Based on reservoir exploration and development practices

this paper defines the minimum commercial reserves of petroleum reservoirs and explains the specific connotations of the minimum commercial recoverable reserves

the minimum business proved reserves and the minimum business resources of reservoirs.By studying the development regularities and production change patterns of reservoirs in different regions and in combination with the principles of input-output analysis

a universal method was presented for calculating the minimum commercial reserves based on the reservoir development conceptual design.The relationship among reservoir development concept design parameters and cash inflow and outflow parameter models was established first and then used to build a linear correlation model of reservoir reserves to net present value.For a given reservoir

this model theoretically revealed the characteristics of variation of the minimum commercial reserves under different economic conditions.The method can rapidly evaluate the minimum commercial reserves under different boundary conditions by directly using the economic parameters of reservoir exploration and development

the parameters of reserves grade and the parameters of the development concept plan.Therefore

it can provide efficient technical supports to the economic benefits ranking of exploration projects in different oil fields

the ranking of potential targets of producing proven reserves

and the demonstration of reservoir evaluation projects during oilfield development and production capacity building goals in new blocks.