In the once cushy days of the integrated oil majors, episodes of poor performance in their far upstream exploration segments were often offset by increased refining and revenue generation downstream. This allowed majors' exploration segments to rethink their programs and technology, which often resulted in periods of increased investment in research and development, and equipment purchases. Nowadays, the service sector does not enjoy the same stability it had when it was more closely bound to the majors. The new integrated geophysical companies are not as eager to spend money on new instrumentation as their oil major counterparts once were.
Small players are particularly vulnerable.
In fact, it has become common for the large integrated service companies to subcontract some of their work in order to secure package deals. This has had the effect of relegating some of the smaller players to niche markets such as swamp or transition zone projects. Once in these niches, it is very difficult for small companies to dig themselves out. In many cases, the niche markets become saturated with only a couple crews, and competition drives prices down to uncomfortable levels. For this reason, it is essential to select seismic equipment with great care in order to maintain the flexibility to bid a variety of jobs.