Billions of Barrels of Oil Are About to Vanish

摘要

Across the American shale patch, drillers are being forced to square their reported oil reserves with the hard economic reality of today's depressed oil prices. Under accounting rules that the industry lobbied for, drillers must now acknowledge what their investors already know: With crude trading below $40 a barrel, a lot of oil isn't going to see the light of day anytime soon. The move by Congress to lift restrictions on U.S. crude exports is not expected to have a significant effect on prices. Chesapeake Energy, co-founded by tracking pioneer Aubrey McClendon, and other shale producers pushed the Securities and Exchange Commission for an accounting change in 2(009 that made it easier to claim reserves from wells that wouldn't be drilled for years. Having more reserves on the books makes it easier for a company to raise money from investors to fund operations. But there's a catch: The rule requires that the undrilled wells claimed as part of reserves be profitable at a price determined by an SEC formula, and the wells must be drilled within five years.