3-D Visualization
American Oil and Gas Reporter
July, 2002

By William Dylan Powell
Special Correspondent

HOUSTON-1979 was a turbulent year: OPEC hiked oil prices, long lines sprang up at gas stations nationwide, and Iranian fundamentalist revolutionaries seized American hostages. But those events pale in comparison to another of that year's milestones: the development of the first commercially successful word processor.

In 2002, the ability to write, edit, save and print electronic documents is taken for granted as one of the most fundamental-and affordable-tools of business. Today's word processing programs are so simple to operate that they are quickly mastered by elementary school students learning for the first time how to use computing technology for something other than gaming. But when word processors were introduced 23 years ago, electronic word manipulation was awkward and computing resources were limited. Users had two separate computer programs: one to write/edit documents and another to print them.

The contemporary word processor made a difficult and time-consuming task easy, fast and efficient, and in the process, changed business processes and created billions of dollars of value the world over. In the end, the computer industry was hardly the only beneficiary of this creative application of existing technology.

Right now a similar change is taking place in the exploration and production industry, according to Michael J. Zeitlin, chairman and chief executive officer of Houston-based Magic Earth Inc. Advances in computer power and visualization technology are combining to enable E&P professionals to interact with the subsurface in a whole new realm.

"Geoscientists can uncover subsurface landscapes quickly and accurately, revolutionizing both the efficiency of seismic interpretation and the economics of prospect generation one the whole," he says.

In the world of immersive 3-D visualization, it is "see the data, be the data."

New Way Of Thinking
Energy companies spend millions each year collecting seismic data that might reveal secrets about the earth's subsurface and hydrocarbon deposits hidden within the cracks and crevices. Until recently, Zeitlin notes, the best way to interpret 3-D data was through the use of two-dimensional cross-sectional views. A cross-section, in the context of hydrocarbon exploration, is a diagram representing the type and configuration of subsurface components in a given section of the earth, he explains.

Seismic data are collected and transmogrified into cross-sectional representations to make drilling decisions. They require a significant investment-and not a little painstaking effort-to complete. The results are hot and cold. "To the untrained eye, seismic data look like a bunch of meaningless wiggly lines. To the seasoned geoscientist, however, it looks like a bunch of meaningless wiggly lines that laugh at you!" Zeitlin quips.

Ask anyone who has ever made a wrong pick how quickly a promising looking seismic section can become little more than a stack of flat lines and frustration.

According to Zeitlin, the irrefutable problem is that regardless of a geoscientist's skill, the human brain is simply not wired to process data in cross-sectional view. It is like handing a table of restaurant patrons the written chemical compositions of flour, sugar, butter and apples, and then asking each one to sketch what an apple pie might look like had they never seen one.

Despite the obvious shortcomings, cross-sections remained the most effective and widely used method for subsurface imagery. Zeitlin says that is changing rapidly, however, with the emergence of 3-D immersive visualization technology. Unable to do much about reworking the wiring, he reports that 3-D visualization is instead changing the way in which geophysical information is presented so that it is much more compatible to the innate circuitry and functioning of the interpreter's brain.

It is not merely a new technology, but quite literally, a new way of thinking, he insists.

The Computational Factor
In the mid 1990s, the industry underwent the evolution from 2-D to 3-D data. Rather than merely collecting 2-D seismic lines individually, numerous and more tightly spaced lines were acquired together to come up with a 3-D representation. Zeitlin says this provided a far more accurate picture of the subsurface overall, and without interpolation.

"But the paradigm shift to 3-D exploration brought with it an explosion in data volumes-so much data, in fact, that existing interpretation technology became a constraint, as did antiquated business processes for analyzing seismic data," he points out.

Geophysical contractors were acquiring large 3-D datasets, and new algorithms were being developed to process them, but oil and gas companies were still using techniques from the 2-D world to interpret 3-D data. Adding the third dimension to the data volume was a marked improvement, but Zeitlin says operators could not leverage the full power of 3-D exploration without a complementary step-change in the final leg of the seismic acquisition-processing-interpretation loop.

That change began with technical advances made not in the international oil capitals of Houston, Calgary or London, Zeitlin notes, but in the heart of computing technology: Silicon Valley. The technology and technique constraints to true 3-D seismic analysis were smashed when hardware manufacturers brought to market a new class of high-performance machines that use parallel processing, whereby two or more interconnected processors run multiple parts of a computer program concurrently but utilize a single, shared memory.

"Advanced programming languages optimize the performance of these ultra-fast and powerful machines, some of which have as many as 256,000 microprocessors!" he details.

The computational factor has been the prime enabler for a new-generation of software and processing capabilities, Zeitlin contends. The speed, size and economy of massively parallel microprocessors have brought unprecedented data management and visualization capabilities to technical and creative users around the world. Today, compute-intensive users with large volumes of data-from Stephen Hawking's Cosmology Group at Cambridge University, to Saab Aerospace, to motion picture animators, to seismic processing and visualization specialists-use parallel processing to make the most of their information, he reports.

Life-Like Volume
The leap in processing power also enables geoscientists to take 3-D imaging, as well as exploration programs in general, to unprecedented levels of efficiency, according to Zeitlin. Using software that takes advantage of increased parallel processing capacity, geoscientists can now view seismic data as a life-like volume using geovolume visualization and interpretation (GVI) technology.

Resembling a cross between an IMAX theater and the set of Star Trek, GVI takes place in a technology-laden room sporting a large curved screen or other visually immersing environment, a supercomputer, specialized software, collaborative infrastructure, workstations, and conference tables, all of which is "designed to focus the user's brain solely on the data," he explains.

Geoscientists can interpret in real time, isolating, slicing, probing, extracting and manipulating images with little visual distraction. "These environments allow them to more easily identify pay zones, pinpoint exactly where a well should go, and determine the best way to develop a discovery," he avers.

Simply put, GVI enables intelligent exploration by rendering the subsurface virtually real to the interpreter. In fact, 3-D immersive environments have sped seismic data analysis by a factor of 10, according to Zeitlin, allowing E&P companies to add reserves to their portfolio more quickly and more inexpensively. "This technology reduces project cycle time by 50-75 percent, makes interpretation much more accurate, and preserves economic margins," he says.

Returning to the analogy of the restaurant patrons, with GVI technology they could virtually hold the apples, pass the ingredients around the table, collaboratively experiment with formulations of the ingredients until they get it right, and then figure out exactly how to slice the pie so that nothing goes to waste-and those paying the check get their money's worth.

Interpretations of large datasets that used to require eight people and 18 months' worth of work can be accomplished in a fraction of the time using a fraction of the manpower, Zeitlin claims. "With GVI, a two-man team of geoscientists can analyze and generate numerous interpreted leads from datasets as large as 17,000 square kilometers in a matter of weeks," he states.

A Matter Of Sense
Why is GVI immersion so much more effective than other interpretation processes? It is a matter of the senses, or more specifically, the dominant role the sense of sight plays in mental cognition. More than 80 percent of one's total brain capacity is dedicated at any given time to understanding what he sees, according to Zeitlin. Everything around him-a desk, a magazine, a telephone, a cup of coffee, a co-worker's office across the hall, etc.-is being continually processed by his brain in an analytical way. His mind may be concentrated on a specific task, but Zeitlin says it is also cognizant of everything else in the visual background-how much coffee is left in the cup, the opening of the door across the hall, a truck moving down the street in front of his office window, and so forth.

"If 3-D data are displayed on a tiny screen, the brain still processes everything within the lines of sight around it. By completely filling the entire field of view with data, however, the brain focuses only on analyzing only what the computer displays," he explains. "Things that went unnoticed before suddenly become very apparent."

GVI rests on four pillars: recognition, color, motion and isolation, Zeitlin goes on. "Recognition refers to determining the characteristics that compose an event, and processing these data in a way that enhances those components. Color refers to optimizing the color scheme for visualizing a specific property," he states. "Motion allows one to draw relationships between data within time and space. And isolation is the ability to separate the events of interest from other data."

These techniques are applied at various interpretation stages, with users choosing the technique they feel will be most helpful given the data at hand, Zeitlin explains. Since subsurface attributes are intrinsically three-dimensional, they allow geoscientists to interpret data in a way that is much more natural than deciphering a bunch of wiggly lines.

GVI's reduction in cycle time also aids in the user's ability to think through a dataset. If the computer takes four weeks to perform its calculations, the interpreter cannot work through multiple scenarios on the spot, as it can when those same calculations take only four minutes. And this increase in productivity could not have come at a better time.

Well-Placed Rifle Shot
With GVI, E&P companies drill fewer and more productive wells, spend less money to find hydrocarbon reserves, and make smarter development decisions, Zeitlin asserts. "GVI has more than tripled the ratio of successful exploration wells at some companies," he holds.

And the value of the technology is magnified when combined with other enabling technological solutions. He says a good example is the synergy between horizontal drilling and 3-D visualization in applications where operators act on the information provided by GVI to steer directional and extended-reach wells into zones with "attic" oil and gas-the large amounts of reserves that usually remain unrecovered in most fields. Planning and drilling precisely placed directional well bores using GVI leads to fewer, but higher-yielding wells. And the smaller the target size, the more sense it makes to take aim with a well-placed rifle shot instead of a widespread shotgun blast.

This newfound intelligence is moving the industry from the world of monkey boards and dumb iron to one of hardcore knowledge management and technical application, Zeitlin stresses. "E&P is going the way of the agriculture industry," he relates. "A century ago, 60-70 percent of the population was involved in farming. Today, that number is less than 3 percent on a per capita basis. A huge efficiency of scale occurred where breakthroughs in machinery allowed fewer people to work the land and yield much more from it. It is the same with E&P. Companies are learning through technology to more efficiently find more reservoirs and produce more hydrocarbons from them using far fewer people engaged in more sophisticated work processes."

He adds that the industry's emphasis on creating workflows that utilize the Internet, fiber optics and other advance communications technologies to streamline upstream processes are enabling visualization centers to share information, knowledge and opinions among experts and stakeholders worldwide in real time.

Mission-Critical Challenges
GVI helps solve three mission-critical challenges facing the industry, according to Zeitlin. First is a lack of human capital. Not only is the E&P sector populated by an aging workforce, but also the boom-and-bust cycles have prevented companies from hiring young people to fully replace or augment retirees. With each professional lost, another piece of the industry's collective knowledge and expertise is removed. Technologies such as GVI are essential to help offset the effects of a shrinking workforce by enabling greater productivity per person, he claims.

Secondly, the raw amount of data required for prospect generation is astronomical. "Until advances in computer power, oil and gas companies spent millions of dollars collecting seismic data that delivered only a limited amount of value," he remarks. "Finding hydrocarbons demands the ability to quickly and accurately process and interpret huge amounts of data."

Finally, GVI helps offset malingering commodity prices, Zeitlin suggests. Oil and gas prices may have their spikes and valleys, but when adjusted for inflation, oil prices tend to trend within a historic $18-$20 a barrel band on average. Reducing the cost of finding reserves is a very pragmatic way to keep costs down, and prosper in an industry where product prices are relatively flat, he says.

Even with the improved risk profiles made possible by 3-D seismic data, however, the commercial success rate for exploratory wells drilled in "greenfield" wildcat areas hovers around 20 percent industrywide today, he points out. "If that drilling success rate does not improve, and labor costs continue to rise, something has to give," he holds.

Over the past 10 years, the biggest give has been in finding costs, where the industry has been very successful at reducing the amount of capital it spends to find new oil. In the 1980s, companies were exhausting $15-$18 to discover one barrel of oil, Zeitlin reports, but today, they are bringing new reserves online at a finding cost of $3 a barrel. However, there is little room left to further tweak the finding cost equation using conventional means. In the future, he says, the real gains will come through quantum advances in technology.

Against the backdrop of historically flat commodity prices, increasing depletion rates, thin economic margins, staggering amounts of data, and a shrinking workforce, E&P companies must embrace game-changing technologies such as GVI to stay ahead of the curve, according to Zeitlin.

"E&P companies can no longer afford to do business the old ways; they must remain technologically progressive and move quickly to capitalize on evolutionary gains in both technology and business processes," he says. "Going forward, their very survival will more and more depend on it."

Better computing and 3-D visualization capabilities are simplifying and improving the ability of the interpreter to view, analyze and extract value from geophysical data. Of course, Zeitlin notes, better interpretation leads to better risk management and decision making, which in turn, leads to smarter, more productive drilling. And, he says, smarter drilling results in fewer wells, smaller footprints and less overall environmental impact-a critical benefit given the heightened level of environmental awareness around the globe, as well as the increased regulatory requirements and community obligations facing E&P companies today.

"Through smarter drilling, GVI-based exploration can help energy companies reduce their environmental risks and achieve corporate compliance goals," he contends.

Intuitive Partnership
GVI and its high-octane business processes are creating a whole new class of energy professional with new knowledge sets to carry the industry forward, Zeitlin suggests. The workforce may be shrinking, but E&P company employees will increasingly become "knowledge workers," not the traditional oil patch roughnecks and pumpers of the past, he says, noting that the oil field workers of the 21st century are increasingly becoming highly trained, well compensated, and well equipped to do their jobs.

Visualization technology is one of the key tools at their disposal. GVI is already having a profound positive impact on E&P economics, efficiencies and processes, but Zeitlin predicts that impact will grow exponentially as computing and visualization technologies continue to evolve.

"By 2009, computers are expected to reach the point where they equal the human brain in the number of calculations that can be performed per second," he reports. "The faster processing speed will allow computers to take over pattern recognition tasks that today require human analysts. Tools will evolve that analyze data automatically, reducing uncertainty on the part of the interpreter."

These knowledge robots will pre-filter data, and then present the sculpted information to analysts or geoscientists who will further refine it and make decisions regarding future actions, Zeitlin explains. Computers will not replace interpreters, but will perform analytical grunt work and make logical recommendations. As computing speed and capability grow, he says geophysical analysis will become less of a numbers-crunching process and more of an intuitive partnership between man and machine.

In the meantime, however, operators must continue to make the most of today's technology. Merely developing and possessing advanced technology is not enough, Zeitlin insists. To prosper, he says the industry must creatively apply the tools that are already in its grasp to realize their full enabling potential. Applying 3-D immersive visualization to understand subsurface structures in new ways gives exploration and production companies a powerful and proven tool for developing their assets in the most profitable, practical and timeliest means possible.

back to trade