I have received an offer from a company for a permit to conduct seismic or geochemical testing on my property (in Texas) for a period of six months with an option to lease during that time period.
I have been told that after a period of time, those results will become public record. Does anyone know if that is true?
My concern with this deal is that if the results are less than favorable, not only will this company not want to pursue a lease, but neither will any other company in the future.
No. Seismic surveys remain the exclusive property of the Company who paid for them. They do have the rights to sell the information to others once they are done with them, and they often do.
in addition to the first reply, i have really had a heck of a time getting information from the seismic company. I have likened it to an ultrasound on my baby. I want a copy of what they found, or else i am arguing with a potential lessee with one arm tied behind my back. I have gotten agreement for this one time, and Rosetta was the ultimate purchaser and they backed out on the commitment to share it with me.
Raw seismic data is not of great use to individuals. You need specialty programming and a professional to interpret the data. Several companies have large seismic libraries and they license the use of the raw data to oil companies. These licenses are generally strictly limited to the use by a single oil company and they have to have in-house capability or hire a specialist to interpret the data. The license is rarely transferable to another oil company without paying additional fees. A seismic company will not give you analyzed seismic information.
Thank you. That makes more sense than what I had been told previously.
Thank you for all the responses.