QUESTION ABOUT PROS AND CONS IN GIVING PERMISSION FOR SEISMIC TESTING

I WAS RECENTLY APPROACHED FOR PERMISSION TO HAVE A CABLE RAN ACROSS MY YARD FOR SEISMIC TESTING. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THE PROS AND CONS OF ALLOWING OR DENYING PERMISSION?

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Permalink Reply by herefordsnshale on June 1, 2009 at 10:33
Speaking of seismic--why are they doing it in the areas where they are already drilling? If they are getting ready to drill or have already drilled, why spend the money on seismograph work?
Permalink Reply by Jaybird on June 1, 2009 at 11:03
I don't know why they would spend that kind of money for areas that are already being drilled, however, in my opinion, maybe...they want the surrounding areas that aren't being drilled and it's just easier to survey the entire area in that particular job. It's just a thought.

Jaybird
Permalink Reply by Linda V on June 1, 2009 at 11:03
Hey neighbor, Spoke to the foreman doing the seismic near Pierce Rd, we asked the same question. His answer was that Chesapeake was looking for additional info, he indicated that they might be trying to do the drilling from the existing well pad there on day rd. and drill from there into the other sections adjoining it. He explained that they would not have to take the rig down and put it back up as much by doing that. We shall see.....anyone else have an opinion.
Permalink Reply by zrdc06 on June 2, 2009 at 2:40
Cassie ... if they are only asking to lay cable, it is a fairly benign process. A survey team will come out and place small flags indicating where receivers should be placed. Some time later, a field crew will come by and place geophones on the ground attached to a cable. These geophones are laid down by pushing them into the ground by a spike about 4 inches long. Once the cables are laid across the survey, recording begins. Depending on the size of the survey, it will likely take 2 or 3 weeks to record the entire thing. However, if they no longer need to record the data from your property, they may come in and move the cable to a different part of the survey.

Some of the replies on this thread are asking why is there seismic being shot when they are already drilling? Well ... some seismic operations are truly exploratory. Companies go into a new area knowing nothing about the geology or subsurface. They will acquire seismic to begin their exploration efforts. In the case of the Haynesville though ... it is a bit different. It is true that there is a lot of drilling in the area but it still leaves a significant amount of acreage where the subsurface is unknown. You are limited to the size of the well bore for information regarding the subsurface. "Drill Bit" exploration in other words. 3D seismic can fill in the area between the well bores. One important thing to remember is that the Haynesville is not a "layer cake" horizon. There are a lot of subtle things about the HV that can be detected by seismic. There is quite a bit of subtle faulting and not so subtle faulting associated with the HV as well as dip changes. When an oil company is drilling a multi-million dollar horizontal well they want to know where these changes occur. It has a great impact on the production rates. Drilling horizontally and encountering unanticipated faults or dip changes can take the well bore into a part of the section that the drillers don't want to be in. This can effect production rates. Seismic can also be used to study the HV to try and determine why some areas are better than others. Specialized processing can be done to determine "rock properties". In other words ... special data can be obtained from seismic that could identify "sweet spots" away from the known well bore.

In the case of the HV ... seismic is beneficial to the landowner. From all that I've seen (in the heart of the play) the question isn't really "is there gas" ... but "how much". Also ... companies are still learning to drill these horizontal wells and I wonder if a lot of the lower rate wells haven't encountered something unantcipated in the subsurfce that seismic may have identified.

So .... to summarize ...

Seismic helps O&G Co. drill horizontal wells and avoid hazards
Avoidance of these hazards can lead to higher production rates
Higher production rates = higher royalty payments

Hope this helps some.
Permalink Reply by Jaybird on June 2, 2009 at 5:35
Very well put rdcotton, thanks for the explanation. I uderstood everything you just wrote!

Jaybird
Permalink Reply by Linda V on June 4, 2009 at 1:14
thanks a "hole" lot rd......we just want them to "Get it Done". Your response helps a lot.
LV
Permalink Reply by zrdc06 on June 4, 2009 at 4:20
No probelm guys ... happy to pass on what I can.
Permalink Reply by Bacon on June 4, 2009 at 2:40
I'd also add that there are several different types of seismic. 2D, 3D and a passive system (that I know of) where they are monitoring the frac to tell exactly what area it affected. So you could have a couple different companies in the same area at roughly the same time.

The contracts they ask you to sign can be and should be altered to be paid on acceptance of contract. I know that with the passive seismic (Micro Seismic), the rate was negotiated up substantially but Veritas wouldn't budge.
Permalink Reply by zrdc06 on June 4, 2009 at 4:19
True ... and you may also have 2 separate companies doing the same type of shooting over the same area. You could have company "A" with interest in the area shooting a survey while company "B" is doing the same over the same acreage. This is usually rare as seismic is expensive so companies will usually split costs and share the same survey.

There is also the situation where a seismic acquisition co. will shoot what's called a SPEC survey. They own the data but the shoot is usually partially underwritten by O&G companies interested in the seimsic. The O&G companies get a discounted rate for underwriting the shoot. Later, the acquisition co. can sell (license) the data multiple times to different O&G cos. that are interested in it.

2D seismic is rarely done anymore ... 2D programs can be just as costly as a 3D but they do not benefit from the better imaging quality a 3D provides.

Microseismic monitoring is relatively new in the grand scheme of things and takes on 3 separate forms (that I know of). The first is borehole monitoring. When a well is being frac'd, receivers are placed in a nearby existing well. These receivers record the actual frac stages. The other 2 are surface arrays and buried arrays. Receivers in these 2 setups are spread across a wide area, one at the surface and the other sealed in drill holes. When the O&G co. is preparing to frac, the monitoring co. sends techs to the field and they connect battery and recording systems to the receivers and then record well frac'ing. These arrays can be used multiple times, recording fracs from several different wells.

I believe that there are 3 proprietary shoots and 2 large Spec shoots underway (that I'm aware of) in the HV vicinity.

Hope this info helps some.
Permalink Reply by Bacon on June 4, 2009 at 4:24
Great info. Thanks.
Permalink Reply by A.C.123 on April 16, 2010 at 9:50
Just received a reqeust for geophone installation to "drilling a 4" diameter hole approximately 300' deep" for $1K per hole and extension wording. I already have leased for seismic for $15 per acre last year and cables were laid all over the property. What's up? Whay am I being contacted again? Any explanation of this process out there?
Permalink Reply by Explorer on April 16, 2010 at 12:17
That would be for microseismic and not a traditional 3-d. http://microseismic.com/

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