From ARIES Power User to ComboCurve Champion

With over 25 years in Oil and Gas, Leslie Armentrout has led operations, reserves, and business development for several prominent operators. She became proficient in various software, most notably ARIES. Upon founding Silver Cross in early 2023, she sought increased efficiency and a clear distinction between forecasting software and data warehousing, leading her to choose ComboCurve. 

“With ComboCurve you’ve got the most efficient version of Leslie. If we go and invest in the cheaper option versus ComboCurve, we’re going to save money upfront, but trust me, you’re going to waste far more than the dollars saved of my time, with me dealing with databases and spending money on support.”

– Leslie Armentrout, Silver Cross Energy Partners

Leslie’s ARIES Power User Era 

As a Power User, Leslie was reluctant to embrace new software. Her ARIES journey began years ago and has been deeply integrated into critical assets, reserves, and planning processes at every operator she’s worked for.  

“We had five processes that were all ARIES based and all the source data was in ARIES. When you try and take ARIES out of that in an organization, it’s near impossible.” 

Other economic software’s complexities and limitations became apparent over time. Leslie names struggles with time-consuming QA, integration challenges, and the constant battle of multiple users accessing data simultaneously. 

When Leslie set out to establish her own company in early 2023, ComboCurve became a serious contender.  

“I looked at everything about ComboCurve when evaluating whether to sign on.”

Reserves Issues 

With ARIES: “If you’re on a record, at the same time the tech is running a certain well, the system won’t allow you to update a forecast on a different qualifier at the same time. Only one person could be editing a well at a time. You have to backtrack and remember wells not edited constantly, assuming you tagged them to remember to follow up edit them to begin with.”

With ComboCurve: “With ComboCurve, you can look at the screen and see the number of wells – it’s right there. And it’ll tell you if you‘re missing data. The wells will turn red or have the yellow indicator if something’s wrong.” 

A&D 

With ARIES:“If we were using ARIES for A&D now it could get complicated, and you don’t know when something has changed and why it changed. Having that ability to see who changed it and when and why helps.”

With ComboCurve: Users are able to track data modifications, identifying the individuals responsible, along with the timestamp and rationale. This enhanced transparency streamlines quality control.

Forecasting 

With ARIES: Leslie opted against using ARIES’ auto forecasting, as it required a manual well-by-well review and forecast update. “In the case of 600 wells, this can take up to 8-10 hours if you had to do every single one of them in ARIES.”

With ComboCurve: In ComboCurve, she initiates the auto forecast by entering preliminary factor ranges and decline estimates. After running it through at least once, Leslie adjusts the ComboCurve auto forecast parameters iteratively until she achieves a satisfactory model. This streamlined process allows her to modify only around a third of the high-value wells, a significant efficiency gain compared to the comprehensive adjustments required in other platforms.

“Forecasting took me 8 to 10 hours for 600 wells in ARIES, and now it takes me 2 hours at most using ComboCurve.” 

Time and Efficiency Gains 

1000 wells: 30 minutes vs. 3 days 

An A&D case involving close to a thousand wells in the Permian highlights the efficiency of ComboCurve. “I pulled all the wells into ComboCurve, and put auto forecast on. I used all of my inputs from two other deals we had done as they had similar LOE, etc. And in 30 minutes. I had a valuation!” 

“In ARIES, that would’ve taken me, two or maybe three days. I would’ve had to make sure every well had differentials, opex, and a forecast among other things.” 

ComboCurve proves to be a time-saving powerhouse for Leslie. From reducing forecasting time to streamlining A&D evaluations. ComboCurve allowed Leslie to accomplish tasks in minutes that would have taken days with ARIES. 

 

Leslie’s journey with ComboCurve is a testament to a transformative experience that adds value, saves time, and enhances efficiency.  

For more on how small operators can leverage ComboCurve to improve their operations, streamline data management for banks, evaluate assets with more confidence, and justify the investment cost of CC, stay tuned for the second installment of our conversation with Leslie.