Resource estimates are generally assumed to be the direct product of geological and engineering information. Historical analysis, using a perspective suggested by the sociology of science, demonstrates that social factors influence the magnitude and variation among resource estimates made during the same historical period. In terms of magnitude and variation, three chronological patterns in the estimates of United States crude oil resources can be discerned, and it is argued (1) that each pattern reflects the ideological orientation present at that time, and (2) that changes from one ideological orientation to another can be traced to changes in the political-economic environment of the oil industry.
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