16-06-04 Oil companies replaced only 75 % of the reserves they pumped during the past few years, far below what SEC filings indicate, a report by Deutsche Bank says. The Securities and Exchange Commission says oil majors actually increased their total oil reserves, replacing 116 % of what they pumped during 2001-2003.
But Deutsche Bank says those figures represent historic discoveries that companies booked later and don't reflect current realities.
"SEC filings are time-lagged and don't really reflect contemporary exploration performance," the bank said.

In fact, the majors increased their reserves at a rate 20 % lower than during the 1990s. Part of the reason was a cut of nearly a third in exploration budgets as companies streamlined operations after a series of mergers. In addition, companies focussed more on getting out the oil they'd already discovered, an estimated 50 bn boe.
Also, governments hungry for cash and technology invited the majors to invest in already proven reserves -- a low-risk option for companies. While that saved on costs, deals with governments also cut into profits.

Now, companies under pressure to rebuild their reserves and facing problems accessing proven fields in OPEC countries and Russia are once again focussing on finding fresh fields, the report says.
Winners could be Shell currently under fire for writing down a huge amount of its reserves, and Total, Repsol, ChevronTexaco, and ExxonMobil. Less fortunate may be Occidental, Petro-Canada and the Norwegian players.