Comments: JPT Reader Survey

Abstract

In May, JPT surveyed SPE members to get their assessment of this magazine and their suggestions for ways to improve it and make it more relevant to them. The online survey was sent to a random sample of members worldwide. Of the respondents, one-third were from the U.S. and two-thirds outside the U.S.; half were engineers, and a quarter were managers; and 32% work for service companies and manufacturers, while 21% work for international oil companies, 19% for independents, and 7% for national oil companies. To the more than 2,000 members who responded, thank you for taking the trouble to complete the survey. It will help us do a better job of giving you the information you need in your work and in your careers. Now, to the findings. The overall content of JPT was rated “good” to “excellent” by 95% of the survey respondents. This is slightly higher than the feedback we received in our most recent reader survey 2 years ago. JPT is considered to be “useful in their jobs” by 88% of readers; again, a little higher ranking than the previous survey. Employees at national oil companies find the information most useful. The most popular features in the magazine, in order, are Technology Update, Technology Applications, the summaries of the technical papers, and the quarterly Case Study feature. The Case Study article was added after the 2003 survey found that our readers wanted more case study and practical application information. The most popular technical topics, in order, are: field development; high-pressure/high-temperature challenges; multilateral/extended reach; mature field revitalization; well stimulation; horizontal and complex trajectory wells; reservoir performance and monitoring; formation evaluation; production operations; and well testing. The most favored nontechnical topics include career development articles, compensation and salary surveys, project management information, industry software reviews, and oil and gas industry politics.