reserves

1. General: Funds or material set aside or saved for future use.

2. Accounting: (1) Net worth of a firm over the amount realized from issuance of stock (shares) and arising from retained profits, revaluation of assets, and other surplus sums. (2) Part of retained earnings set aside for a specified purpose and, hence, unavailable for disbursement as dividends.

3. Banking: Funds set aside for (1) day to day operations (called primary reserves), or (2) meeting emergency liquidity requirements (called secondary reserves).

4. Energy industries: Computed or estimated quantity of hydrocarbons or minerals that can be extracted from known fields at an economical cost. The major classifications of reserves according to the level of confidence in the estimate are: (1) Proven: Extensively sampled reserved estimated from seismic data and exploratory holes drilled. (2) Recoverable: Estimated from reservoir pressure and density of strata. (3) Probable: Rough estimate of quantity and quality of the item. Also called indicated reserves. (4) Possible: Estimate based on unverified existence. Also called inferred reserves.