Oil reserves
2008 oil reserves stand at 1258 billion barrels
Global proved oil reserves in 2008 fell by 3 billion barrels to 1,258 billion barrels, with an R/P ratio of 42 years. Declines in Russia, Norway, China and other countries offset increases in Vietnam, India and Egypt. The 2007 figure has been revised higher by 23.1 billion barrels, with the largest upward revisions in Venezuela and Angola.
Methodology
Proved reserves of oil are generally taken to be those quantities that geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and geological conditions.
The data series for proved oil and gas reserves in this years Review does not necessarily meet the definitions, guidelines and practices used for determining proved reserves at company level, for instance, under accounting rules contained in the Statement of Recommended Practice. 'Accounting for Oil and Gas Exploration, Development, Production and Decommissioning Activities' (UK SORP) or as published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission nor does it necessarily represent BP's view of proved reserves by country. Rather the data series has been compiled using a combination of primary official sources and third-party data.
Methodology
Proved reserves of oil are generally taken to be those quantities that geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and geological conditions.
The data series for proved oil and gas reserves in this years Review does not necessarily meet the definitions, guidelines and practices used for determining proved reserves at company level, for instance, under accounting rules contained in the Statement of Recommended Practice. 'Accounting for Oil and Gas Exploration, Development, Production and Decommissioning Activities' (UK SORP) or as published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission nor does it necessarily represent BP's view of proved reserves by country. Rather the data series has been compiled using a combination of primary official sources and third-party data.
Canadian proved reserves include an official estimate of oil sands 'under active development'. Reserves include gas condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs) as well as crude oil.
We have provided a detailed explanatory note on reserves clarifying current definitions and terminology.
We have provided a detailed explanatory note on reserves clarifying current definitions and terminology.
Reserves-to-production (R/P) ratios are available by country and feature in the table of oil reserves and the Energy charting tool. R/P ratios represent the length of time that those remaining reserves would last if production were to continue at the previous year's rate. It is calculated by dividing remaining reserves at the end of the year by the production in that year.
There is a time series of crude oil reserves, which can be found in the Excel workbook. Data are measured in thousand million barrels.
There is a time series of crude oil reserves, which can be found in the Excel workbook. Data are measured in thousand million barrels.
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Statistical Review 2009
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