Pennzoil has developed CASE (Computer Applications System for Exploration) to assist explorationists in mapping and evaluating large, offshore frontier basins. CASE is a user-friendly, interactive, exploration data base and mapping system. It allows explorationists to store vast amounts of data and to retrieve, for any area of interest, various combinations of data sets for mapping, analysis, and display. Geophysical data are routinely computer contoured and drafted on geographic, geological, and geophysical base maps. This technique allows the explorationists to rapidly and uniformly map and evaluate very large areas and to identify prospects for more detailed study.

In addition to seismic time-structure maps, computer-generated regional maps are prepared on depth-structure, isochron, isopach, interval-velocity, average velocity, gravity, and magnetic data. Computer-generated surfaces may be displayed with faults, also using a 3-D isometric presentation, or input to filtering programs.

CASE optimizes the explorationist's time, is cost-effective, and provides management with uniform, relatively high-quality maps for decision making.

Pennzoil developed CASE to evaluate about 80,000 line kms of geophysical data covering over 75 million acres (30 million ha.) in the South China Sea, the largest geophysical group shoot ever. Utilizing this system, a nucleus of about a dozen geologists and geophysicists, with a relatively small support staff, mapped and evaluated the offshore China data in a period of about one year. Case history examples are presented from this unprecedented and highly successful geophysical mapping and evaluation effort.

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