is invaluable. “I’m a stickler about editing. I like to go through the data, and ComboCurve does a very good job; it’s very intuitive, even with new wells.” Rapid Edit mode simplifies fine-tuning forecasts, ensuring accuracy with minimal manual input, without extensive manual inputs required by legacy tools.

 

Research and Investment

“Even if we may not be evaluating a certain transaction in a given area, it’s beneficial to always have a general idea of how different parts of the basin change.” 

Cresta leverages ComboCurve to analyze various activities in different basin locations in detail. This ongoing research helps in understanding productivity, gas-oil ratios, spacing impacts, and other crucial factors, ultimately facilitating proactive investment decisions.  

The research serves a dual purpose: first, examining broad areas to identify potential for more thorough analysis, and second, comparing different units of operator drills to refine investment strategies. “Looking at a general area, seeing some results, like how that area might be worth taking a deeper dive into and looking at it.” Edward notes. “And by analyzing the more nitty-gritty spacing, we’re able to compare two different units of operator activity such as, 20 wells spaced here and they did 12 over there.” 

Collaboration, Reporting, and Building Trust With Stakeholders

Cresta partners with external auditors like Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, who also use ComboCurve. “If we underwrite a big deal, I like to get second opinions, so I love that CG&A uses it too.”  

CC’s share codes and custom CSV reporting streamline collaboration and improve the accuracy of stakeholder reporting, making fund-raising and acquisition processes more transparent and data-driven.  

“When you’re raising capital and you’re able to show a probabilistic distribution for example, and you have 50 different points and can show how they fit, someone can look at that and say ‘OK, I can trust in what their underwriting looks like, because it’s very data-driven and they’re able to do it.’”

Time and Cost Savings

When it comes to time and cost savings, ComboCurve’s efficiency allows for extensive analysis that was previously impossible with ARIES, PHDwin, or Excel, saving days’ worth of work on a single batch of wells. “My time is valuable and there are significant time-savings when using ComboCurve.” This is especially the case for businesses operating without the support of a technical team. “If you have a whole reservoir engineering department at the company that has all the wells already curved, that’s one thing. But if you’re going in and you want to take a batch of 50 wells, curve them, and come up with the norm curve probabilistic analysis–ComboCurve’s going to save you a day at that point. That’s just the truth.” 

Additionally, ComboCurve’s streamlined processes reduce the need to hire more engineers or technicians, cutting overhead while maintaining high data accuracy. “When it’s a scaled organization trying to keep track of all the wells in the basin and all of their wells with the best data possible, ComboCurve is definitely saving them a lot.” 

Maximized ROI and Investment Efficiency

For those hesitant to switch to ComboCurve, Edward emphasizes the significant return on investment, particularly in underwriting deals and managing data efficiently. “Underwriting these deals and really honing in on data – data investors really care about – is where I see the return on investment coming from. So my advice would be to switch.”  

Using ComboCurve has enabled Edward to wear multiple hats, manage his time effectively, and make proactive, data-driven decisions, building trust with stakeholders and ensuring better returns on investments.