About Me
Name:
Richard Hopper
Email:
Richard@RWHopper.com
Phone:
832 . 326 . 1060
I am a Petroleum Engineer with experience managing mature, producing assets across multiple basins. Most recently, I was an Operations Engineer for Hilcorp Energy where I managed 6,750 BOED across 5 fields along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, valued at over $240 million. I developed and supervised capital and wellwork programs within a $40 million budget and created over $125 million in asset value in the first two years. In three years, we implemented four waterfloods increasing field production by 1,280 BOED and field value by 22% ($52.8 million) by adding 4.5 million barrels of reserves.
Prior to Hilcorp, I was employed by Merit Energy where I managed Merit’s Permian Basin and newly-acquired Oklahoma assets. I created capital and operating budgets and developed wellwork and capital programs to increase and optimize production. In two years, I was able to increase field value by 29% and $15 million by driving production up and reducing operating costs.
I began my career as an Operations Engineer for BP America. I have experience operating mature assets in the San Juan Basin, Permian Basin, Anadarko Basin, Arkoma Basin and the Gulf Coast Basin.
I earned my BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and my MBA from Louisiana State University. I am also a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.
Skills
Resume
Experience :
Lucky Lad Energy
2021 to Present
Founder / Managing Partner
Lucky Lad Energy is an oil and gas operator focused on acquiring producing, long-life assets along the Gulf Coast. Lucky Lad operates approximately 65 wells across Texas and Louisiana producing around 45 bopd and 150 mcfd. For more information on Lucky Lad Energy, visit us at www.LuckyLad.com.
Bourbon Bit Energy
2020 to Present
Founder / Managing Partner
Bourbon Bit Energy is an oil and gas consulting firm focused on maximizing value for our clients. We offer a full array of services from reservoir consulting and reserve reports to onsite supervision and facility design and everything in between. Visit us at www.BourbonBitEnergy.com.
Hilcorp Energy
2018 to 2020
Operations / Reservoir Engineer – Gulf Coast Basin
• Managed approximately 6,750 BOED from over 150 wells across five fields and at least twenty-eight pay zones
• Developed and oversaw capital and wellwork programs within an approximately $40M budget to optimize production including completing new drill wells, recompletions, and artificial lift optimization adding over $125M in asset value
• Performed pressure-transient analysis / rate-transient analysis to determine estimated uplift associated with gas lift changes and acid stimulations
• Calculated remaining reserves based on DCA and reservoir volumetrics to analyze economics on wellwork and capital projects
• Reduced operating costs by approximately 11% and $2.5M annually by optimizing chemical program and compressor rentals
• Implemented four waterfloods increasing field production by 1,280 BOED and field value by 22% ($52.8M) by adding 4.5 million barrels of reserves
Merit Energy
2014 to 2018
Operations / Reservoir Engineer – Permian, Anadarko & Arkoma Basins
• Planned and coordinated execution of capital and wellwork projects to maximize field value, increasing field value by 29% and $15M PV10 from 2015 – 2017
• Conducted pre-acquisition due diligence on $50 million assets including verifying production, revenue, and reserves from operated and non-operated wells
• Managed over 1,200 production and injection wells to ensure wells were producing at optimum rates and pressures to maximize returns and minimize costs
• Projected wellwork costs, capital costs, and production for fiscal year to present to investors and stakeholders
• Forecasted production based on capital programs and field decline, calculating productivity and estimated uplift
BP America
2011 to 2014
Well Interventions / Integrity Engineer – San Juan Basin
• Developed and supervised over 120 well intervention procedures included pump changes, cleanouts, fishing, tubing repairs, squeeze cementing, acidizing, and wellhead changes
• Wrote procedures for and oversaw execution of recompletions including completing uphole potential and refracturing existing zones
• Reduced rig costs by 30% saving over $7 million per year
• Monitored and developed diagnostic procedures for well integrity anomalies such as sustained casing pressure, wellhead failures, valve failures, packer failures, and casing leaks
• Prioritized anomalies based on multiple factors including proximity to buildings and / or bodies of water, well pressures, and casing failure pressures
• Closed or mitigated over 75% of anomalies within the first month
Education :
Louisiana State University
2015 to 2017
Master of Business Administration
University of Oklahoma
2006 to 2011