Drilling and completion costs… The recent run-up in crude oil prices may offer a brighter outlook for energy companies, but a key accounting metric is likely to show the sector isn’t out of the woods just yet. As energy companies prepare their annual reports, they will be calculating a so-called standardized measure of reserve value. This dollar figure acts as a basis for direct comparison among companies. Oil prices have rallied 43% this year, but oil-and-gas producers including Apache Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. are expected to report a lower standardized measure in 2016 than 2015. That is because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to use historic prices in the calculation. The SEC price is the average of physical oil prices on the first day of the month of the past 12 […]