Leadership

Doug Vermaelen

Past President and Senior Advisor of Ralph E. Davis
Doug Vermaelen

Industry Sectors

Principle Areas of Practice

Professional Experience

Doug is the President of Ralph E. Davis, a subsidiary of Opportune. He is a highly experienced reservoir evaluation engineer with over 35 years of expertise in the technical and financial aspects of oil and gas evaluations. Throughout his career, Doug has evaluated dozens of acquisition packages for clients and employers, both competitively and on a negotiated basis, and has worked closely with industry professionals pursuing acquisitions, divestitures, and lending opportunities.

Prior to joining Opportune, Doug held senior engineering roles at leading financial institutions, including Scotiabank, Santander, JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Bank of Scotland. In these roles, he led engineering teams, managed Reserve-Based Lending (RBL) portfolios, and developed policies and procedures in alignment with regulatory requirements. Earlier in his career, Doug served as an Engineering Manager at Southern Company and Mirant, where he contributed to financial transactions totaling over $590 million. His foundational experience includes engineering positions with Albrecht & Associates, Huddleston & Co., Peter Paul Petroleum, Chevron, Texaco, and Pennzoil.

Doug earned both his B.S. and M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, with a minor in Finance. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers.

Representative Projects

  • Led technical due diligence for numerous financial institutions, assessing the viability and risks of upstream assets for multi-million and billion-dollar debt financing and capital investment decisions.
  • Managed and conducted independent reserve evaluations and audits in accordance with SEC and SPE-PRMS guidelines for a diverse portfolio of public and private energy companies.
  • Served as a key technical advisor to lending institutions, helping structure and validate reserve-based loans (RBLs) by providing independent engineering analysis and valuation.
  • Provided critical petroleum engineering evaluation and advisory for both buy-side and sell-side transactions in the acquisitions and divestitures (A&D) market.
  • Evaluated the engineering fundamentals and economic potential of mezzanine debt and equity investment opportunities, providing key technical recommendations to an energy capital investment group.
  • Performed comprehensive oil and gas reserve estimations and revenue forecasts to support clients with annual reporting, strategic planning, and transaction-based needs.