you never know when that may come in handy - the search for oil may benefit from lessons learned here!
MrSnuggles,
Speaking as an oil explorer, I have to say this is extremely unlikely. Deep ocean basins like this one are not places that oil will be found - the geological history is wrong - and the technology being used in the search is not directly applicable to exploring for oil. Its main, well-established use in my industry is seabed mapping for pipeline routes and drilling platform locations.