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U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION Natural Gas Reserves at Record High At the end of 2008, domestic natural gas proved reserves rose by 3 percent to reach their highest level since the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) began reporting them in 1977, according to Summary: U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves, 2008, released today by EIA. Discoveries of 29.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas during 2008 represent the sixth consecutive yearly increase. Reserves from shale reservoirs grew dramatically, up 51 percent over 2007 and now accounting for 13 percent of total proved reserves of dry natural gas. “This year’s report underscores for a second year the technological shift in domestic exploration and production from conventional reserves to unconventional shales” said EIA Administrator Richard Newell. “Given the drop in the price of natural gas during 2008, growth in proved reserves is remarkable.” U.S. crude oil proved reserves declined 10 percent (down by 2,196 million barrels) in 2008, despite a third year of increased discoveries, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico, west Texas and in the Bakken formation in North Dakota. The overall drop in oil reserves reflects use of low end-of-year prices to assess reserves under existing financial accounting standards. Proved reserves are those a company believes with reasonable certainty can be produced with current technology at current prices. Accounting rules in place for 2008 required companies to calculate proved reserves based on end-of-year oil prices. The price of oil on December 31, 2008 was $44.60 per barrel, compared to $99.64 per barrel on the same date a year earlier. New accounting standards adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission will now require companies to use an annual average price and will help mitigate a similar situation in the future. Low prices also affected proved reserves of dry natural gas, but this effect was less severe than for oil, and discoveries were large enough to more than offset both the negative net revisions and the year’s production. Summary: U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves, 2008 is available at: http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/fwd/cr.html
EIA Program Contact: Gary Long, 214-720-6182, gary.long@eia.doe.gov EIA-2009-15 Contact:
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