Ryder Scott

Recent Landmark
Projects

Recent Landmark Projects

Since 1937, Ryder Scott has completed several landmark projects. One of those was the 1997 evaluation of the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserves for the U.S. Department of Energy. Ryder Scott spent more than 40,000 hours analyzing the billion-barrel producer and generated a three-volume reserves report. After presentation of the report, government interests in the field sold for $3.65 billion, the largest federal divestiture in U.S. history.

Major recent studies include Ryder Scott certifications of petroleum reserves for China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Sinopec. Ryder Scott performed detailed, integrated studies on all fields owned by these major Chinese corporations. The independent certifications were submitted to securities regulators in New York and Hong Kong for initial public offerings. Ryder Scott continues to perform annual reserves updates and project evaluations for the multi-billion-dollar companies.

In 2000 and 2001, Ryder Scott conducted countrywide evaluations of the offshore gas reserves and resources of Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago . These countries used our reports to develop national energy policies and pricing and structures for implementation into various long-term gas contracts.

In 2001, Ryder Scott prepared detailed development plans and estimates of project economics for 113 fields in the Former Soviet Union for the second largest company in Russia as ranked by total oil reserves. Senior management of the client used the study to optimize economics for field development, to prioritize the allocation of corporate funding and to prepare a corporate five-year plan.

In 2002, Ryder Scott conducted a technical evaluation of tenders for a significant interest in the largest offshore oil field in the world, a 500,000-BOPD property in the Middle East . The project for a state-owned company involved the development of a scoring system for rating bids submitted by potential investors. The initial upstream asset sale may become the largest divestiture by any government to date.

Also in 2002, Ryder Scott audited reserves for the $6.75 billion acquisition of two major Russian companies by an international integrated oil company. The transaction was the largest direct investment in Russia in the post-Soviet era and the venture was the third largest oil and gas company in Russia, producing 1.2 million BOPD.

In 2004, new Ryder Scott projects focused on compliance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ryder Scott conducted a year-end corporate reserves audit of a major utility company, following a reserves writedown, so that the company's reserves would be in full compliance with SEC guidelines. Also that year, an international integrated oil company, following another reserves writedown, engaged Ryder Scott to conduct a fast-track review of the reserves classifications of selected fields covering approximately 40 percent of the total corporate portfolio. The review also covered 60 percent of the total proved undeveloped reserves.

In 2005, Ryder Scott began evaluating the prolific northern region of Mexico consisting of 350 onshore and offshore oil and gas fields in the Burgos basin and Tampico-Misantla-Veracruz basin complex. The national oil company, which issues bonds in the U.S. market, will use the independent report to file its proved reserves estimates and net present values with the SEC.

During 2006-07, Ryder Scott conducted a reserves assessment to validate gas deliverability for a consortium as part of the technical and commercial due diligence for financing a capital-intensive LNG project in West Africa.  Another reserves certification project in South America, countrywide in scope, established an equitable basis for the nation’s oil ministry to renegotiate contractual terms with international operating companies. 

In 2008, Ryder Scott was the chief technical advisor to Ecopetrol for the launch of its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.  The consulting firm also certified certain petroleum reserves of the Colombia national oil company.  Ryder Scott’s additional project work in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Bahrain, China and the FSU intensified during the year.

In 2009, Bolivia state-owned company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos commissioned Ryder Scott to independently certify the country's proved, probable and possible oil and gas reserves. Bolivia used the third-party validation, in part, to determine gas deliverability and risks in investment and industrialization in the gas sector, a national priority. Also, annual consulting services to the firm’s traditional market in North America stayed strong.

In 2010, consolidation of the industry continued with acquisitions and mergers. Ryder Scott independent reports were part of the data inventory underpinning both a $2.7 billion sale of Mariner Energy Inc. and a $1 billion divestiture of the Gulf of Mexico shelf assets of Devon Energy Corp. to Apache Corp.

These are but a handful of various major projects. Please go to International Experience to find further descriptions of our historic involvement in international projects.