Comments: JPT Readers Survey
Authors: Donnelly John 
Published: February 2015

Every 2 years, JPT takes a close look at how it is doing. SPE members are invited to take a detailed survey on JPT's content, coverage, relevance, strengths, and weaknesses so the staff can gain insight into areas for improvement. In June, an invitation to participate in the 2007 JPT Readers Survey was sent to a random sample of 21,594 SPE members, closely matching SPE members' demographics and job/technical interests.

The survey showed an improvement in the overall rating of JPT compared to the most recent survey, which was taken in 2005. Its content was rated favorably (excellent, very good, or good) by 95% of the 2007 survey respondents, with the most frequent response being "very good." This compares to an overall favorable rating of 93% in 2005. A total of 88% of those surveyed consider it to be useful or very useful to them in their jobs, identical to the rating in 2005.

The most frequently read features in JPT, in order of frequency, are identical to the 2005 survey: Technology Update, Technology Applications, summaries of technical papers, and Techbits (summaries of technology discussed at SPE meetings). The most favored technical topics among readers, in order of preference, are field development, mature field revitalization, horizontal and complex trajectory wells, high pressure/high temperature wells, well stimulation, multilateral/extended reach, unconventional recovery, reservoir/asset management, IOR/EOR, and tight reservoirs.

Among the topics that readers would like to see more information on are offshore processing and gas recovery technologies; health, safety, and the environment; marginal fields; geophysics; sand management; petroleum engineering basics; geomechanics; and CO2 sequestration. The nontechnical topics readers are most interested in reading about are the oil industry's image and reputation, leadership challenges in the industry, career development, employment opportunities, and ethics.

Respondents to the survey also assessed what they see as JPT's biggest strengths and weaknesses, and how to improve the publication. JPT's strengths are its up-to-date, relevant information and breadth of coverage; its technical content and focus; its balance between technical content and news/information about the industry and profession; the fact that it is sound technically through its relationship with SPE; and because it is less commercial than other industry trade publications. The publication's weaknesses cited by respondents are that some technical papers deserve more than just a summary; some articles/summaries have dry, slightly academic presentations; and a need for more news about service and operating companies.

Representative suggestions for improvement includeAdditional articles with a non-North American focus, and more regional news in generalMore insights on renewable energy and its impact on the future of fossil energyMore contributions and firsthand experiences from readersMore field/asset studiesA "back to the basics" section that revisits basic petroleum engineering and adopted industry practices.

Compared to other magazines covering the E&P industry, 72% of the respondents rate JPT better or significantly better than other publications. This percent-age is up from 66% in 2005. Approximately 40% download the online full-length technical papers that have been summarized in JPT.