2008 oil reserve replacement lags production: study

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Global oil and natural gas reserve replacement fell to 88 percent of production in 2008, despite a 23 percent increase in development spending in that year, according to a study released on Wednesday.

That was the first year since 2004 when global production was not replaced, according to the study done by research firm IHS Herold Inc and upstream consultant Harrison Lovegrove & Co Ltd.

Oil reserves fell nearly 3 percent in 2008 mostly because of a 5.2-billion decline in revisions on a steep drop in commodity prices, the study found. Natural gas reserves maintained a 3-percent annual increase seen in the previous five years, but production grew nearly 5 percent to 44.2 trillion cubic feet.

Reuters