Undisclosed Oil & Gas Co. (the “Company”) is an independent, publicly-traded oil and natural gas company based in Houston. The Company’s assets are primarily concentrated in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale and consist of both operated and non-operated wells. In 2019, the Company completed a merger with another oil and gas company, which required a data conversion effort to consolidate all assets into the same software application. However, the merger and associated data conversion occurred while the COVID-19 pandemic caused non-essential employees to work remotely. Like many others, the Company wanted to explore the potential for gaining efficiencies as its employees returned to the office.

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The Company engaged Opportune to perform a best-practices assessment, focused primarily on the following segments within the land administration and accounting teams.

• Organization and communications
• Deck setup and maintenance practices
• Reverse/rebook processing
• Suspense and escheat processes and reporting
• Payout identification and processes

During the assessment process, Opportune was provided access to the Company’s accounting and land system, current-state process documentation and relevant workbooks, key performance indicator logs, and trackers. After the review of the initially provided data, Opportune conducted interviews with key employees and team leads to develop an understanding of current processes. Opportune simultaneously created process documentation that included any proposed adjustments to the status quo.

Following the interview and analysis stage of the assessment, Opportune prepared a report detailing the findings and recommendations that then was submitted to the Company. Among other items, Opportune instituted touchpoint meetings, developed training programs, and created automated dashboards to increase reporting efficiency. In addition to those goals, system functionality to streamline processing was implemented.

Opportune added value to the Company by providing meaningful change recommendations that helped alleviate pain points identified during the interviews with employees. Apart from these interviews, Opportune also held a weekly meeting with executive management across all business units to report on progress and provide transparency into timeline and deadlines and allowed for a forum of collaboration. The Company was pleased with the recommendations submitted and re-engaged Opportune to assist in the implementation of the newly proposed processes and system features including the installation of a data warehouse to support historical reporting on acquired assets and support prior period adjustments.

READ MORE: Upstream: Transactional Due Diligence: Financial & Tax Due Diligence Procedures

Technology touches every element of the energy industry. Opportune has deep and broad experience across the energy supply chain—from asset development and production to processing, transportation and markets. We have the necessary depth of expertise in oil and liquids, natural gas, power, coal, and emissions to select, evolve, integrate, and manage high-impact technology solutions. We understand the importance of keeping operations running smoothly while concurrently managing portfolio risks and maintaining compliance with company and regulatory requirements.