Subsoil Asset Accounting – the Path Forward

Subsoil asset accounts show opening and closing stocks of subsoil assets as well as all the changes, which link the two stocks. SEEA 2003 chapters 7 and 8 describe t he general p rinciples for physical a nd m onetary subsoil asset accounting and explain how the SEEA subsoil asset accounts relate to the SNA93. Furthermore, SEEA 2003 lists many of the theoretical and practical problems associated with the construction of the accounts. Subsoil assets are rather roughly d ivided into fossil fuels, metallic minerals, and non-metallic minerals. Our purpose with this paper is f irst to summarise some of the outstanding problems related to physical and monetary asset accounting and its use. For most of the problems we have mentioned, more detailed descriptions can be found in SEEA 2003. In the next sections, where we summarise the problems, which meet the constructor of subsoil asset accounts, we have posed some questions. We don’t expect these questions to be answered at the meeting or immediately after. Instead, we suggest that participants consider which questions they – from their actual experience - see as the most important ones to deal with in relation to subsoil asset accounting. Secondly, we propose towards the end of the paper that one path forward with respect to subsoil asset accounting is to focus on a survey of country experiences with regard to how the countries have solved some of the problem s as w ell as t o how the accounts a re u sed and linked t o other fram eworks. Also the aspect of knowledge sharingis taken up in the last section of this paper. The content in this paper is limited to subsoil asset accounts as described in SEEA 2003 chapters 7 and 8. This means that depletion adjusted flow accounts are not dealt with. However, there is of course a link between the asset accounts and the flow accounts which must be kept in mind. Also the ongoing work by, e.g. the Canberra Group on measurements of non-financial assets and the revision of SNA93 must of course be kept in mind, when the path forward for subsoil asset accounts is addressed.
Keyword: physical subsoil asset accounts, monetary subsoil asset accounts, valuation of the subsoil stocks, non-market valuation and sustainability