Framing the problem not by looking at what’s fixed and what’s variable, but by what is easy to change and what is very difficult to change, is the concept inculcated by Maverick Natural Resources
Maverick has been able to cut costs dramatically has been in field labor. During its initial transformation in 2019, the decision to contract out for well-specific field labor like pumpers, who have traditionally been permanent employees at most companies. While the supervisory field jobs remain manned by Maverick employees, Maverick was able to basically eliminate field labor costs below that level when it shut-in those hundreds of wells.
Maverick shifted the model at that lowest level of field operations to being contractor service-driven. Thus, one of the biggest drivers of fixed costs, because of that structural change, becomes 100% variable. The contracting of field services could become a real growth industry in the years to come.