The Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS) and many regulatory agencies require what is termed “reasonable certainty” for Proved Reserves estimates. The guidance provided by the PRMS or the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for establishing reasonable certainty is general in nature because of the difficulty in explicitly describing all possible scenarios and also allows leeway to use new technologies in the future. The complete paper addresses the complex challenge of establishing reasonable certainty in reserves and resource assessments and discusses how multiple reliable technologies may be used in concert to establish reasonable certainty for reserves estimates through the flexibility provided by the PRMS.
Introduction
The authors write that a common response to many questions seeking clarification on reserves-related matters is that “it depends.” Likewise, regarding the question of what constitutes reliable technology, the answer depends on the specific circumstances and the data being considered. The use of reliable technology as a method to improve certainty in the estimates of oil and gas reserves was formally recognized in the 2008 modernization of oil and gas reporting.
