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RiskMetrics to Hold Webcast on Oil and Gas Accounting Hot Topics on March 12Submitted by: Sarah Cohn, Communications

RiskMetrics' Financial Research and Analysis Team raised concerns for 2009 regarding the likelihood of negative reserve revisions and impairment charges as oil and gas companies deal with the reality of lower oil and natural gas prices. As expected, negative reserve revisions were the norm and many companies took hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, in impairment charges. While the threat of reported price-related reserve revisions has subsided until early next year, the threat of impairment, ceiling test charges, covenant violations and reduction in borrowing bases remains imminent.

Going forward, energy companies will be preparing for the modernization of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) reserve disclosure rules that will go into effect for filings after December 31, 2009. These new rules have the potential to increase year-end 2009 reported reserve levels due in particular to the allowed disclosure of probable and possible reserves and the expansion in technologies allowed in booking reserves.

Julie Hilt Hannink, Riskmetrics' Oil and Gas Research Analyst, will discuss in this webcast on March 12 at 11 a.m. EDT companies at risk for further impairments, reserve revisions, covenant revisions and borrowing base reductions. She will also cover the potential winners and losers under the new rules and also how RiskMetrics is going to update its screening and analytical tools for the new disclosures. Dan Mahoney, Senior Industrials Research Analyst, will moderate the webcast.

To register for this webcast, please visit here.

Full post as published by Institutional Shareholder Services -- Corporate Governance Blog on March 10, 2009 (boomark / email).