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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

AAPG Bulletin

Abstract


Volume: 34 (1950)

Issue: 6. (June)

First Page: 1283

Last Page: 1287

Title: Our Oil and Gas Reserves: Their Meaning and Limitations: DISCUSSION

Author(s): Frederic H. Lahee (2)

Abstract:

In discussing the subject of reserves of crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas, care should be taken to understand and to explain the scope of the term "reserves." Too often different persons use the same word with very different meanings.

The habit of dividing the year-end reserves by the production of that year to obtain an idea of the number of years of remaining supply is fallacious and leads to erroneous conclusions.

The figures published by the API for proved reserves under "new discoveries" include the proved reserves of newly discovered fields and also the proved reserves of pools which belong in fields discovered prior to the year reported. This fact leads to underestimating the quantity of new reserves which will be subsequently proved by drilling and added to the proved reserves of the newly discovered fields in any given year.

Two essential points to remember are: (1) that there are still many billions of barrels of as yet unproved oil reserves and many trillions of cubic feet of as yet unproved gas reserves, on this North American continent; and (2) that the estimates of proved reserves of these hydrocarbons are always only a part of the supply.

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