Nate -- A few (management mostly) in the industry have always understood the declining status of the big picture of US declining reserves. I can promise that the vast majority at the technical level have had little interest in the exact numbers. I can include myself in that group for the most part. Not that we don't understand the production base but we just didn't and still don't care. You can imagine that if you were tasked with finding new oil/NG reserves for the last 25 years or so it would pretty difficult to escape the obvious. Easily 90% of us are focused on the small game...the day to day effort. Not that we don't understand the big picture but it has no bearing to us on the immediate goal: add reserves in a cost effective manner.

One somewhat annoying set of comments on TOD regards what "the industry knows", what the "industry does", what the "industry conspires", what the "industry is planning", etc, etc. The "industry" doesn't engage in any of these activities. The industry doesn't do anything. I understand it's convenient to use such collective terminology in our conversation but it tends to grossly misrepresent what I witness daily. It's no different then when someone characterizes TOD as a group that thinks this way or believes one way or the other. At worse such usage offers a basis for positions which are far from realistic. The simplest example is the focus on the press releases of the management of public oil companies. Many here understand the true purpose of those statements: say whatever is legal in order to pump up enthusiasm for the company's stock. It is not to educate folks on the real nature of PO. Unfortunately, many folks believe these words represent what the "industry thinks or believes". Such beliefs only cloud the discussions. I do appreciate the skeptical attitude many view the statement from industry insiders. Some are, at best, misleading while others are outright dishonest. But lumping us all together as the "industry" will cause the loss of valuable insight. Not a really serious rant but something to bear in mind as we forward and are increasing bombarded by what the “industry” has to say.