The international oil industry currently uses a number of schemes for hydrocarbon reserves and resources classification. These serve different purposes and are used variously by Governmental agencies, oil companies, scientific societies, research institutes and by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (McKelvey, 1975; Grishin, 1993; Nemchenko et al., 1996). Although the schemes have many features in common, attention has been paid in recent years to the development of a single, universal classification (McKelvey, 19 75). Russia, unlike many other countries, uses only one reserves classification scheme (Anon., 1983; Nemchenko et al., 1996; Stasenkov and Gutman, 1989). Interest is growing in the comparison of the Russian scheme with those used elsewhere. A number of Russian oil and gas companies (e.g. Lukoil, Yukos and Gazprom) have already introduced Western standards for reserves evaluation in order to facilitate foreign investment. Conversely, Western companies operating in the Russian Federation are translating the Russian classification scheme into more familiar terms and definitions.