SeaSeep is a combination of 2D seismic data (a group of seismic lines acquired individually, as opposed to multiple closely space lines1), high resolution multibeam sonar which is an evolutionary advanced form of side-scan sonar, navigated piston coring (one of the more common sea floor sampling methods2), heat flow sampling (which serve a critical purpose in oil exploration and production3) and possibly gravity and magnetic data (refer to Dick Gibson's Primer on Gravity and Magnetics4).
The term SeaSeep originally belonged to Black Gold Energy LLC5 and refers to a dataset that combines all of the available data into one integrated package that can be used in hydrocarbon exploration.
With the acquisition of Black Gold Energy LLC by Niko Resources Ltd.6 in December 2009 the term now belongs to Niko Resources The concept of a SeaSeep dataset is the modern day offshore derivative of how many oil fields were found in the late 19th and early 20th century; by finding a large anticline structure with an associated oil seep.
The field is named after a fisherman, Rudesindo Cantarell, who complained to PEMEX about his fishing nets being stained by oil seeps in the Bay of Campeche.
The emphasis on, and marketplace acceptance of, multibeam mapping combined with navigated coring as an improvement over grid-based approaches to geochemical exploration is attributed to AOA Geophysics Inc10.