The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a rule proposal on June 26, 2008 to revise the Commission’s disclosure rules for oil and gas reserves.

In the accompanying press release, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox stated, “[t]he ability to accurately assess proved reserves is an important part of understanding any energy company’s financial position.  But the current oil and gas disclosure rules often interfere with an investor's analysis because they are tied to outdated technologies.”

The changes outlined in the 172 page rule proposal seek to remedy that.

SEC invites public comment on the proposed rule, and the document contains technical questions where the SEC would like specific answers.  AAPG encourages its members to offer their knowledge and expertise in this process, to support technically and scientifically accurate reserves reporting.

AAPG President Scott Tinker has asked the association’s Ad Hoc Committee on SEC Reserves Response to prepare AAPG’s response to the rule proposal for review and approval by the Executive Committee.