Comments: JPT's Editorial Committees
Authors: Donnelly John 
Published: February 2015

Members of JPT's editorial committees play a vital role in producing the magazine each month. These volunteers, experts in their fields, help ensure that JPT is publishing the best in innovative, high-interest technical information and covering a broad spectrum of technological advances and applications.

The JPT Editorial Committee, under current Chairperson Ed May of Schlumberger, selects the technical papers that are showcased each month in JPT. The 36-member committee—representing operators, service companies, and academia from around the world—reviews papers prepared for presentation at SPE conferences and chooses papers appropriate for publication. JPT staff editors then prepare 2-page summaries of the papers for publication in JPT, and the full paper is offered free online to SPE members for 2 months at www.spe.org/jpt. New papers are posted online the first business day of each month. Last year, the committee evaluated 2,216 SPE papers, choosing 120 to feature in JPT. The papers spanned 36 different technical categories, three to four of which are spotlighted in each issue of JPT. Photos and company affiliations of the current members of the committee also are available on the website.

The committee seeks to identify high-interest, broad-based, practical papers for publication applicable to the technical themes most dominant in the oil and gas industry and of interest to the Society's members. Reviewers also attempt to ensure that JPT is publishing papers that represent the industry's geographical and corporate diversity. They write introductions to each technical topic featured in the magazine, pointing out developments and trends in the field. Suggestions for additional reading are listed for those wanting more information beyond the papers selected. JPT began featuring condensed papers in a variety of technical topics—with the complete papers available online—several years ago, and JPT reader surveys show that members are quite pleased with the current system.

The JPT Special Series Committee develops topics and selects authors to prepare articles for the Distinguished Author Series and Technology Today Series articles published in the magazine. The Distinguished Author Series articles, written by individuals recognized as experts in a particular technical area, are general, descriptive summaries of the state of the art in a specific technology, particularly for readers who are not experts in that area. Technology Today Series articles are concise treatments of a narrow segment of technology that illustrate and explain technological concepts or advances. The committee invites authors to prepare manuscripts on specific topics. Each article undergoes technical review by members of the committee. The 12-member committee, under the leadership of Chairperson Ali Dogru of Saudi Aramco, has worked with authors to prepare four papers for publication so far this year, with five papers in various stages of the review/revision process, and another 34 papers have been invited.

This is in contrast with the more formal peer-review process that takes place in advance of publication in SPE's technical journals—SPE Drilling & Completion; SPE Production & Operations; SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering; SPE Projects, Facilities & Construction; and SPE Journal. SPE Projects, Facilities & Construction—which contains papers on design and operation of surface facilities and project management of onshore and offshore facilities—is the newest technical journal, having debuted in March.

Two of SPE's technical journals have been released in online versions. SPE Production & Operations and SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering became available online in late February. Other journals will be online soon. The online versions of the journals offer the same content as the paper versions, plus free retrieval of back issues using keyword searches, online discussions, and access to recent SPE papers on topics covered by the journal. A free preview is available of all the technical journals online at www.spe.org.