?E&P companies can live or die based on their reserves, making them dependant on people such as Brent Haas to provide the reserve-replacement analysis they need to run their operations properly.

Haas was initially interested in a music career but instead chose to follow his father into the oil and gas industry. He received his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University in 2002. While a student, he interned at Dallas-based Haas Petroleum Engineering Services Inc., where he observed the field operations of companies such as Schlumberger Inc. and Halliburton Corp.

He was also a student worker at Texas A&M for Terrabon Inc., assisting a professor in the development of the latter’s MixAlco biomass conversion process. Following graduation, he returned to Haas Petroleum Engineering, where his father is president.

Haas joined the company as a petroleum engineer and was recently named associate director of engineering. His responsibilities include preparing reserve estimates and making recommendations for improving production. He also coordinates the activities of engineers and technicians at Haas Engineering. Haas spoke with Oil and Gas Investor about his projects, the advice he’s taken to heart and the benefits of belonging to a band.

Investor What led you to a career in engineering?
Haas Growing up, I enjoyed math and science classes the most. I decided that engineering would be the most compatible career field for me, and it has been a good fit. I also had a passion for music and dreams of being a singer-songwriter, but in the end I opted for the job security that engineering provided.

Investor How did you end up at Haas Engineering?
Haas The obvious answer is, I asked my Dad if he would give me a job! Seriously though, I didn’t plan to start working for him straight out of college. I wanted to go to work for one of the major oil companies first, but in the summer of 2002, the oil and gas industry wasn’t hiring a large number of new graduates. However, Haas Engineering was starting to experience growth, in large part due to its early involvement in the Barnett shale, and my father was looking to hire a new engineer.

Investor What services do you provide?
Haas We specialize in oil and gas asset evaluations. Clients use our reserve reports for a variety of purposes, including financing, acquisitions, divestitures and institutional reporting requirements. We also assist our clients in optimizing the development and economic value of their projects.

Investor What types of projects are you currently working on?
Haas I’ve been spending a lot of time working on shale reservoirs. It’s exciting to be involved in such an evolutionary segment of this business. We’ve come a long way in the last few years in understanding the dynamics of extremely low permeability reservoirs.

I’m working with Exco Resources Inc. on its Haynesville development program. We started working with Exco during the early stages of development and it was great to be a part of it from the ground floor. A large amount of data is coming in quickly, and we helped develop a model for the company to efficiently incorporate this data to improve its understanding of the play. Exco has experienced a high level of success on its initial completions.

Investor How is this challenging market affecting Haas’ services and your clients?
Haas It seems like we have been working overtime for the past six years and lately we have seen a slight slowdown in activity. Thankfully, we still have plenty of projects to work on. We are a little shielded from pricing fluctuations in our area of the industry. I think our clients will definitely be focused on managing costs and high-grading their drilling opportunities in this pricing environment.

Investor What do you like most about your job?
Haas It is challenging, and that keeps it fun. What we do is not rocket science, but we do deal with a large amount of uncertainty. Our clients rely on us to help manage risk, especially with the market volatility we have seen lately.

Investor Who has been a professional mentor?
Haas My father has been a tremendous inspiration on both a personal and professional level. I’ve felt very lucky to have witnessed him manage this company through a large amount of growth over the past seven years. He is a very talented engineer, he has a great business mind, and most importantly, he is a man of utmost integrity.
He has given me a lot of good advice but something that really sticks in my mind is, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”

Investor Where do you see yourself in five years?
Haas I still plan on being with Haas Engineering. Our company has evolved quite a bit since I have started working here and it has been exciting to grow along with it. My wife Karen and I don’t have kids yet, but we hope to be raising a family by then.

Investor How do you spend your free time?
Haas We bought a boat a few years ago and it’s been a love/hate relationship, but we try to spend a lot of time on the lake in the summers. I also sing and play guitar in a cover band, “Counterfeit Radio.” It is a lot of fun and gives me an outlet for my musical interests.