Discussions about the changing nature of reserves accounting and the need for
more consistent definitions were the top themes of the International
Multidisciplinary Reserves Conference, held in late June in Washington, D.C.
AAPG was co-sponsor of the meeting, in cooperation with the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Society of
Petroleum Evaluation Engineers, the World Petroleum Congress and the United
Nations.
Conference co-chairPeter R. Rose noted that the invitation-only conference
attended by 130 persons met its goals, attracting a mix of geologists,
engineers, bankers, regulators, accountants and economists and engaging in
high-level discussions
with technical professionals who define and generate reserve estimates.
Christopher Cox , chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, spoke
to the group at a reception, underscoring the
“powerful tool of interactive data” being instituted at the SEC.
At a luncheon earlier, SEC director of the Division of Corporation FinanceJohn
White noted how
“the growing trend toward truly global, high-quality accounting methods has
heightened the need to converge interactive data taxonomies and software tools
to allow for cross-border analysis of companies.
”
He told the group of a volunteer program where companies are invited to participate in the SEC’s new interactive reporting system, where data is pegged in a standard protocol
for reporting purposes. Anadarko and Petrobras are participants from the energy
sector.
“Taxonomies for the oil and gas industry are in development,” White said, and, like the taxonomies for all other industries, will include
data tags for all U.S. GAAP financial statement and footnote disclosure.
With about a third of the attendees from outside the United States, it also was
noted that a system has been proposed to smooth the differences in
international reporting versus U.S. accounting requirements.
In another luncheon address,Guy Caruso , director of the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, led the group through the newly released EIA outlook to 2030,
which projects world energy to grow 57 percent from 2004 to 2030,
despite the relatively high world oil and natural gas prices.
However, the report surmises that the higher prices at about 2015 will dampen
growth for oil and liquid fuels use; energy shares of natural gas, coal and
renewable energy sources are expected to grow over this period.
Liquids consumption is still expected to grow strongly, however, reaching 118
million barrels per day in 2030. The United States, China and India together
account for nearly half of the projected growth in world liquids use.