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Important Definitions

The Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook (COGEH), produced by the Petroleum Society of Canada, is the primary reference for reporting resources under the National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities promulgated by the Canadian Securities Administrators.

Discovered resources (equivalent to discovered petroleum initially-in-place) are defined within COGEH as that quantity of petroleum that is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in known accumulations prior to production. The recoverable portion of discovered resources includes production, reserves, and contingent resources; the remainder is classified as unrecoverable. Discovered resources are the summation of all bitumen present, without qualitative or quantitative assessment to determine the exploitable portion of that resource.

Contingent resources are defined within COGEH as those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but which are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingencies may include factors such as economic, legal, environmental, political, and regulatory matters, or a lack of markets. It is also appropriate to classify as contingent resources the estimated discovered recoverable quantities associated with a project in the early evaluation stage. Contingent resources are further classified in accordance with the level of certainty associated with the estimates and may be sub-classified based on project maturity and/or characterized by their economic status.

Economic Contingent Resources are defined within COGEH as those contingent resources that are currently economically recoverable.

Prospective Resources are defined within COGEH as those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective Resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. Prospective Resources are further subdivided in accordance with the level of certainty associated with recoverable estimates assuming their discovery and development and may be sub-classified based on project maturity.

Discovered unrecoverable resources (equivalent to discovered unrecoverable petroleum initially-in-place) are defined within COGEH as that portion of discovered resources which is estimated, as of a given date, not to be recoverable by future development projects. A portion of these quantities may become recoverable in the future as commercial circumstances change or technological developments occur; the remaining portion may never be recovered due to the physical/chemical constraints represented by subsurface interaction of fluids and reservoir rocks.

Sub-Economic Contingent Resources are defined within COGEH as those contingent resources that are not currently economically recoverable.

Undiscovered Resources (equivalent to undiscovered petroleum initially-in-place) are defined within COGEH as that quantity of petroleum that is estimated, on a given date, to be contained in accumulations yet to be discovered. The recoverable portion of Undiscovered Resources is referred to as Prospective Resources, the remainder as Unrecoverable.

Unrecoverable is defined within COGEH as that portion of discovered or undiscovered resources quantities which is estimated, as of a given date, not to be recoverable by future development projects. A portion of these quantities may become recoverable in the future as commercial circumstances change or technological developments occur; the remaining portion may never be recovered due to the physical/chemical constraints represented by subsurface interaction of fluids and reservoir rocks.

Uncertainty Categories:

A range of prospective, undiscovered, discovered and contingent resources estimates (low, best and high) was prepared to reflect a range of technical and economic uncertainties and was determined in accordance with COGEH.

Low Estimate is defined within COGEH as a conservative estimate of the quantity that will actually be recovered. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the low estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 90 percent probability (P90) that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the low estimate.

Best Estimate is defined within COGEH as the best estimate of the quantity that will actually be recovered. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the best estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 50 percent probability (P50) that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the best estimate. High Estimate is defined within COGEH as an optimistic estimate of the quantity that will actually be recovered. It is unlikely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the high estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 10 percent probability (P10) that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the high estimate.

Prospective Resources is defined within the COGEH as those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. Prospective resources are further subdivided in accordance with the level of certainty associated with recoverable estimates assuming their discovery and development and may be sub-classified based on project maturity.

Discovered unrecoverable resources (equivalent to discovered unrecoverable petroleum initially-in-place) is defined within the COGEH as that portion of discovered resources which is estimated, as of a given date, not to be recoverable by future development projects. A portion of these quantities may become recoverable in the future as commercial circumstances change or technological developments occur; the remaining portion may never be recovered due to the physical/chemical constraints represented by subsurface interaction of fluids and reservoir rocks.


Discovered and undiscovered resource estimates determined in accordance with the COGEH use the following mutually exclusive categories:

Low Estimate: This is considered to be a conservative estimate of the quantity of bitumen that exists within the accumulation, which under probabilistic methodology reflects a P90 confidence level.

Best Estimate: This is considered to be the best estimate of the quantity of bitumen that exists within the accumulation. Under probabilistic methodology, this term is a measure of the central tendency of the uncertainty distribution (most likely/mode, P50/median, or arithmetic average/mean).

High Estimate: This is considered to be an optimistic estimate of the quantity of bitumen that exists within the accumulation, which under probabilistic methodology reflects a P10 confidence level.