Despite the need for accurate oil and gas reserves estimates which honor disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a number of exploration and production companies have allegedly overstated and subsequently written down their reserves during the last 20 years. Reserves write-downs are of great interest to numerous groups involved in the reserves estimation process and outcome, including estimators, managers, investors, creditors, and regulators. Considering the magnitude and nature of some alleged overstatement cases, it appears that some of these parties may benefit from a better understanding of reserves reporting, the relative risk of overstatements, the regulatory environment and enforcement procedures, and identifying questionable reserves data. After discussing the context and importance of reserves and write-downs, there is a detailed examination of the SEC, including the agency's reserves reporting requirements, and their enforcement methods. A number of alleged overstatement and write-down "case studies" are presented, with details on the specific Federal Laws alleged to have been violated by corporations or individuals and then cited by the SEC and shareholder lawsuits. We also conclude that there may be greater write-down potential due to the updated SEC reserves reporting guidelines. A comprehensive series of systematic questions have been compiled and quick-look graphical techniques have been developed that may be used to gain insight into -and potentially raise questions about- an operator's reserves data.

Despite the need for accurate oil and gas reserves estimates which honor disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a number of exploration and production companies have allegedly overstated and subsequently written down their reserves during the last 20 years. Reserves write-downs are of great interest to numerous groups involved in the reserves estimation process and outcome, including estimators, managers, investors, creditors, and regulators. Considering the magnitude and nature of some alleged overstatement cases, it appears that some of these parties may benefit from a better understanding of reserves reporting, the relative risk of overstatements, the regulatory environment and enforcement procedures, and identifying questionable reserves data. After discussing the context and importance of reserves and write-downs, there is a detailed examination of the SEC, including the agency's reserves reporting requirements, and their enforcement methods. A number of alleged overstatement and write-down "case studies" are presented, with details on the specific Federal Laws alleged to have been violated by corporations or individuals and then cited by the SEC and shareholder lawsuits. We also conclude that there may be greater write-down potential due to the updated SEC reserves reporting guidelines. A comprehensive series of systematic questions have been compiled and quick-look graphical techniques have been developed that may be used to gain insight into -and potentially raise questions about- an operator's reserves data.

The research undertaken in this study is designed to examine the reliability of management estimates of expected future net revenues from the production of proved oil and gas reserves determined in accordance with the requirements of the prediction model specified in ASR No. 253. The issue of the required disclosure of earnings forecasts has been a topic of considerable controversy for many years. Within that controversy, the most frequently encountered opposition questions the reliability and ultimate utility of earnings forecasts. Similar opposition to both past and present forecast disclosure requirements exists in the oil and gas industry. In order to examine the reliability of management estimates of expected future net revenues, a two-part analysis was conducted. In the first part of the analysis, error metrics comparing management forecasts to actual results were computed and examined. Included in the examination were various relationships among and within the computed metrics. In the second part of the analysis an attempt was made to establish the association between the error metrics and specific related variables. It was anticipated that the degree of association determined would provide evidence of the relative accuracy of management in predicting the timing and volume of future production within the framework of the prediction model.

La composition des parcs électriques nationaux est basée sur le classement des différents moyens de production par rapport à leur coût marginal de génération d’électricité. Ainsi, les réserves considérables d’hydrocarbure dans les pays producteurs de pétrole ont favorisé l’usage abusif du pétrole ou du gaz naturel dans le parc de production d’électricité. L’objectif de ce travail de recherche est d’analyser des parcs de production pour ces pays producteurs en construisant le parc optimal d’électricité concernant l’usage rationnel (du point de vue économique) des différents moyens de génération d’électricité. Dans ce travail, nous évaluons la situation actuelle et future de la production d’électricité en Arabie Saoudite, en Egypte et en Iran grâce à plusieurs approches de modélisation : linéaire, dynamique et statistique. Ensuite, nous allons mener une analyse de sensibilité afin d’évaluer l’optimalité et l’efficacité de la production d’électricité en tenant compte de l’intégration des autres ressources alternatives non-carbonées. / National power generation mix composition is based on the ranking (merit-order) of the various means of production from their marginal cost of electricity generation. Thus, significant reserves of hydrocarbons in oil-producing countries favoured the abusive use of oil or natural gas in the electricity mix. The purpose of this research is to analyze the power generation mix of these countries by constructing an optimal electricity mix based on the rational use (from an economic point of view) of various electricity production means. In this work, we assess the current and future situation of electricity production in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran, thanks to linear, dynamic and statistical modeling efforts. Thereafter, we will conduct sensitivity analysis to measure the optimality and efficiency of electricity generation by taking into account the integration of alternative non-fossil-fuel based resources.