Tag: performance

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Laying the Groundwork for Better Times Ahead

Image of workers laying a cement foundation with a gold masthead and white text.

The tendency of many suppliers to the oil and gas industry is to live for the up cycle. When challenging times hit, enthusiasm inevitably wanes. Companies go through the motions, but their hearts aren’t in it.  Some even shut their doors until times improve.

But it does not have to be this way. Forward-looking suppliers always have the opportunity to the lay the groundwork for better times ahead. For some, this new foundation will be evolutionary.  For others, it can prove revolutionary.

Continue reading “Laying the Groundwork for Better Times Ahead”
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Can a Struggling Transocean Reclaim Its Edge?

EnergyPoint Research

For many, the misfortune and missteps that have befallen Transocean in recent years have been painful to watch.  The bludgeoning began with fallout from the company’s role in the Macondo disaster.  Since then, the formerly top-rated offshore driller in EnergyPoint’s surveys has been waylaid by internal and external setbacks — poorly timed investments, credit downgrades, agitation from activist investors, low employee morale — leaving a battered operation to withstand the current downturn.

In an effort to right the ship, the company is aggressively scrapping older rigs and reducing expenses.  Plans for future capex have been cut, as have dividends.  Leadership changes have been made as well. Continue reading “Can a Struggling Transocean Reclaim Its Edge?”

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The Reluctant Rockstar

Rockstar

Until recently, if one were to side-click their way to the website of onshore drilling contractor Helmerich & Payne (H&P), they could be forgiven for assuming the company was just another run-of-the-mill driller.  Framed mostly in nondescript grey and blue, the site seemed an unfinished afterthought of a organization with better things to do.

In truth, that’s probably not too far off.  H&P has traditionally avoided heavily marketing itself, leaving the trumpeting of its success to customers and industry analysts.  Nonetheless, when you’ve earned the kind of respect the Tulsa-based company has over the years, taking pride in the presentation of your story is only Continue reading “The Reluctant Rockstar”

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EnergyPoint Marks 10-yr Milestone with New Award

EnergyPoint Research Customer Satisfaction Award

Next month it will be 10 years since EnergyPoint Research published its first-ever survey results. The 2004 Wellsite Contractors Survey, now referred to as the Oilfield Services Survey, made quite a stir when it was released. Not only was it unique to the industry in its content, it was ground-breaking in concept as well: autonomously developed performance ratings of oil and gas industry suppliers as seen through the eyes of customers.

Today, EnergyPoint’s ratings are an increasingly important part of the industry’s understanding of how suppliers are doing in terms of satisfying their clients. The global oil and gas industry spends more than half a trillion dollars a year on oilfield products and services. Our mission is to provide market intelligence that impacts the success of suppliers and their customers.

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Top Oil Companies Increasingly Defined by Shale Innovation

Shale Rock

U.S. shale plays may be creating a novel way to measure the new breed of top oil companies. The standard yardstick of worldwide barrels produced per day still evokes names of familiar global players such as Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP, as well as state-owned entities like Saudi Aramco and Petrobras. When gauged by innovation on the frontier of enhanced oil recovery, however, a host of more narrowly focused companies enter the conversation.

The sheer volume of extractable petroleum, and the related economic potential, justifiably dominate shale discussions. The Bakken Shale helped reinvigorate domestic oil drilling, and the Eagle Ford Shale promises to make Texas the eighth largest producer of crude in the world by the end of this year. EOG Resources, a gas company turned top shale-oil producer, has plans to drill 425 wells this year in Eagle Ford. These shales are incubators where today’s new type of top oil company is changing the way we extract hydrocarbons. Continue reading “Top Oil Companies Increasingly Defined by Shale Innovation”

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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”

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Ways to Encourage Better Supplier Performance

Encourage Supplier Performance

Over the years, EnergyPoint has collected literally tens of thousands of customer evaluations of oilfield suppliers.  We’ve stuck to our mission because we believe it adds a needed degree of transparency to the industry’s supplier-performance picture.

It has also afforded us some unique insights, including understanding ways customers can proactively influence the performance of their suppliers.  Here’s some of the ways that stand out: Continue reading “Ways to Encourage Better Supplier Performance”

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EnergyPoint’s Oilfield Perspectives Tour

EnergyPoint Header Image

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”

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Thanks, But It Misses the Point – Part 2

Missing the Point

In Part 1 of this article, we discussed how restaurants’ practice of constantly refilling iced tea glasses without first asking can actually leads to a diminished customer experience for some.  We also hinted that we thought customers of oilfield suppliers could relate to this lesson.  We want to use the second part of this article to explain how.

When an organization decides it wants to address customer satisfaction, the process it follows can have a big impact on whether its succeeds.  When management does not think through and get involved in the process — opting instead for vague directives to “better serve our customers” or “create greater customer intimacy” — the results can prove ineffectual and even counterproductive. Continue reading “Thanks, But It Misses the Point – Part 2”

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The Grapevine – Weatherford Int’l

OIlfield Grapevine

Weatherford International recently reported 1st Quarter 2013 earnings after adjustments that were generally in line with consensus estimates. The following day, the company’s stock price rose more than seven percent. Investors seemed relieved that no additional shoes dropped in the earnings release or conference call. The fact that such rise in stock price occurred on a report of no unexpected bad news says a lot about how Weatherford is currently viewed in the investor community.

Below are our thoughts on what we’ve read and heard from Weatherford recently, both positive and negative, as well as some updated data regarding the company’s customer satisfaction ratings and what they suggest for its new strategic tact: Continue reading “The Grapevine – Weatherford Int’l”