October 31, 1975 - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

average daily productive capacity for the 56 fields indicates that
the field study figures are 20.5 percent higher than those of the
Operators Survey. This difference is due to the variance in the
estimates for the Hugoton field. The aggregate average daily
productive capacity for 55 fields (excluding Hugoton) indicates that
the field study figures are 2.0 percent lower than those of the
Operator Survey •.
As indicated in Chapter 6 of this report, an exact definition
of current producing capacity is difficult to draft and even more
difficult to persons who use the definition. The FEA field study for
Hugoton estimated that the fie1d could produce at the tested
de1iverabi1ity rate on a continuous basis without significant loss
to ultimate recovery. This rate does not take into account outlets
from the field, the seasonality of consumer demand, or 1egal constraints.
There is also the possibility that high rates of production would
encourage water encroachment in portions of the field. Production at
these high rates could only be maintained for a short duration before
the field would be producing at or below current levels. Although
information is not available regarding the operators· response, the
survey productive capacity estimate appears to be more of a practical
production rate rather than a potential rate.
Trade Associations Estimates Compared with FEA Estimates
Historically, the most prevalent source of data concerning proved
reserves has been the annual report prepared jointly by the API and
the AGA. A comparison of these trade association estimates with the
FEA estimates has been prepared. The FEA, under the guidance of the
General Accounting Office, solicited additional information from
the trade associations to upgrade the quality of the comparisons. By
publication time, the trade associations were unable to provide
complete information about definitional consistency for the 100
largest oil fields and 50 largest gas fields in the United States,
but some major discrepancies were corrected.
API Estimates Compared withFEA Estimates
Operators Survey Comparisons. The FEA survey indicated that there were
38.0 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves in the United States
as of December 31, 1974. The API report showed comparable reserves· of
34.2 billion barrels, approximately 10 percent less than the FEA survey.
The API also published data this year for the 100 fields in the United
States with the largest proved reserves of crude oil. Table 15 is a
summary of a field by field comparison between the API estimates and
those from the FEA Operators Survey. Definitional consistency has not
been confirmed for all fields.
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