The future of land exploration: brute force and ignorance, or adherence to the science?

It is difficult to ignore claims, brought on by the continuing relatively low price of oil, that the business of land seismic surveying is stuck in the doldrums. Those in the know assure us that until oil returns to $100 or more, such operations will be too expensive to undertake routinely while these same ‘experts’ believe hardware development and manufacture will never be significantly profitable again. As one who has written and spoken extensively on this subject for decades, sadly I have to agree that the bien pensants may for once have a point, or part of one anyway. I do not see that land equipment and exploration can expect a bright future if oil continues to hover around its current price. However, this is only if land seismic carries on in the way it has been doing. If we make some overdue technological changes and adhere better to the science, the future is bright and potentially very profitable. With much of the necessary new technology in or starting to move out of incubators, an investment less than the cost of acquiring a medium-sized survey could be all it takes. Therefore, the prospect of low cost oil actually presents significant commercial opportunities to someone.