Getting 35% of the original oil in place usually would make any operator thrilled right down to the ground. Most times the oil industry the recovery is LESS than 35%.
More than 65% of the original oil in reservoirs that have ever been produced is still there. A potential gold mine beneath our feet if we could ever figure out how to get it.
Some oil is what we call immovable, stuck to the sand or rock of the reservoir that it is in or trapped by very large capillary forces. Still, there is oil that may be recovered someday by someone.
I think they mean after a secondary recovery method like water flood.
From the DOE:
http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/oilgas/eor/
Crude oil development and production in U.S. oil reservoirs can include up to three distinct phases: primary, secondary, and tertiary (or enhanced) recovery. During primary recovery, the natural pressure of the reservoir or gravity drive oil into the wellbore, combined with artificial lift techniques (such as pumps) which bring the oil to the surface. But only about 10 percent of a reservoir’s original oil in place is typically produced during primary recovery. Secondary recovery techniques extend a field’s productive life generally by injecting water or gas to displace oil and drive it to a production wellbore, resulting in the recovery of 20 to 40 percent of the original oil in place.