Petroleum Reserves in Question

Estimates of future production combine information and assumptions about economics, feasible technology and geology. To use reserve estimates sensibly in planning, policy and analysis it is necessary to have some understanding of how they are generated and to have confidence in the integrity of the estimating process. Strict conditions are applied by enterprises reporting ‘proven’ reserves for financial purposes in the US, but these exclude information about firms’ potential other sources of production.

By: John Mitchell