jmygann,
Actually the finding rate is more gloomy than the annual reports would let us believe. The replacement rate is always given as barrels of oil equivalent, or B.O.E., figured at 6 MCF(thousand cubic feet) equals 1 barrel of oil.

Natural gas isn't oil. A car can be altered to burn NG, but there are few road vehicles using N.G., and it can its expensive to alter NG into other hydrocarbon products.

Natural gas isn't equivalent on a price basis either. NG is going to average around $6.00/mcf as a sales price because of the huge LNG imports into the US from stranded gas overseas and the decline in the US manufacturing base. There's also a big increase in offshore production-the Independence Hub is adding about 25% to US domestic production and started this year. At $6/MCF natural gas would have to recieve $12.19/MCF to equal oil in revenue to the producers and revenue owners at $83.00/bbl.

So when Exxon/Mobil says they replaced twice its reserves on a BOE basis, the figures aren't accurate, especially considering that the gas tends to be in areas where the gas is unproduceable without large investment in LNG compression and the world market is already oversupplied. I just inherited some stock in XOM, Chevron and Devon. I think I'm going to sell it and invest in some oil production because of this differential and oil prices rising. If the stock analists ever figure this out it will make for a large, permanent shift down in the price of the big boy's stock because of the huge write-offs that they will have to take. Of course the SEC is a lot more responsible to investment banks and large cap companies that to investors like me with our little chump change, so it will be awhile before they are forced to acknowledge the truth. It depends on how long bi oil can keep revenues up with prior discoveries and refinery and marketing profits. The time bomb is ticking away, we just don't know the explosion date. Bob Ebersole