Adding Fuel to the Oil and Gas Boom

Had I written such a headline a decade ago — heck, just five years ago — I might have looked like a prescient genius. Writing it as I do now, years after oil and gas company stocks have exploded, oil itself sits north of $140 a barrel, and many feel that big oil has ruined their lives, I appear to be a tad behind the times. Or am I? A coming rule change by the SEC could provide yet more fuel for the blazing oil and gas boom.

Prove it to me

When oil and gas companies report their reserves, they are required by regulation to only consider “proved reserves.” The SEC has typically considered that to mean reserves that are economically feasible to produce. Moreover, oil deposits that have typically been uneconomical to extract, including oil shales and tar sands, now seem far more feasible, thanks to advances in technology and the cost oil.

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