In Pursuit of Harmonisation: the AAPG's work with the United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy and Mineral Reserves and Resources

MacDonald, David ¹
(1)BP, Houston, United Kingdom.

Effective resource management in a globalizing economy requires consistent and understandable assessment of fossil energy and minerals resources. The resources must be described and categorized in a manner that considers the technical, social and economic impacts of the projects designed to recover them. Over the past century, classification systems evolved independently from one another for the various extractive commodities. To complicate matters further, various regions developed different classification systems for the same commodity. The AAPG is actively working with the UN to develop a harmonised classification framework as an aid to understanding and comparing resource estimations based on the Petroleum Resources Management System. The goal is to improve communication amongst all the stakeholders in resource estimation from business and government, to investors and financial regulators.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90135©2011 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Milan, Italy, 23-26 October 2011.