Forty Under 40: Ryan Springmeyer, Tap Rock Resources

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Houston native Ryan Springmeyer married his high school sweetheart, also a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Courtnay is an excellent problem solver!” he says. “Most importantly, she has also been my greatest supporter and cheerleader as we have pursued riskier career choices, including start-ups and entrepreneurial endeavors.”

Why did you enter the oil and gas industry?

“I grew up in the oil and gas business. My father started his seismic business (Geophysical Pursuit) one year after my twin brother Reid and I were born. The oil and gas industry is fascinating to me because of its global impact and the ingenuity and rapid pace of change.”

Describe a memorable professional experience.

“When I was early in my career and an associate at NGP, I went to Oklahoma City with an NGP deal team to meet with Aubrey McClendon at Chesapeake. It was in the middle of the financial crisis in 2008 and Aubrey was very publicly dealing with some margin calls. It had to have been a stressful time. I was by far the youngest and least experienced person in the room but Aubrey made a point to engage me and ask where I was from and where I went to school etc. He was very charismatic and sincere. I was surprised he cared at all about me; it was a great lesson on how quickly you can have an impact on those around you.”    

What has been your most challenging project to date?

“Successful bond offering in 2021. The challenge was industry headwinds, we were experiencing a lot of growth and couldn’t point to a long history of high production. It was also a debut offering for Tap Rock and part of the use of proceeds was a distribution to equity, which debt investors didn’t love. We had to convey to bond investors that we were responsible managers that would execute and deliver on a business that would get them their money back plus a solid high yield return. We had to build trust through a lot of 20-30 minute conversations. We won that trust and ultimately upsized our $400 million offering to $500 million and priced the bonds at a 7% coupon which ultimately became cheaper cost of debt than our credit facility when the fed started raising interest rates significantly in 2023. Concurrent with our sale to Civitas we redeemed our bonds and our bond investors made a great return in just two years.”

What qualities do you think are necessary to be a good leader in the oil and gas industry?

“Tenacity: if you don’t want it badly enough, the hard times will prove that out and you likely will not make it through a cycle successfully. Maintain a team mindset, no matter your title. Give credit where credit is due. Be confident and trust your intuition, but remain humble and willing to get your hands dirty. People are inspired by leaders who lead by example—those who are in the trenches with you doing the work.”      

What are your long- and short-term career goals? 

“My career goals are to work with the best people. I have been fortunate to work with some really outstanding individuals and whether you are in good times or bad it’s fun to work with great people.”

Take a look at the rest of the Forty Under 40 2023 winners.