Most seismic is done by a few large companies which amass data in their seismic libraries which can then be licensed or ‘rented’ out to oil company for in-house analysis before drilling. Seismic data is complex and only experts can interpret, and their opinions will vary. Small oil companies only use this infrequently. A mineral lessee might lend its consent and name to the project, but the oil company is just getting access to the seismIc in return, perhaps for free and perhaps for a lower fee. The surface owner owns the subsurface pore space, but not the oil and gas. And the seismic is largely looking at underground ‘terrain’, not identifying pools of oil and gas. Surface owner is compensated for damages to surface during the testing. Mineral owner may be asked for consent, if the minerals are unleased, but is not paid as there is no damage to oil and gas itself.
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