Oil and Gas Financing for Operators, Service Companies and Investors

Drilling and completion capital, production loans, equipment financing, oilfield services working capital, mineral and royalty loans, acquisition financing and working-interest lines of credit, placed with the energy lenders that fund deals banks decline.

What we finance

Energy lending is not one product. A drilling program, a producing-property acquisition, a workover rig and a sixty-day receivable from an E&P customer are underwritten by different lenders on different collateral, and each has its own page below. The common thread is the lender network: more than 160 wholesale and institutional funding sources, including the private energy lenders, equipment lenders and factors that work with independent operators and oilfield service companies well below the size a bank energy desk will consider.

Drilling and completion financing for operators who would rather borrow than give away most of the well
Reserve-based lending and production loans sized on proved developed producing reserves
Equipment financing and leasing for rigs, directional drilling tools, pumps, compressors and trucks
Oilfield services funding: lines of credit, invoice factoring and payroll funding against slow E&P receivables
Mineral rights and royalty loans that borrow against monthly royalty income without selling the interest
Acquisition financing for producing properties, leases and working interests
Working-interest lines of credit and term loans for operators and individual investors

Who we work with

Small and mid-sized operators running one well to a few hundred, non-operating working-interest owners, oilfield service and supply companies, mineral and royalty owners, and buyers of producing properties. The deals are mostly in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and the Rockies, and the brokerage is based in Houston, but the lender network is national.

Most of our energy clients come to us after a bank said no, or after a bank said yes to a number too small to matter. A bank energy group typically wants an established borrowing base, hedges in place and a loan large enough to justify its own cost. The lenders we place with underwrite the asset in front of them: the reserve report, the lease operating statements, the equipment, the receivable or the royalty check.

How energy financing is different

An oil and gas loan is sized on what the asset will produce, not on what it cost. A lender runs the reserve report through its own price deck, haircuts proved undeveloped locations, and lends a fraction of the resulting present value of proved developed producing reserves. Production declines, so the loan amortizes with it. Prices move, so a borrowing base is redetermined, typically twice a year. Title, division orders and operator history matter as much as the balance sheet.

That is why a strong file wins. Operators who arrive with a current reserve report, twelve months of lease operating statements, production history by well, title opinions and a clean picture of their hedges and liens get priced; operators who arrive with a pitch deck get questions. Our oil and gas loan application checklist walks through exactly what to assemble.

How it works with MercFinancial

One file, matched to the lenders whose credit box you actually fit, with term sheets compared side by side before you commit to anything.

Pre-approve in minutes: Stephanie, our AI lending assistant, qualifies the request with a soft credit pull, or call (830) 587-5022 and speak with an energy financing specialist.
We package one file: reserve data, production, financials, equipment or receivable detail, in the form each lender expects.
The file goes to the funding sources that lend on that collateral at that size, not to every lender in the book.
You compare real term sheets on cost, leverage, covenants and speed, and close with the one that fits.

Why a brokerage, and why this one

Energy lenders are specialists and most do not advertise. A production lender in Oklahoma, a rig lender in Midland and a factor that understands joint interest billings are three different phone calls, and each will size and price the same company differently. We make the calls, we know which lender wants which file, and we are paid on closed loans that perform, so our interest is a loan that works for you a year from now, not the first approval.

MercFinancial is a commercial funding brokerage, not a lender. Approval, loan amount, rate, term and funding are decided by the funding source on the strength of the file; nothing on this page is an offer or a commitment to lend.

Financing programs

Private Oil & Gas Lenders — Non-bank energy capital for the deals a bank energy desk will not size.
Oil & Gas Loans — Term loans, credit lines and well-secured advances for drilling, completion, workovers and growth.
Equipment Financing — Rigs, directional drilling tools, pumps, compressors and trucks, new or used, loan or lease.
Oilfield Services Funding — Factoring, lines of credit and payroll funding against slow E&P receivables.
Reserve-Based Lending — Borrowing bases and production loans sized on proved developed producing reserves.
Mineral & Royalty Loans — Borrow against royalty income or finance a mineral acquisition without selling the interest.
Acquisition Financing — Debt for buying producing properties, working interests, royalties and leases.
Working Interest Financing — Lines and term loans for your share of the AFE, with a 0% introductory rate for qualified borrowers.
Project Financing — Structures for drilling programs, PUD development, gathering, water and facilities projects.
Texas — Permian, Eagle Ford, East Texas and Gulf Coast operators and service companies.
Oklahoma — Production loans and services funding for Anadarko, SCOOP, STACK and Arkoma operators.

Frequently asked questions

Does MercFinancial lend its own money on oil and gas deals?

No. MercFinancial is a commercial funding brokerage. We package the file, place it with the energy lenders in our network and negotiate the terms; the lender funds the loan and holds it. That is what lets us shop one file across more than 160 funding sources instead of selling one product.

How small a deal will an energy lender consider?

Smaller than most operators expect. Bank energy desks usually start in the tens of millions, which is why they decline independents. The private lenders, equipment lenders and factors we work with fund working-interest lines from $50,000, equipment from the price of one unit, receivable facilities sized to monthly billings, and production loans well below bank minimums. Very large reserve-based facilities are also placed, but the gap we fill most often is the one below the bank.

What documents does an oil and gas lender ask for?

A current reserve report (or at least a production history and decline data by well), lease operating statements for the last twelve months, run tickets or purchaser statements, title opinions and division orders, the operating agreement if you are a non-operator, business and personal financials, a schedule of existing liens, and the equipment list or aging report if the loan is on equipment or receivables. Our checklist guide covers each item.

How long does an oil and gas loan take to close?

Equipment and receivable facilities often close in one to three weeks. A working-interest line can be approved on the strength of the application and the well data. Reserve-based and acquisition loans take longer, typically four to ten weeks, because the lender runs its own engineering and title review. The single biggest delay we see is a stale or missing reserve report.

Do you finance oil and gas investors as well as operators?

Yes. Individual working-interest investors and non-operating partners can finance their units through working-interest lines of credit and term loans, and mineral and royalty owners can borrow against royalty income. MercFinancial does not sell, offer or recommend any interest, well or operator; we finance the interest you have already chosen.

Guides on this topic

The Oil and Gas Loan Application Checklist: Reserve Reports to Title Opinions — An oil and gas loan application is built around a reserve report, lease operating statements, production history, title and division orders, hedging, environmental and plugging liabilities, and financials. Here is what each is for and where files stall.
What Oil and Gas Lenders Look For: A Data Checklist — The document checklist energy lenders expect before they price a deal: reserve report, LOE detail, hedge book, title status, and financials, explained item by item.
Bank or Private Lender for Your Oil and Gas Loan? — A decision framework for choosing between a commercial bank and a private energy lender for your oil and gas loan, by speed, cost, and leverage.
Seven Reasons Oil and Gas Loans Stall or Get Denied — Seven documentation and structuring problems that stall or kill oil and gas loans in underwriting, and the specific fix for each one, from stale reserve reports to title defects.
Joint Venture Partner or Debt: Which Capital Fits Your Oil and Gas Project? — Debt keeps your ownership but demands repayment from a declining asset; a partner takes part of the upside but shares the risk and funds what lenders will not. Here is how to weigh selling interest, farm-outs, carries and DrillCos against borrowing.
A Permian Operator's Playbook for Financing Growth — A stage-by-stage financing playbook for Permian Basin operators: equipment, working capital, JIB tools, reserve-based loans, and acquisition debt.