Oil sands and other previously excluded energy resources would be classified as reserves of oil and gas companies under US regulatory proposals issued on Thursday.

The plan from the Securities and Exchange Commission is a response to significant changes that have taken place in the oil and gas industry in the past three decades.

It aims to help investors obtain a “more accurate and useful” picture of a company’s reserves.

“The more that precise, first-hand information from oil and gas companies is available to investors and the marketplace, the less that the marketplace is forced to rely solely upon information provided by speculators,” the SEC said on Thursday as it issued the proposals for public comment. ... Read full article