Rule of Thirds: Breaking It Down in the Midstream

Photo of pipelines stretchign the horizon.

With shrinking E&P budgets, weak commodity prices, the rise of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, the need for greater emphasis on customer satisfaction in the oil and gas industry has never been stronger. Providers of midstream services, and their stakeholders, ignore the evidence at their own peril.

Results from EnergyPoint Research’s 2019 Oil & Gas Midstream Services Survey make the case, as companies rating in the top third of the survey register investor returns well in excess of the bottom third. Continue reading “Rule of Thirds: Breaking It Down in the Midstream”

Top-rated U.S. Gasoline Retailers

Map of the U.S. with regions highlighted

Results from EnergyPoint Research’s 2019 Customer Satisfaction Survey show Wawa to be the No. 1 rated gasoline retailer in the U.S.. The company also rated first in service quality, and in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.

Kum & Go rated No. 2 overall, first in convenience and ease overall, and first in the Midwest and Northwest. Sheetz and Kwik Trip rated No. 3 & 4 overall. Rounding our the Top 5 overall is QuikTrip, which also rated first in the Southwest. Continue reading “Top-rated U.S. Gasoline Retailers”

A Simple But Powerful Tool

Charkboard image with text and figures

EnergyPoint conducts its independent surveys annually. This schedule allows rated upstream, midstream and downstream energy companies to track their performance over time. The goal is encourage continual improvement and a “race-to-the-top” mentality.

Pricing and contract terms, service and professionalism, engineering and design, operations, and others attributes are measured in our surveys. Results are detailed in published reports. These include 1-to-10 point ratings, top-to-bottom rankings, evaluation counts, ratings means and medians. Continue reading “A Simple But Powerful Tool”

Surviving the Promises of Technology

Surviving Technology

Over the years, technology has played a heralded role in the oil and gas industry. It still does today. Pick up any trade publication and chances are you’ll find at least one well-worn tribute to its importance.

Yet, the fixation on hi-tech hasn’t been without problems. It’s even been value-destroying at times. We’d argue the industry’s intractable struggle with financial returns is due, in part, to spending on technology that isn’t justified. Continue reading “Surviving the Promises of Technology”

Yes, It Pays to Keep Customers Smiling

Featured Image: Yes, It Pays to Keep Customers Smiling

Yes, it pays to keep customers smiling—even in the midstream.

As midstream activity marches on in North America, customers show preferences for providers with strong operating and project-development skills. Professionalism also matters.

The need for solutions is diverse and widespread. Constraints in West Texas―ground zero of U.S. shale-oil production―crimp output. Natural gas in Appalachia seeks conditioning and outlets. Gulf Coast petrochemical and LNG facilities demand feedstock. Canadian producers beg for market access. Continue reading “Yes, It Pays to Keep Customers Smiling”

Consumers Are Happier at the Pump Than You Might Think

Featured Image (Gas Tank Guage) v. 1.00

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”