ISSI:An Interactive Interparation System Offshore Exploration and Production
Authors: Caldwell J.H. , Jones R.C. , Nunns A.G. , Jovanovich D.B. , Shuey R.T. 
Published: October 2008

Interactive interpretive color graphics systems were announced by contractors several years ago and recently have appeared in publicity releases from major oil companies. At Gulf Research and Development we developed a proprietary system called ISIS (Interactive Seismic Interpretation System) which has been used successfully by Gulf Exploration and Production since early 1981. ISIS enables people inexperienced in computer technology to interpret large amounts of data rapidly and with great detail.

Diverse groups within Gulf have compared ISIS with systems under development elsewhere in the industry, and repeatedly concluded that ISIS better served our operational needs. In this paper we present our philosophy of design for ISIS. The major points are illustrated with examples of its application to interpretation of exploration and production data.

FROM PROBLEM TO TOOL

Many interactive interpretation systems seem to have developed from a tool towards a problem, rather than vice versa. Specifically, many systems represent efforts to find a market within oil exploration and production for existing microcomputers or image processors. Designing an interactive interpretation work station around a microprocessor leads to a small stand-alone system without much capacity or processing power. Alternatively, adapting image processing techniques such as those used in computer automated design work leads to a system which can perform many very fancy procedures on a single image. This sometimes may be entertaining, but does not particularly help an interpreter to make maps.

In developing ISIS we examined the thought processes of the interpreter and built the system to conform to the way an interpreter functions, rather than demanding, (probably unsuccessfully), that the user conform to the system. The process of interpretation includes these generalized operations: retrieving specific data from a voluminous and heterogeneous data base, examining these extracts with appropriate transformations and juxtapositions, expressing interpretation by an annotation or file entry, and generating displays of both data and interpretation. ISIS includes computer-age equivalents of all these basic tasks.

From early developmental trials emerged five principles regarding how these operations are implemented:Non-intimidating interface of computer to user.Fast response time.Capacity to integrate extremely large volumes of diverse data.Easy access to existing resources.Complete repertoire of functions.

In addition, we demonstrate how our interactive system is flexible enough to spawn the development of novel interpretation techniques.

USER INTERFACE

The geoscientists of today have devoted their studies and practice to geology, geophysics, and engineering - not computer science. An interactive interpretation system should and can be designed so that it requires no prior knowledge of computers. In many instances, even the inclusion of a computer terminal keyboard will totally intimidate a potential user. Our interface between interpreter and computer is accomplished via a menu-driven tablet, a pen, and graphic messages on a color TV monitor.