MAEVLO: A Landman’s Leap into Deal Evaluation

“Time is a valuable resource that you can’t get back if you invest it poorly. With just two guys on our team, we have to be very efficient.”

– Marshall Porterfield, Partner and Landman, MAEVLO Company

Established in 2018, in Aurora Colorado, MAEVLO Company, LLC is an innovative player in the oil & gas mineral and royalty space. The team is notably compact, bringing together Matthew Montgomery, Managing Director, and Marshall Porterfield, two non-engineers with a primary focus on investing in minerals and royalties.

From Real Estate to Reservoir Engineering Tools

Marshall Porterfield, a seasoned landman at MAEVLO, brought a unique perspective to the oil and gas sector. He initially entered the industry via real estate. His unconventional path began when he met Matthew Montgomery while working at Dale Operating Company in the early 2000s. Matthew later introduced him to ComboCurve, a tool traditionally geared towards reservoir engineers. Marshall was particularly struck by how ComboCurve’s data presentation and structure mirrored his own thought processes, making it a natural fit for his advanced reservoir analytics.

 

ComboCurve’s intuitive dashboard displays Forecast, Type Curve, and Economics tools.

“Although, I’m not an engineer, what I liked about ComboCurve was really the way it subcategorizes and lays things out for me, which is how I think.”

Pre-ComboCurve Challenges

MAEVLO navigated several challenges with previous tools and legacy systems that were cumbersome, especially for non-engineers. These tools complicated data manipulation and analysis. This created inefficiencies in evaluating deals quickly and accurately and significantly impacting their workflow and acquisitions. Additionally, the absence of real-time collaboration and difficulties in data integration or handovers to their third-party engineers really slowed down decision-making processes.

Mastering ComboCurve as a Non-Engineer

Coming from a non-engineering background, Marshall invested time to understand and master the tool to make the most of its capabilities. For this, he leaned on the support of ComboCurve’s Customer Success team to navigate the transition.

“I grow in confidence every day, week and month. I learn new things all the time with your updates, and Alec [Petroleum Engineer on the Product Solutions team at ComboCurve] regularly shows me shortcuts that save me time.” Marshall reflects.

ComboCurve’s product solutions team has answered tickets in under a minute over the last 30 days. This culture of responsiveness has enabled Marshall to grow in confidence, he says.

Marshall’s growing confidence in handling technical assessments independently is a testament to the platform’s adaptability and ease of use, demonstrating how non-engineers can effectively leverage advanced analytical tools.

 

Submitting a ticket via the integrated Success Center on ComboCurve’s platform.

 

Transforming Collaboration and Project Management

One of ComboCurve’s standout features for Marshall and the MAEVLO team has been its ability to facilitate collaboration, thanks to share codes. With ComboCurve’s real-time sharing capabilities, MAEVLO can work synchronously with each other, consultants, and third-party engineers across different locations. “I do love that we can be in the same program at the same time while my team is also completing another task in that same project.”

Furthermore, ComboCurve’s cloud-based nature allows for remote access and flexible collaboration. Marshall highlights the practical benefits of this setup: “ComboCurve helps us stay efficient with our time. With me in San Antonio, them in Denver, we can jump into the project at the same time.”

These features have proven indispensable for handling multiple projects efficiently, ensuring that all team members can contribute to and review work without geographical constraints.

The ability to invite third-party engineers with share codes to review projects without starting from scratch keeps their operations lean, efficient and honest.

User-Friendly Features for a More Efficient Workflow

As a visually-oriented person, Marshall leveraged advanced features like auto-forecasting and type curve analyses, essential for evaluating the economic viability of mineral acquisitions – something that was previously out of reach without engineering expertise.

Marshall explains, “For me, it’s more of the visual thing – I can see what I’m doing in it. And honestly, it’s a lot more user friendly and ‘editable.’ I can update my work and the data adjusts. I’m able to fix wells in seven or eight seconds and have it approved.”

Marshall practically flies through projects and MAEVLO has doubled the speed of deal evaluations since adopting ComboCurve. “I’m almost twice as fast and it updates in real-time.”

 

Adjusting forecasts within seconds in Rapid Edit Mode

Advanced Reservoir Analytics: Quality Control as You Go

ComboCurve’s on-screen notifications flag potential oversights as you work. It also keeps parameters within limits during scenario modeling, making evaluations more accurate and thorough.

 

On-screen alert flags a missed assumption in the analysis.

Justifying the Cost of ComboCurve Was Easy

ComboCurve not only streamlines MAEVLO’s workflows but also significantly cuts costs by reducing their reliance on external engineering expertise. Marshall explains the dual financial benefits: “It helps keep costs down in other areas where you might otherwise need a program or external help. This includes not needing to hire engineers—we can simply share the work if necessary.”

He elaborates on the operational benefits: “It’s really helped me to quickly learn and process tasks, allowing me to pass projects along to others when needed. This is especially useful since I’m in a new area and still learning the ropes. As opposed to having to pay an engineer to handle everything from start to finish.” Moreover, evaluating deals faster boosts profitability, easily justifying the investment in ComboCurve.

Streamlining Economic Evaluations

ComboCurve has significantly improved how MAEVLO runs economics on broader data sets. Marshall highlights the tool’s efficiency, saying, “Being able to run a lot of qualifiers and look at various scenarios within when we run the economics—that’s big for us. We use that a lot, and you know, we’ll have that on pricing and data from the first production for new wells. We can run all these, combine them, and get a printout to just compare them. That’s why we love it.”

Advanced reservoir analytics is not just for engineers!

Marshall’s experience with ComboCurve demonstrates how, by making these tools available to all oil & gas professionals with diverse backgrounds, companies like MAEVLO can leverage their unique perspectives to drive innovation and efficiency. MAEVLO’s successful integration of ComboCurve into their workflow serves as a model for other mineral shops in the industry, demonstrating the potential for these tools to expand beyond their traditional user base.

Are you a non-traditional energy professional? Contact our team to learn how you can benefit from using ComboCurve, regardless of your technical experience.