Collins

Hello and welcome to the June 2010 issue of SPE Projects, Facilities & Construction Journal. My name is Jim Collins, and as of this month, I’ll be taking over as the journal's Executive Editor from Sally Thomas, who has turned over the reins because of other obligations. Sally is remaining with the journal as an Associate Editor, to assist in the review of submitted papers, so we’ll continue to benefit from her expertise. I take on this responsibility with excitement and trepidation. I am excited to work with you, our readers and authors, to share interesting and important topics. I also recognize the work required by all our editors to maintain the high quality and technical currency of this online journal.

This is PFC's fifth year of publication, an important milestone for any specialized technical journal. In March of 2006, the inaugural issue contained papers on power-system harmonics, deepwater-pipeline route selection, and deepwater riser insulation. While the scope of PFC's content has expanded since then, the need for up-to-date information about our technical discipline is more important than ever, as the recent tragic events in the Gulf of Mexico have proven. I believe that PFC fills a critical need in the upstream industry, and through your participation and support, this journal can communicate our findings and shared experiences to the field, where it is always needed.

I thank you for taking the time to read this summary and I challenge you to share this with at least one colleague. In order to improve we need more participation as readers, authors or as a technical editor (currently there are only 25 in this group). This process begins with submitting your papers to the peer-review process. I would like to expand the pool of papers for our journal, and I need your help. Our scope is wider than many SPE members may realize, and so we are always eager to hear about your research and experience with design, operations, and environmental management of facilities both on- and offshore. With its high standards of accuracy, professionalism, and credibility, the SPE peer-review process is critical to the industry’s growth and success, and so I encourage you to submit your papers to PFC.

A paper is an excellent candidate for peer-review if it is (1) relevant to the technical content of PFC; (2) presents new innovations or discoveries, or analyzes previously-known information in an innovative way; (3) provides detailed and accurate information about the background, methodology, and findings of your experience; (4) offers relevant and well-organized support for its conclusions; and (5) avoids commercialism and sufficiently documents its sources. Remember that papers don’t have to be presented at an SPE meeting first. We accept papers originally presented at other conferences (as long as they have not been published in a magazine or journal) and those written and submitted directly to the journal for peer review.

This is a good point at which to close, but let me reiterate that I look forward to working with you, hearing your thoughts, and learning of your accomplishments. We all benefit from this knowledge transfer. I welcome your suggestions to improve our journal. Please email me at James.N.Collins@ConocoPhillips.com or contact Chris Carpenter, Managing Editor of SPE's peer-reviewed journals, at ccarpenter@spe,org. Thank you very much for your continued support and participation in the PFC journal. I’m confident you’ll enjoy the June issue.