SEC Examines BP Reserves

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has written BP raising questions about its policy for booking oil and gas reserves as proven. In a letter to BP, the American regulators requested a stream of additional information in relation to the annual 20-F return the company submits each year.

News of the request follows Shell's decision last month to cut its proven reserves by 20 per cent or 3.9 billion barrels, sparking a sharp fall in its shares.

BP stressed that the letter was a "routine request" that all companies with a New York Stock Exchange quotation receive. Lord Browne of Madingley, BP's chief executive, said the company's processes for classing reserves as proven were "robust and well-founded".