July 31st, 2026

MOGA Spotlight: Line 45

Solving Problems Beyond the Spreadsheet

by Amanda Hattis
Managing Editor, Michigan Oil & Gas News

Alex Code visits a Michigan well site. Drawing on his background in geology and industry experience, Code founded Line 45 to help producers better organize and use the information that drives day-to-day operations. -- MICHIGAN OIL & GAS NEWS / Amanda Hattis

When Alex Code was 14 years old, he dreamed of owning a business.
It wasn’t because he wanted to be his own boss. It was because he wanted to build something that mattered—a place where people felt valued, enjoyed coming to work and had the opportunity to solve interesting problems together.

More than a decade later, that vision became Line 45.

Founded in 2014, the Michigan-based company has quietly become a trusted technology partner for independent oil and gas companies and clients in more than a dozen states. While Line 45 began as a geographic information systems (GIS) consulting firm, nearly 95% of its work today focuses on software development and data management—helping producers organize information, automate workflows and make better business decisions.
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For Code, however, software has never really been the product.

“The idea for Line 45 came over a decade later,” he said, “but that original goal remained. At the end of the day, I just really like helping people and solving interesting problems with a great team.”

Understanding the Industry First

Code’s journey into oil and gas began after earning his geology degree, when he joined what is now Michigan’s Geological Resources Management Division.
During six years with the state, he worked with producers across Michigan and gained an appreciation for both the technical side of the industry and the realities of operating an independent company.

Those conversations revealed a challenge that wasn’t immediately obvious.

Many software systems were built for major corporations with dedicated IT departments and large budgets. Most Michigan operators didn’t fit that mold. Instead, they relied on small teams managing mature wells, tight margins and growing regulatory responsibilities—often using spreadsheets, Access databases or homegrown systems held together by years of institutional knowledge.

Rather than accepting that reality as “just the way things are,” Code saw an opportunity.

He founded Line 45 around a simple philosophy: build practical tools designed around the way independent producers actually work.
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That mindset still shapes the company today.

“We don’t identify as a tech company,” Code said. “We see ourselves as being in the industry and having tech expertise.”
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That perspective has helped Line 45 support energy companies develop everything from permitting systems and production reporting tools to field data collection applications and regulatory workflows.

Making Information Work Harder

Aurora Walchak-Arndt from NuEnergy, LLC works within the Bensis platform to manage operational data for the company. -- MICHIGAN OIL & GAS NEWS / Amanda Hattis

A view of the Bensis dashboard. Bensis helps independent producers manage production, regulatory reporting and operational data. -- Provided by Line 45

Everyone talks about the importance of data.

Code believes the more important question is whether that data is actually useful.

“Data is only valuable when it’s accurate, available and accessible,” he explained.
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Rather than beginning with software, Line 45 starts by asking clients what they need to know.
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​Can management quickly understand current production? Which leases require attention? Where are operational bottlenecks? How can reporting become faster and more reliable?

Once those questions are identified, technology becomes the means—not the objective.

Maps and GIS help users visualize information in ways that spreadsheets simply can’t, allowing production data, infrastructure and land information to be viewed together to reveal trends and opportunities more quickly.
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For Code, GIS isn’t a separate system—it’s simply another way of making information easier to understand and act upon.

Built With Producers, Not Just for Them

That philosophy ultimately led to the development of Bensis, Line 45’s cloud-based production and operations management platform.

Rather than designing software first, the company interviewed producers to understand their biggest frustrations before writing code. The result is a platform that combines production management, allocation, regulatory reporting and operational workflows into a single system built specifically for independent operators looking to move beyond spreadsheets without the cost and complexity of enterprise software.

One of those collaborators has been Riverside Energy.
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Working together has helped Bensis continue to evolve as Riverside processes increasingly large volumes of operational data—including more than one million records last year—while also helping shape future capabilities such as carbon sequestration management. ​

Alex, Emily, and the team at Line 45 have been great to work with as Riverside strives to achieve greater operational efficiency through implementation of the Bensis platform. They have been very responsive to our needs by balancing the pace of expanding functionality with our appetite for spending. Development of the application has been a truly collaborative effort. We are to the point now that every department, from engineering and finance to operators in the field, are using the application to access and analyze production data to support internal and external reporting and accounting processes and make decisions.
— Jim Schramski, Chief Operating Officer, Riverside Energy Michigan

That partnership reflects the way Line 45 prefers to work—not simply delivering software, but continuing to improve it alongside the companies that use it every day.

Looking Ahead

Alex Code using Bensis to access production history and field observations from the field. -- MICHIGAN OIL & GAS NEWS / Amanda Hattis

As experienced professionals retire and expectations for reporting continue to grow, Code believes the industry’s greatest challenge may be preserving knowledge while making better use of information already available.

Fortunately, he also sees unprecedented opportunity.

Artificial intelligence, automation and cloud computing are making sophisticated tools more affordable than ever before. Capabilities once available only to large companies are becoming increasingly accessible to independent operators.

For Michigan producers managing mature assets and increasingly narrow margins, those tools can provide something invaluable: visibility.
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“It’s how we prevent ourselves from getting into bad situations,” Code said. “It’s also how we spot opportunities that might have been overlooked before.” ​

A Quiet Commitment to Solving Problems

Today, Line 45’s team of 10 software engineers, GIS specialists, analysts, project managers and quality assurance professionals continues to focus on helping energy companies work smarter.

That mission reflects both the company and the Michigan industry that helped shape it.
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Code says he’s always admired the people in Michigan’s oil and gas community who quietly do good work without seeking recognition. It’s a mindset Line 45 has embraced from the beginning—serving a specialized industry, solving practical problems and building lasting relationships one project at a time.