SPE Petroleum Engineering Certification and PE License Exam Reference Guide (Ghalambor, 2014)

Below is my Amazon review. I'm posting this here since I get so many questions about this book. As you can see, I like the book, but not for the PE Exam. Why? It's designed for a different exam, lacks number examples for the equations, and is not easy to search to find the correct formula. Feel free to ask questions or make your own assessment in the comment section below.

To be clear about what this book is: it’s a list of equations, graphs, and tables. They are broken up into the following six subjects:

Reservoir Engineering
Drilling Engineering
Formation Evaluation
Production Engineering
Facilities
Petroleum Economics

Strong points:

1. Comprehensive. I would add a few here and there, but one must draw the line somewhere.
2. Clear print. Big graphs.
3. Each variable listed after the equation.

Weak points:

A. No numbers shown with equations! This makes many hard to use, even if you understand them.
B. No explanations! You better understand these equations before you use them.
C. Let’s be clear: this book is just a list of equations/graphs/tables, nothing more.
D. No easy way to find what you need besides the six chapters. You have to know this book well to make it useful on an exam.
E. Ring bound. This is both a plus and minus, just be aware of it.

In summary: if you want a comprehensive book of equations without numbers or examples, this book is for you. I’ve found it makes for a useful office reference. Just don’t expect much more except some graphs and tables (which are not comprehensive, but pretty complete for general use). It is the primary and only allowed reference for the Certification Exam, but I wouldn't bring it to the Professional Engineering Exam unless I knew it very well and supplemented it with notes.