In energy geology, which term describes the total identified and undiscovered amounts not all currently economical?

• A. Resources
• B. Reserves
• C. Proved reserves
• D. Contingent resources

Answer: (A)

In energy geology, the broad term being tested is the overall category that includes all known and potential hydrocarbons, regardless of current profitability. This category, called resources, encompasses both discovered quantities that aren’t yet economical to produce and undiscovered amounts that may exist. It’s the umbrella for everything that could be extracted given future advances in technology or changes in price, not just what is profitable to extract today.

Reserves are the portion that can be produced economically with current technology and prices, so they are a subset of resources. Proved reserves are the part with high confidence of being recoverable under existing conditions. Contingent resources refer to discovered quantities that are not yet economically or technically proven to be recoverable but could become reserves with further development.