{"id":95571,"title":"MaverickX: Next-gen chemicals that break rock to unlock valuable natural resources","tagline":"Now expanding into oil \u0026 gas— launching our PetroX product line.","body":"Hey YC — we’re **Eric and Jesse**, co-founders of **MaverickX**.\n\nMaverickX makes next-generation chemicals that break rock to unlock valuable natural resources — oil and critical metals.\n\nWe started in mining. Now we’ve expanded into oil \u0026 gas, launching our PetroX™ product line with multiple major operators already under contract.\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=95571\u0026key=user_uploads/89898/23215d7c-5b15-4672-9408-dadbc92688ad)\n\n**🔥 The Problem**\n\nAmerican energy production has a math problem:\n\n* Only 20% of the oil in unconventional shale wells is recovered – 80% of the oil is still underground\n* Operating costs are projected to rise 40% over the next decade, heading toward $95/BBL\n\nAnd nearly 10% of U.S. oilfield deaths each year are linked to exposure to toxic chemicals still used in daily operations\n\nIt’s one of the biggest “old-tech” sectors left untouched by modern science.\n\n**⚡ What We Built**\n\nMaverickX creates next-gen chemistry that actually removes iron, breaks scale and paraffin, liberates metals and more oil from shale. We reduce operating costs and keep production flowing.\n\nWith PetroX, operators are seeing:\n\n* dramatically cleaner systems\n* lower operating cost\n* reduced downtime\n* safer field operations\n* and the ability to liberate **50%+ more hydrocarbons** in certain shale environments\n\nOur chemistry increases shale porosity by up to 40x, allowing oil to move freely where it previously couldn’t. We aren’t just swapping chemicals — we’re rewriting the physics of the reservoir.\n\n**⛽ Why Oil \u0026 Gas?**\n\nOil is the backbone of our modern economy and demand is only projected to increase.\n\nMaverickX started in mining, building better chemistries to extract metals.\\\nThen the Department of Energy contracted us for a wild project:\n\n_“Turn old oil wells into mines. Extract the metals trapped inside.”_ We did it.\\\n\\\nAnd in that process, we discovered something bigger: Our chemistry didn’t just free metals, it freed hydrocarbons — a lot of them. The moment we saw that, we knew we had to expand into oil \u0026 gas. Today we operate in South Texas with production-scale manufacturing and contracts for PetroX™ across multiple operators.\n\n# **📣 Call to Action**\n\nIf you operate or know operators of wells, SWDs, or production facilities and want:\n\n* lower operating cost\n* fewer shutdowns\n* better flow\n* safer, non-toxic chemistry\n* or more oil out of the rock you already control\n\n**We want to run a pilot with you.**\n\n👉 Email us: [**founders@maverickx.com**](mailto:founders@maverickx.com)","slug":"OrT-maverickx-next-gen-chemicals-that-break-rock-to-unlock-valuable-natural-resources","created_at":"2025-11-19T20:10:33.679Z","updated_at":"2026-05-25T04:52:30.473Z","total_vote_count":9,"url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/OrT-maverickx-next-gen-chemicals-that-break-rock-to-unlock-valuable-natural-resources","share_image_url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/media/?type=post\u0026id=95571\u0026key=user_uploads/89898/23215d7c-5b15-4672-9408-dadbc92688ad","company":{"id":26807,"name":"MaverickX","slug":"maverickx","url":"https://www.MaverickX.com","logo":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/863f997124ddcf68b9b2129609f950b6485be63f.png","batch":"Summer 2022","industry":"Industrials","tags":["Energy"],"search_path":"https://bookface.ycombinator.com/company/26807"}}