How 185 Million Barrels of Oil Can Simply Vanish

Source: L.C. Nøttaasen on Flickr.

Pioneer Natural Resources  looks to be sitting on an unbelievable amount of oil and gas. The company now controls about 845 million barrels of oil equivalent, or BOE, proved reserves and thinks that number is only the beginning. However, on paper, its reserves are actually slowly shrinking.

Recently, the company reported its latest reserve numbers, which showed a curious negative revision to its proved reserves. The company actually axed nearly 185 million barrels of oil from its books along with another 115 billion BOE of natural gas and natural gas liquids. With oil currently selling for about $100 per barrel, that's a lot of potential future revenue that just got wiped out. It also makes one wonder how over a hundred million barrels of oil can simply vanish?

READ MORE:  http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/02/17/how-185-million-barrels-of-oil-can-simply-vanish/