Client:
Riverstone Energy
Houston, Texas
Line of Business: Energy
Client Contact:
Royce Carrigan, Vice President & CFO
281-441-8880
“Our team can mobilize,” says Royce Carrigan, describing one of his young company’s key strengths. Carrigan is a founding partner of RiverStone Energy LP, an independent oil and gas company focused on the acquisition, development, and operation of oil and gas properties primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
Formed on June 22, 2006, and officially launched as a business July 1, RiverStone, which is headquartered in Kingwood near Houston, was funded through a high-profile, by leading energy equity group called EnCap Investments. “Things were moving fast,” says Carrigan, “and we needed to find an auditor as quickly as possible” to perform the 2006 audit. In addition, he says, “We want to be financially transparent.”
It made sense, then, that RiverStone required an audit firm that could also mobilize and respond rapidly to the company RiverStone’s needs. That’s where Weaver and Tidwell’s Houston office came in.
RiverStone is comprised of five partners: President Tom Campbell, Rick Smith, vice president-exploration and a geologist; Steve Robinson, vice president-operations; Guy Fuller, vice president-land; and Carrigan, who is vice president and chief financial officer.
“RiverStone wanted to partner with a firm that had a lot of energy experience, and we were able to offer that,” says Weaver and Tidwell Audit Partner John Mackel. “They chose us because they liked our resumes and the experience we had auditing similar companies, not only in Houston, but throughout Texas.”
RiverStone is comprised of five partners: President Tom Campbell, Rick Smith, vice president-exploration and a geologist; Steve Robinson, vice president-operations; Guy Fuller, vice president-land; and Carrigan, who is vice president and chief financial officer and an attorney by trade.
The name of the company was inspired by the David and Goliath story in the Bible, Carrigan explains, noting that David chose five smooth stones from a nearby stream before doing battle with Goliath.
Carrigan says, “In seeking the audit partner, I interviewed six firms which quickly became two. One was a prominent local firm, the other Weaver and Tidwell. When I asked them both to provide me with the audit schedule, the Houston firm wasn’t able to meet the deadline, but Weaver and Tidwell was.”
He continues, “While we were being audited, we were putting together the drilling budget, getting it approved, and ramping up the operation to prepare to drill. John Mackel and I talked at length about his auditors being sensitive to the fact that we were moving very quickly.”
Carrigan illustrates just how quickly: The company budgeted for 2,500 acres and no producing properties for fiscal 2006 but at year-end, RiverStone had more than 1 0 1,000 acres and was producing about 3, 0 700 barrels per month from two acquisitions. RiverStone intends to complete its first 12 wells by year-end 2007 , far ahead of projections.
Carrigan continues, “John and his group did a good job of sticking to their schedule and coordinating with me. They put in some long hours up here, even on weekends, and they hit all of our deadlines with EnCap—with time to spare.”
Carrigan describes RiverStone’s relationship with Weaver and Tidwell as “very dynamic and very healthy. We will stick with Weaver and Tidwell, without question. There’s no doubt that I am satisfied.”
He sums up: “Weaver and Tidwell is such a good fit for us, and the key to it all was their responsiveness” at the outset. “I really appreciated that.”
Royce Carrigan,
Vice President & CFO
Riverstone Energy