ExxonMobil Corp. boosted its proven reserves last year by 1.5 billion boe, more than replacing the amount of oil and natural gas it produced.

The Irving, TX-based major said reserves added totaled 103% of the resources it produced last year. ExxonMobil had 22.8 billion boe of reserves at year-end 2008, basically split evenly between natural gas and oil. Excluding asset sales, the producer replaced 110% of its output. It was the 15th year in a row that the producer has increased its reserves, it noted.

The reserves figures were based on the long-term pricing basis that ExxonMobil uses to make investment decisions, which is not the single-day, year-end pricing required under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules. Using the Dec. 31, 2008 oil and gas prices required by the SEC to make reserves calculations, ExxonMobil replaced 136% of its output, the company said. Prices from a single day, it said, are not useful for making long-term investment decisions.

“We take a long-term view of resource development and invest throughout the commodity price cycle,” said CEO Rex Tillerson. “Adding new reserves ensures that ExxonMobil will continue to develop new supplies of energy that will be critical to help meet the world’s growing needs into the future.”

A lot of the new reserves resulted from the Kearl Phase 1 oilsands project in Canada, which totaled 1.1 billion boe, ExxonMobil said.

At the end of 2008, ExxonMobil’s proved reserves base increased to 22.8 billion boe, the company said. ExxonMobil’s reserves life, at current production rates, is 15.3 years. The portion of proved reserves already developed was estimated at 62%.

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