Slide 10 of 30
- The cost of finding new oil and gas reserves has declined significantly since 1977 when EIA began collecting these data.
- A new barrel of oil or gas reserves that cost about $15 to find in 1977 (inflation- adjusted price), costs less than $5 to find today.
- Reserve cost reductions occurred primarily because of significant improvements in exploration and development technology.
Source: Form EIA-28, "Financial Reporting System."
Note(s): Costs are calculated as the ratio of total exploration and development expenditures to total oil and gas reserve additions (barrels of oil equivalent), for the major energy producers reporting to the Energy Information Administration. All costs are expressed in 1996 dollars, excluding the purchases and sales of reserves, and are 3-year weighted averages centering on the year shown.
