The world’s largest oil and gas groups shed more than a billion barrels of reserves in 2014, the sharpest decline in at least six years, according to figures that show their exploration record has worsened as big discoveries dwindle.
The latest annual reports for the “Big Five” energy majors — BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Total — show that combined proved reserves shrank to 78.6bn barrels of oil equivalent last year, from a little over 80bn boe the previous year, the steepest drop since at least 2008.
Behind the fall is a substantial decline in the number of barrels being added from recent discoveries and extensions to existing oil and