Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2007 – US Business & Law Newswire – The Securities and Exchange Commission today asked for public comment on possible revisions to disclosure requirements for oil and gas reserves given the extent and nature of changes that have occurred in the oil and gas industry in the nearly three decades since the Commission first adopted its oil and gas disclosure rules.
The Commission’s request is in the form of a concept release. The release poses questions on
· whether the Commission should revise the proved reserves definition, including the criteria used to assess and measure proved reserves;
· how new technologies impact the definition of proved reserves and how changes to the rules can be made to accommodate future technological innovation;
· whether the rules should permit other categories of resources to be disclosed; and,
· whether the rules should require third party verification of the reserves estimates companies report in their filings.
“Technological advancements over the last 30 years have changed the way in which companies detect and extract oil and gas resources. Management of oil and gas companies rely on these advancements to consider their investments in projects to detect and extract those resources,” said John White, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance. “A number of analysts and investors also have expressed the view that our oil and gas disclosure requirements should be updated to provide better disclosure about companies’ reserves and how the company manages those reserves.”
The release invites commenters to provide their comments within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.
