DeGolyer and MacNaughton
5001 Spring Valley Road , Suite 800 East , Dallas, Texas, United States

As the leading independent consulting firm focused on the petroleum industry, DeGolyer and MacNaughton provides unbiased and informed answers to clients worldwide. D&M skillfully blends energy economics, engineering, and the earth sciences to help clients in more than 100 countries make the smartest decisions regarding exploration, recovery, and management of oil and gas resources.  The firm’s services include resources assessments, reserves consulting, reservoir modeling, geologic and petrophysical analyses, development planning, guidance with financial reporting issues, and financial forecasting for petroleum discoveries.

DeGolyer and MacNaughton is one of the oldest and most respected names in the oil and gas industry. Since its formation in 1936, D&M has strived to be the leader in petroleum industry consulting services. With offices around the world, D&M employs over 180 petroleum professionals, including engineers, geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, statisticians, and economists who speak over 30 different languages. D&M provides a wide range of petroleum consulting services to clients worldwide and is consistently at the forefront of the industry in implementing innovative technologies. During its 80-year history, D&M has established an international reputation for extensive knowledge in its field, unquestioned devotion to integrity, and a commitment to serving its clients.

History

DeGolyer and MacNaughton was formed in 1936 in direct response to an industry in dire need of more scientific methods. Following the Drake discovery in 1859, the early oil industry in the United States was at the mercy of boom-and-bust cycles. Closely spaced wells flowed wide open, accelerating the depletion of oil. Natural gas, necessary to move inert crude, was discharged into the air, exhausting this potential energy source. Inaccurate and incomplete assessments of reservoir conditions, together with primitive production practices, led to great losses in potential reserves. Had such procedures remained unchecked, billions of barrels of oil might never have been produced.  By the 1930s, oil production under the old open-flow system overwhelmed limited markets, and oversupply threatened the oil industry’s economic life. The nation was forced into conservation through proration, catalyzing a need for better engineering techniques in petroleum production. Scientific methods and conservation principles began stabilizing the shaken industry. But when bankers began to cautiously proffer long-term loans secured only by the unseen underground collateral of oil reserves, they had to rely on the integrity and competence of those assessing the properties. More innovative financing methods were needed, and that created a need for reliable independent reservoir studies and evaluations. Everette Lee DeGolyer and Lewis MacNaughton formed DeGolyer and MacNaughton to meet such needs, and heralded a new era in the economics of energy.  Since 1919, oil professionals have regarded Everette Lee DeGolyer as the pioneer in geophysical exploration. Few, if any, individuals have founded or headed more enterprises of transcending importance to the international oil industry. From the discovery of the world’s greatest oil well at the time (before he had even graduated from college) to forecasting the huge Middle East reserves, DeGolyer’s legendary career was marked by brilliance, confidence, patience, and foresight.  His enduring stature in the industry is illustrated by DeGolyer’s peers’ creation of the DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal to recognize distinguished service to the petroleum industry.  Lewis MacNaughton was an extraordinarily talented geologist who, like DeGolyer, had also gained solid work experience overseas prior to obtaining his college degree. In 1928, DeGolyer, the then-president of Amerada Petroleum Corporation, hired the scholarly, methodical MacNaughton. Upon DeGolyer’s retirement in 1932 (at the young age of 46), financial institutions and oil companies continued to call DeGolyer, ceaselessly seeking advice based on his scientific professionalism and non-provincial perspective. Faced with the inevitability of an increasing demand for reliable, realistic consultation, DeGolyer prevailed upon MacNaughton to join him in the first petroleum consulting organization to provide services on an international scope. Together, the two men forged a firm that would become the petroleum industry’s most sought-after advisor.  DeGolyer and MacNaughton continues to provide unbiased, expert services to the global petroleum industry, and the original partnership traits are still evident after more than 80 years: the pioneering spirit, the desire to innovate, a quest for scientific knowledge, and the ability to apply this knowledge creatively and honestly.

EXPERIENCE

DeGolyer and MacNaughton has completed reserves consulting projects for thousands of clients, including public and private petroleum companies, national oil companies, financial services companies, and purchasers of oil, natural gas, and other products in the upstream sector of the energy industry.

In continued recognition of these founding principles, D&M is committed to

• Offering unbiased, independent counsel
• Hiring technical experts who are devoted to service
• Leveraging integrated teams to add breadth and depth to consulting engagements
• Applying advanced computer technology
• Focusing on employee retention to create continuity and consistency in service

SERVICES

Since 1936, DeGolyer and MacNaughton has been uniting advanced knowledge with a commitment to integrity and the highest level of service to enable thousands of clients to make more informed decisions regarding the development and recovery of petroleum resources.