Estimated ultimate recovery

The total volume a well, reservoir, or field is expected to produce over its life, including what has already been produced.

What remains is this total minus cumulative production. The number moves when the decline, the development plan, or the economic limit moves. It is a forecast, not a measurement.

It is also not a reserves category. Reserves are the remaining commercial quantities under a stated definition and a stated price deck. A raw ultimate-recovery forecast can be larger than the volume the company is prepared to book.

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