Exxon Adds Reserves But Just Barely, And Due to Bakken and Woodford

Rigzone is reporting:

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Tuesday that in 2012 it added in reserves slightly more oil and gas than it produced, with the majority of the new reserves coming from oil-rich assets in North America.

The world's largest publicly-traded oil company said it added proven reserves totaling 1.8 billion oil-equivalent barrels, of which 1.4 billion barrels consisted of petroleum and other liquids, a sign that Exxon has been emphasizing oil exploration at the expense of its less profitable natural gas business.

Also, Exxon said it added more than 750 million oil equivalent barrels from the oil-rich Woodford and Bakken shale areas in North Dakota, which are among the fastest-growing oilfields in the world. About 600 million barrels of oil equivalent came from additions in Alberta and in offshore Canada.

The fact that most of the newfound energy padding the company's reserves comes from unconventional assets in North America underscores how the technological unleashing of massive resources from U.S. shale to Canada's oilsands has prompted global giants to shift their attention away from riskier overseas prospects.

For newbies: the Woodford is in Oklahoma, not North Dakota as the article suggests.