For Two Decades, IHS U.S. Production Data Has Helped Hart Operating Fund Find and Analyze Optimal Acquisitions

Company Profile
Hart Operating Fund, based in Dallas, acquires producing oil and gas royalties throughout Texas. Since it formed in the mid 1960s, the partnership has built a sizable portfolio of holdings.

Business Challenge
Hart Operating Fund has always followed a stringent process for handpicking the most promising oil and gas properties. Because the company aims to keep holdings for the long haul, it adheres to a strategy of thorough research and due diligence up front. The goal: select the properties showing the highest volumes and the lowest declines.

Hart Operating Fund needs an efficient way to analyze areas rapidly and comprehensively - at times to support quick decisions on a purchase. To assess the potential of an individual well, the company must understand its production history, as well as the activity of surrounding wells. In many cases, a simple engineering study doesn't provide enough information to support company decisions.

The IHS U.S. Data Advantage
Through much of its history, Hart Operating Fund has used IHS U.S. Production Data to identify high-volume wells and support acquisition decisions. Initially, the company received IHS hardcopy reports, while now it subscribes to production data for various regions on CD. The data has always offered essential support for purchase decisions, providing a big- picture view and in-depth data quickly - even more so now that Hart receives the data in an easy-to-use CD format.

David Hart, a partner in Hart Operating Fund and a longtime user of IHS U.S. Production Data, uses the data as the starting point on property analyses. He has found that the data enables him to develop a far more accurate analysis because it provides production details on wells under consideration, along with surrounding wells. With the data on CD, he can create maps that show the proximity of other wells, along with their production history. By looking at other wells producing from the same reservoir, he can hone his decline curve analysis projections.

For oil-producing properties, the majority of Hart Operating Fund's acquisitions, the company primarily looks at data elements such as daily reports to see decline rates, current production, water production and cumulatives. For gas, they focus on factors such as bottom hole pressure and test rates.

The data has been particularly valuable when the company ventures into new areas. When considering acquisitions in the Southeast, an area with which he was unfamiliar, David Hart used the IHS U.S. Production Data Southeast CD to gain an understanding of that region.

"I wore that CD out looking at water cuts and individual wells, what they were making, their economic limit and so forth, to get comfortable," he said. "We never bothered with many new areas before because it was too hard to get enough information together to pursue those areas. Because of the accessibility and ease of the data, we're now going into different areas."

Because Hart relies on the data on a daily basis, the company's recent move to a CD format enables the company to accelerate its assessment of properties. "With IHS U.S. Production Data on CD, I have the map, production report and specific leases all on one screen," he said. "I probably spend 50 percent less time now because I don't have to pull all the hardcopy information together. It's all right there."

That instant access empowers Hart Operating Fund to make quick decisions about whether to pursue a purchase further, often in just a few minutes.

By providing accurate, comprehensive information, IHS U.S. Production Data has continuously supported Hart Operating Fund's detailed process of identifying the best properties - ones it feels confident in holding for the long run. And beyond the data, David Hart has always appreciated his working relationship with IHS sales and support representatives. "Whenever I call, they get right on it and make you feel like you're their only client," he said. "You don't feel like one of thousands. That goes a long way."

Contact us now for more information on how to access U.S. Production Data.

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