How can the US be producing nearly 13 billion barrels of petroleum a year when their proven oil reserves are less than 50 billion?

Question

How can the US be producing nearly 13 billion barrels of petroleum a year when their proven oil reserves are less than 50 billion?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Finding more reserves. “Proven reserves” means “oil we’ve discovered but haven’t collected yet”. Not “we know for sure that’s all there is”.