I googled “permit to conduct geophysical survey”, since my friend handed me a letter he got in the mail today with two papers requesting his signature to permit this to be done on his property. They offered no compensation, nor does he have a lease with anyone, so I am glad my google lead me to this forum! lol All the enclosed documents and letter has PGS Onshore letterhead, but the return envelope was addressed to Cougar Land Services, LLC. Another company keeps sending him letters about a lease, but it is one of those middlemen outfits where they resale the lease or whatever it is they do with them. They are not the drilling & gas companies that are up in our area. (Washington County, PA) Thanks for this forum and website it has a lot of valuable information since they are after my son now to sign. He has three tracts of land so I will pass the information on to him that I have found on here and have him come over and review it with me…thanks again…
Mike Igau said:
This raises many questions. I assume you have been offered $25.00 per acre for a 3-D seismic shoot. This may entail dynamite or thumper trucks depending on the terrain. If you have improved pastures or valuable trees this may entail provisions for additional damages. If it is just brush country then this may not be necessary. The Eagle Ford Play is the hot new play these days in Texas. Do you currently have a mineral lease on your mineral interests? It is preferable to have a mineral lease prior to allowing a seismic survey. The rational for this is why would you want Operator’s to “peak” at your mineral property prior to leasing? If the seismic is not favorable then you would potentially lose out on an opportunity to lease and get a nice bonus payment. If you currently have a mineral lease, then yes, I would approve the seismic permit. The seismic permits I have approved have been usually for a one year term. $25.00 per acre has been the norm in the Gulf Coast region for 3-D seismic. This was a few years ago though.