When considering well-designed, informative, and easy-to-navigate internet websites, those created and maintained by oil and gas companies wouldn't seem the most likely to gain entrance into the elite subset deemed "cutting edge of chic." Nevertheless, there is something to be said for having a powerful-albeit sometimes largely utilitarian-presence on the worldwide web, and oil and gas companies are no exception.
But facing facts, if companies aim to catapult crucial data about their businesses into cyberspace for perusal about the globe, it would behoove them to assemble that information into a package that is coherent, cohesive, and (even) aesthetically pleasing. In many instances, a company's website is, after all, one of the initial points of contact between itself and the world outside.
Taking notice
Taking it upon itself to recognize those oil and gas companies possessing "excellence in energy e-communication," or eeeC, Norwalk, Conn.-based energy research and consulting firm John S. Herold Inc. conducted a comprehensive study that evaluated 150 energy companies' websites for their "effective use of the internet."
"As a voracious consumer of energy data and information on the internet, [we] decided to recognize and encourage excellence by launching a study to identify website 'best practices' in meeting the needs of the various constituent groups, such as analysts, in- vestors, and consumers," Herold explained.
"Now that the dot-com hysteria is over-and many flawed energy sector cyber-business models are defunct-the time has come to evaluate the resulting labyrinth of energy sites on the web," Herold added.
In conducting its analysis, Herold focused on four main evaluation criteria: web design, ease of navigation, financial information, and company information. When appraising the ease and effectiveness of energy companies' e-communication platforms, Herold said, it "followed the mantra of Yale's information visualization expert Edward Tufte, 'Good design is clear thinking made visible.'"
The 150-company universe was then separated into five groups: integrated oils, Canadian energy, large exploration and production, midsize E&P, and energy non-E&P, which included downstream, midstream, and oil field service firms.
Study details
Herold's painstakingly detailed-and often witty-46-page study contains much useful content not provided for by this space. But, in general, the report included numerous useful tips for companies wishing to improve their sites.
For example, in judging overall web design, Herold considered color contrast between text and background to be important. Also, a website's text size and legibility were noted. And a website's "scroll features" were another aspect scrutinized. Herold also gave great stock to those sites with the appropriate balance between text and graphics and between too much content and too little.
Ease of navigation was another criteria used to rank the companies' sites. In one test, Herold investigated just how many clicks of the mouse that it took to locate and open a company's 10-K, annual report, or press release. In some rare instances, this information was literally one click away from the company's home page, but in other cases, these data were buried deep within the confines of one link after another.
In addition, Herold observed-and praised-the use of drop-down menus on company sites. "Like an express check-out lane [in a grocery store], drop-down menus simplify navigation and permit the user to hop to specific items throughout the site," it said.
Archived information and ease of locating it added another "plus" to a company's score.
And the winners are…
Winning top prize for best web design for the integrated oil, Canadian energy, large E&P, and midsize E&P categories were Conoco Inc., PanCanadian Energy Corp., Woodside Petroleum Ltd., and Evergreen Resources Inc., respectively.
Awards for the best sites for investment analysis in these same categories were given to, respectively, ChevronTexaco Corp., Imperial Oil Ltd., Enterprise Oil PLC, and Swift Energy Co.
The best sites for shareholders or potential shareholders, again in the same categories, were presented to, respectively, BP PLC, Imperial Oil, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., and Helmerich & Payne Inc.
Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp., meanwhile, was named the best overall downstream and midstream [energy non-E&P] site.
Elaborating on the reasons behind the eeeC evaluation, Herold Chairman and CEO Arthur L. Smith said, "We believe that energy companies, large and small, will benefit from our results and observations. Every energy company can find inspiration for better website design."
Smith added, "As T.S. Eliot noted, 'Talent imitates, but genius steals.'"