Modernization of the SEC Oil and Gas Reserves Reporting Requirements

Summary Modernized United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for reporting oil and gas reserves are now broadly consistent with the SPE definitions and generally reflect public requests for specific changes in the previous rules. Disclosure requirements based on the revised definitions feature use of annual average prices; wider use of reliable technologies; broader recognition of nontraditional resources, including those from oil sands, shales, and coal; optional disclosure of probable and possible reserves; and replacement of the "certainty" criterion for some reserves by a "reasonably certain" criterion. Official clarification of some of the new terms may be forthcoming; here, I provide my opinion of their intent.

Modernization of the SEC Oil and Gas Reserves Reporting Requirements Academic Article