Reasonable certainty is a standard rather than a probability, and interpreting it correctly is the central judgement in proved reserves estimation. It requires that the quantities actually recovered are much more likely than not to equal or exceed the estimate, and it is supported by evidence: production performance, well test results, log and core data, analogue behaviour and, where appropriate, reliable technology. Estimates that rest on optimistic interpretation of ambiguous evidence are where audit findings concentrate.

Documentation is what makes an estimate defensible, and it is prepared during the work rather than afterward. An auditor asked to accept a proved undeveloped location wants to see the technical basis, the analogue support, the development plan, the capital commitment and the schedule that supports development within the required period. Assembling that after the estimate has been made, from memory and scattered files, produces gaps that become findings. Organisations that document as they go pass audits that organisations with equally good engineering fail.

Undeveloped reserves receive disproportionate scrutiny because they carry the greatest judgement. Booking a proved undeveloped location requires evidence that it will produce, that the development is planned and funded, and that it will be developed within the period the framework allows. Locations booked on optimistic well spacing assumptions, on analogue performance that later proved unrepresentative, or on development plans that never received capital are the most common source of subsequent revision and of regulatory attention.

Finally, revisions are inevitable and their management matters. Reserves change as production data accumulates, prices move, costs change and development plans evolve. Downward revisions that follow a pattern, always in one direction, always for the same reason, indicate systematic optimism rather than random variation, and both auditors and investors read them that way. Tracking revision history and understanding its causes is part of a functioning reserves process.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Apply petroleum resources classification frameworks and explain the differences between them
• Apply regulatory disclosure requirements including definitions, pricing basis and certainty standards
• Assess whether evidence supports a given reserves category
• Apply the reasonable certainty standard to proved reserves estimation
• Evaluate proved undeveloped location bookings against development plan and timing requirements
• Prepare reserves documentation that will support audit examination
• Understand the audit and third party review process and prepare for it effectively
• Prepare and review competent person reports and their content
• Manage reserves revisions and analyse revision history for systematic bias
• Establish reserves governance including internal review, approval and control

The training works through reserves preparation and audit using real reserves cases and documentation. Participants assess evidence against category requirements, prepare and critique documentation, and work through audit questions on prepared cases. Audit findings from published reviews are examined for what produced them. Competent person reports are reviewed against their required content. Revision histories are analysed for systematic patterns and their causes. Participants prepare a defensible reserves submission for a worked field case.

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Reduce audit findings and the cost and disruption they cause
• Improve documentation quality and reduce effort required at audit time
• Reduce the frequency and size of downward reserves revisions
• Improve the credibility of disclosed reserves with investors and lenders
• Strengthen internal reserves governance and control
• Improve consistency of reserves practice across assets and estimators

Participants will:

• Apply classification and disclosure requirements confidently
• Judge whether evidence supports a proposed booking
• Prepare documentation that withstands examination
• Anticipate and answer audit questions
• Prepare and review competent person reports
• Build a capability that carries individual professional accountability

• Reserves and evaluation engineers
• Reservoir engineers contributing to reserves estimation
• Technical staff preparing reserves submissions
• Internal reserves auditors and technical reviewers
• Corporate reporting and disclosure staff
• Competent persons and those preparing to act as such
• Managers accountable for reserves reporting

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.