Carl, is that net mineral acres? Or a certain number of undivided acres under a tract of land? It can make a big difference. If I only had 10 net acres, I wouldn’t have to think, I’d just tell them to stay off my land as the bonus and damages for seismic wouldn’t even pay my lawyer’s fee to look it over. Options for the lessee are pretty much never in the mineral owner’s favor. If your minerals are discovered to be valuable through the seismic, they will probably jump on it for the price negotiated before you knew they really wanted them, no bargaining, because it’s a 3+3 option, no bargaining unless they can’t get a well drilled in 6 years. It’s heads I win, tails you lose, and you get tails.
Tell them seismic only with no option. If they come back after seismic, you know they want it and it’s time to negotiate up from that $75 per acre.
You want to hear something even sneakier?
You need to get paid for the seismic up front. Even then they are getting an 18-month option on your minerals for $25 per acre. Likely they will try to not pay until the shoot is done and that way they have tied up your minerals for 18 months for nothing $0.00 swab-0, nothing, as the shoot may never come off.
They may be able to assign your lease option to someone else at a profit in that 18 months with never more than postage and pocket change of their own money in the deal or at risk. Many in oil and gas make money from other people’s assets, it’s perfectly legal, but what would you think of it 19 months from now when you have received nothing?
They may be on the up and up, just offering a bad option deal and offer you a check for the seismic damages up front, but if they refuse to pay the seismic damages at the time of exchange of the agreement, I would tell them to take a hike. It’s not against the law to owe someone money. Once they have your executed agreement, they need not pay you unless you are ready to make some legal effort and pay some money out of your own pocket and go through the aggravation.
As Buddy Cotten taught me, the seismic shoot itself needs to be a moving consideration in the agreement, with liquidated damages if it is not performed.
Like in boxing, protect yourself at all times.