The oil company takes the risk. The landowner signs a lease and will receive a percentage of the revenues that, in our case, is from 20 to 25%.
When I was VERY young and naive I used to wonder and grumble at the tax breaks that these oil companies got. Then my ex and I worked in the petroleum business for a while. I then discovered the danger and the risks of the business...and understood why the tax breaks existed.
And I also discovered that the private sector took all the risk in this country, that THEY ran the business, unlike the rest of the planet where the local governnments took all the risks and ran/controlled the industry. Makes a huge difference in the competition.