On December 29, the SEC announced updated accounting rules for oil and gas companies. The new rules are expected to be effective a year from now, with financial statements issued December 15, 2009, and subsequent. Full details are not yet available, but in general, the new rules allow companies to make greater consideration of technology in setting reserves. The SEC will also allow companies to disclose probable and possible reserves to investors, in addition to proven reserves. A third change is that average prices during the previous twelve months will be used, instead of prices as of the statement date.