SPE News

Editorial Review Committee Reduces Journal Peer Review Time

Peer review times for SPE technical journals and the time between submission of a paper for review and its publication in a journal decreased significantly in 2005. Papers published in SPE’s technical journals undergo review by the SPE Editorial Review Committee to ensure quality content. Timely review of papers so that they can be published quickly is a primary concern.

For a number of years, SPE has tracked the percentage of papers published within 18 months of submission. Fig. 1 shows that this number has been near 50% since 1999 but was 70% in 2005, reflecting a faster turnaround of papers by the Editorial Review Committee. About 33% of papers appearing in 2005 issues of the technical journals were published within 6 months of the date they were submitted for peer review.

Fig. 1 Percentage of journal papers published within 18 months of submission for peer review.

One contributor to the improvement is the online review system SPE implemented in 2003. A random sampling of papers reviewed before and after implementation of the system revealed that average review times were about half as long for the papers reviewed through the system. All steps in the review process took less time except author revision. Peer review normally results in some changes needed to the paper by the author. The average time required for this step in the process remained about 5 months.

The largest contributor to the shorter review times, however, has been the efforts of the 480 volunteers who review papers for SPE. Completing the review of older papers and shortening review times have been points of greater emphasis for the committee during the past year. In 2004, more than 1,750 papers were submitted to the committee for peer review. About 31% of the papers reviewed were accepted for publication, about 15% with no or minor revisions and about 16% with a request for more significant revisions.

At the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition this year, the Senior Technical Editor and the journals’ Executive Editors agreed to continue to improve review time. To help achieve this goal, the SPE Editorial Review Committee is always seeking qualified individuals to assist in the review process. If you are interested, please e-mail journals@spe.org.

SPE Technical Journals

SPE Drilling & Completion Published March, June, September, December

SPE Journal Published March, June, September, December

SPE Projects, Facilities & Construction Published March, June, September, December Available online only

SPE Production & Operations Published February, May, August, November

SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering Published February, April, June, August, October, December

For information on subscribing, go to www.spe.org/journals.

Information on Member Technical Interests Guides SPE Programs

Should SPE start a new journal on healthy, safety, and environment (HSE)? What would be a good topic for a workshop in Mumbai? Which members might be interested in serving on a program committee for a reservoir simulation conference?

Questions such as these are important in determining the direction of SPE programs. The answers would be more easily arrived at if SPE knew how many members are primarily interested in HSE, what topics are of primary interest to members in Mumbai, or which members are highly interested in reservoir simulation. Unfortunately, in many cases, SPE does not know the answers to those questions because the data SPE has captured on the technical interests of SPE members are incomplete.

To help SPE deliver the right programs to the right places in the world, SPE members are asked to provide the Society with information on what technical topics are of greatest interest to them. This includes selecting a primary discipline from among the six major disciplines encompassed by SPE:

Drilling and Completions.
Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility.
Management and Information Technology.
Production and Operations.
Projects, Facilities, and Construction.
Reservoir Description and Dynamics.

Many members work in several of the six areas, but most can pick one or two that represent their primary focus. Doing so will help SPE evaluate and direct current programs and consider what new programs may be needed by SPE members.

Selecting a primary discipline is easy. Members can go to www.spe.org/mbrservices/profiles/SpecCat1.cfm, log in with their SPE member login and password, and click on the box next to the one or two disciplines they consider to be their current main job focus. While there, members also can select subdisciplines to further refine their interests. Disciplines also can be selected when members pay their dues online.

A member’s discipline profile can be changed as many times as needed. Younger members whose jobs may be transitioning can log in at any time to change their primary discipline and subdisciplines. Members who do not have internet access can contact any of the SPE offices by phone or fax to provide this information.

Three New SPE Award Categories Announced

Three additional SPE award categories have been approved by the SPE Board Committee on Membership, Education, and Professional Activities—Regional Technical Awards, a Regional Outstanding Young Member Award, and a Regional Distinguished Corporate Support Award.

Regional Technical Awards

To be presented upon recommendation of a Regional Technical Awards Committee appointed by the Regional Director, SPE Regional Technical Awards will acknowledge exceptional contributions to the Society at the section or regional level and will recognize singular devotion of time and effort to the programs and development of technical expertise in Drilling and Completions; Reservoir Description and Dynamics; Production and Operations; Facilities and Construction; Health, Safety, and Environment; and Management and Information.

Nominations, to be submitted to section leaders, must receive the approval of the appropriate SPE Technical Director for the specified discipline. Regional Technical Award recipients will be automatically included as candidates for the Societywide technical awards the following year.

Regional Outstanding Young Member Award

The Regional Outstanding Young Member Award will recognize contributions and leadership to the public and the community, with respect to local custom as well as to the Society, the profession of petroleum engineering, or the petroleum industry within the region. This award is intended to encourage interests among young members of the Society that are broader than the profession, and no award shall be presented solely on the basis of a candidate’s contribution to the Society, the profession of petroleum engineering, or the petroleum industry.

To be presented upon recommendation of a Regional Outstanding Young Member Award Committee appointed by a Regional Director, nominations will be received from section leaders within the region.

Regional Distinguished Corporate Support Award

Intended to recognize companies that support SPE membership, programs, and events and not solely through financial assistance to the Society or the petroleum industry, the SPE Regional Distinguished Corporate Support Award will recognize outstanding support by an organization and distinguished service to SPE members in the region through excellence in leadership and through the commitment of time, energy, and professional resources.

Nominations may be submitted to the Regional Director or the designated region’s award committee by any member in the region. Nominations must be received before 15 March and must include a full and complete statement of the reasons for proposing the candidate along with sufficient supporting documentation.

Exclusive Engagement for SPE Distinguished Lecturers

For those unable to attend Distinguished Lectures on reserves overbooking, eliminating environmental risks, improving oil/gas recovery, and slickwater fracturing, SPE onscreen presentations are the next best thing to being there. The following four 2004–05 lectures are now available for viewing. To locate the presentations on www.spe.org (login required), click on the navigation button for either “Sections” or “Technical Resources.” Look for the link dropdown menu for the “Distinguished Lecturer Program” or “Technical Presentations.” Lecture year 2003–04 presentations in Spanish and Russian also can be found on the site.

Reserves Overbooking—An Issue of Professional Ethics (Mark McLane, Rose and Assocs. Partner).
Errors of omission and errors of commission are discussed. Are proper controls in place and working to mandate unbiased professional behavior? Compliance is an issue of character and ethics—of personal and corporate values.
Eliminating Environmental Risks in Well Construction and Workovers (Phil Rae, BJ Services Regional Marketing Manager for Asia–Pacific).
In addition to reviewing key industry environmental challenges, novel materials and revised practices for well completion and stimulation are highlighted. The author suggests ways to improve or accelerate the implementation of environmental strategies to ensure protection of the biosphere and to safeguard future generations.
Low-Cost Methods for Improved Oil and Gas Recovery (Zaki Bassiouni, Dean of the College of Engineering, Louisiana State U.).
Three little-known field-tested improvements in oil and gas processes are presented: double displacement and second-contact water displacement, coproduction, and waterflooding of low-pressure gas reservoirs.
The Application and Technology of Slickwater Fracturing (Gary Schein, BJ Services Co.).
This presentation focuses on the criteria for slickwater-fracture-stimulation candidates. In addition to tight-gas-sand completions, there are many areas and formations where this technique is being implemented. Success has been dependent on determining the optimum volume, proppant concentration, proppant size/type, and pumping method.