Consumers Are Happier at the Pump Than You Might Think

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Listening to experts, one could be forgiven for assuming the traditional automobile and the lifestyle it supports are fast-approaching expiration. Hardly a day passes when a prognosticator of some sort doesn’t posit that the internal combustion engine—and the petroleum products that feed it—are officially passé.

If true, somebody forgot to tell the American consumer.

Assuming trends hold, 2017 will clinch the record for annual vehicle-miles traveled in the U.S.  This will mark the third consecutive year of record road travel, reversing declines stemming from the 2008 financial crises and the historically high petroleum prices that followed. Continue reading “Consumers Are Happier at the Pump Than You Might Think”

Fulfilling the Promise of Weatherford

Restoring Confidence in Weatherford

It is said what CEOs most enjoy is a challenge with outsize reward. If so, Mark McCollum should be ecstatic. As the incoming CEO of Weatherford International, he is tasked with resurrecting one of the more perennially promising, yet frustratingly underachieving, companies in the oil patch.

McCollum’s predecessor, long-time CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner, built an organization with a global presence and broad portfolio. However, the company found itself adrift in recent years as a string of financial losses and shifting strategies undermined employee morale and depleted investor confidence. Continue reading “Fulfilling the Promise of Weatherford”

Integrated Oilfield Suppliers Plot Divergent Paths

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As the oil and gas sector stirs with a hopeful sense of purpose, several of its largest and most influential suppliers are pursuing distinctly different strategies. It’s not just about which products and services will propel the industry forward. To some extent, the balance of power between providers and customers is at stake.

On one end of the strategic spectrum sit Schlumberger and GE Oil & Gas. With the help of recent acquisitions, both companies hope to meld oilfield equipment and services into a new seamless network, one capable of generating and interpreting streams of data for use in improving performance across all phases of a well. If successful, the impact could be far-reaching. Continue reading “Integrated Oilfield Suppliers Plot Divergent Paths”

The Customer Has Spoken: A Decade of Appraisals

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In 2004, EnergyPoint Research first set out to discern which oil and gas equipment suppliers and service providers work best for their customers and to quantify their experiences. A decade of collecting and analyzing the relevant data has established EnergyPoint as the resolute voice of the oilfield consumer and the only curator of independent customer satisfaction ratings in the industry.

EnergyPoint started its surveys with the assumptions that customer focus drives best practices and satisfied customers feed growth. Those facts held steady. And as we culled more industry wisdom from end users, we shared with our readers and subscribers a clearer picture of the critical variables companies can focus upon to create satisfied repeat customers. We also offered insights into how customers can influence the performance of their suppliers. Continue reading “The Customer Has Spoken: A Decade of Appraisals”

Global Shale: Potential Bonanza for Suppliers

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Shale-oil and -gas production in the U.S. has been revered by some as the fuel, engine and vehicle driving the nation toward energy independence and economic solvency. Astronomical estimates of reserves, millions of high-paying new oilfield jobs, enhanced competitiveness for American industry, greater tax inflows for state and federal governments, and incremental export revenues certainly justify the volume of discussion.

Shale has at once become both disruptive and transformative. It’s also here to stay. IEA estimates the share of U.S. shale oil and gas production to double by 2035. Continue reading “Global Shale: Potential Bonanza for Suppliers”

NOV Closes the One-stop Shop

Separate Directions

National Oilwell Varco (NOV) operates just about everywhere oil and gas is extracted, enjoying a hearty share of the market for integrated oilfield equipment. Yet global reach and a wide-ranging portfolio of products do not necessarily translate to a better customer experience—for NOV or its competitors.

EnergyPoint’s most recent survey data suggest NOV’s customer satisfaction ratings, while certainly competitive within its peer group, have slowly trended down as the company logged lower scores in various segments. To be fair, ratings for manufacturers of capital drilling equipment remain below average industry-wide. However, NOV has been sliding from its previous perch. Continue reading “NOV Closes the One-stop Shop”

EnergyPoint’s Oilfield Perspectives Tour

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Having collected and analyzed almost twenty thousand evaluations and over three-quarters of a million data points related to oilfield supplier performance and customer satisfaction since 2003, EnergyPoint Research has a lot to share. So, we’re hitting the road to do just that.

EnergyPoint began its Oilfield Perspectives presentation series in early 2013. The series features Doug Sheridan, managing director and founder of EnergyPoint Research, discussing the latest ratings, rankings, trends and implications from EnergyPoint’s independent customer satisfaction surveys in a uniquely compelling, informative and thought-provoking manner. Continue reading “EnergyPoint’s Oilfield Perspectives Tour”

MarkWest, Williams & Sunoco Logistics Garner Midstream Kudos

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As customers in the hotly contested midstream services segment have demanded more reliable operations and deeper product-development capabilities from their suppliers, MarkWest Energy once again has emerged as best-in-class as it captured top honors in EnergyPoint Research’s 2013 Midstream Services Customer Satisfaction Survey. 

The recently announced results cinches back-to-back customer satisfaction victories for MarkWest, which also took first-place overall in EnergyPoint’s midstream survey conducted in 2011. The biennial study, which dates back to 2006, is the leading independently conducted benchmark customer satisfaction study focusing on U.S. midstream service providers.

Continue reading “MarkWest, Williams & Sunoco Logistics Garner Midstream Kudos”

It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Oilfield

Mad Mad Oilfield

North American shale continues to rewrite the books, and its potential seems destined to spread globally. Simultaneously, new horizons are being forged offshore — from the ultra-deepwater of the world’s great oceans, to the lower-tertiary depths of the Gulf of Mexico, to the vast unknown of the Arctic. And operators are always looking to squeeze more from existing assets everywhere. All the while, the industry’s ingenuity and resolve is being both tested and showcased.

Given the clamorous state of the industry, maybe it’s not surprising EnergyPoint’s customer satisfaction ratings of oilfield service suppliers are, as they say, “all over the board”. After all, no one contends the demands of this brave new world are easily met. They are not. Everything from the far-flung and nomadic nature of today’s operations to the “big-crew change” lurking in the background suggests plenty of challenges. Continue reading “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Oilfield”

Top-rated Oil & Gas Industry Suppliers

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With so much at stake in today’s oil and gas industry, customers are looking for both measured authenticity and established competence in their oilfield suppliers. The ability of the current group of top-rated suppliers to perform so consistently well in EnergyPoint’s customer satisfaction surveys is a testament to their commitment to, and talent for, providing a superlative customer experience.

Three of the recently finalized 2012 survey’s four main segment leaders are repeat winners — Helmerich & Payne in onshore drilling, Derrick Equipment in oilfield products, and Ensco in offshore drilling. Newpark Resources captured the top overall ranking in the oilfield services segment for the first time.

Continue reading “Top-rated Oil & Gas Industry Suppliers”