Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Smith Garis C
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
05/23/2005		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
SEITEL INC [SELA]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
10811 S. WESTVIEW CIRCLE DRIVE, BUILDING C, STE. 100		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
President - Olympic Seismic
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

HOUSTON, TX 77043		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock, par value $.01 per share (1) 48,000
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Smith Garis C
10811 S. WESTVIEW CIRCLE DRIVE
BUILDING C, STE. 100
HOUSTON, TX 77043		       President - Olympic Seismic  

Signatures

/s/ Garis C. Smith by /s/ Marcia H. Kendrick 06/01/2005
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) On February 15, 2005, the reporting person was granted 48,000 restricted shares of Seitel's common stock, par value $.01 per share. One-third of the restricted stock vests one year from the date of grant, an additional one-third vests two years from date of grant, and the remaining one-third vests three years from the date of grant.

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