Techbits: Symposium Evaluates Status of Reserves/Resources Systems

Abstract

Techbits Improving and providing clarity to the accuracy, reliability, utility, and transparency of oil and gas reserves and resource data was the aim of the Reserves and Resources Estimation and Reporting Symposium held in July in Houston. The multidisciplinary symposium assembled a diverse group of industry stakeholders, bringing together about 200 people from 17 countries representing more than 100 companies and other organizations. The event was jointly organized and sponsored by SPE, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE). The symposium was a follow-up to the 2007 AAPG/SPE Multidisciplinary Reserve Conference held in Washington, D.C., soon after the release of the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS). The 2011 symposium provided the opportunity for participants to discuss and reflect on the implementation of the PRMS and its success in promoting a consistent classification methodology. Of particular focus was the relationship of the PRMS to other systems, the impact of PRMS on the development of the reporting standards for US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants engaged in oil and gas producing activities, and its application to the evolving exploitation of unconventional resources. The symposium also acted as a venue to facilitate dialogue among the users of reserves/resource data and the many stakeholders who regularly use reserves and resource estimates. The keynote presentation, titled “Reserves: Fact, Fiction, Fortune, or Imagination,” was delivered by Peter Gaffney, who took a lighthearted look at the problems and opportunities facing the industry as well as resource evaluators in today’s changing world. The focus included comments on the perception, if not the reality, that oil prices themselves have become a surrogate for reserves as uncertainty itself can now virtually create value. Following are summaries of key points made during some of the sessions. Improving and providing clarity to the accuracy, reliability, utility, and transparency of oil and gas reserves and resource data was the aim of the Reserves and Resources Estimation and Reporting Symposium held in July in Houston. The multidisciplinary symposium assembled a diverse group of industry stakeholders, bringing together about 200 people from 17 countries representing more than 100 companies and other organizations. The event was jointly organized and sponsored by SPE, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE). The symposium was a follow-up to the 2007 AAPG/SPE Multidisciplinary Reserve Conference held in Washington, D.C., soon after the release of the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS). The 2011 symposium provided the opportunity for participants to discuss and reflect on the implementation of the PRMS and its success in promoting a consistent classification methodology. Of particular focus was the relationship of the PRMS to other systems, the impact of PRMS on the development of the reporting standards for US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants engaged in oil and gas producing activities, and its application to the evolving exploitation of unconventional resources. The symposium also acted as a venue to facilitate dialogue among the users of reserves/resource data and the many stakeholders who regularly use reserves and resource estimates.