As the cost of data acquisition increases, there is a corresponding increasing need to maximize the usefulness of the data at hand and to find quick cost-effective methods of data analysis.

Computers and computer graphics techniques have been used effectively to display and help analyze geophysical data. The characteristics of such data analysis (to date) are typically (1) mountains of data (i.e., numbers), and (2) little control from the user during the analysis process.

Analysis of geologic data by computer has been less successful owing to the data's qualitative nature (i.e., location of formation or geologic, province, the existence or absence of a particular rock type, etc). Here, not only is the amount of data orders of magnitude less (typically), but the data often do not have the same kind of precision as its geophysical counterpart. Further, the automatic analysis of geologic data needs a fair amount of guidance from the geologist who is familiar with the region.

Interactive computing and interactive computer graphics allow the user to see results more quickly and help to involve him in the analysis process. A methodology involving this technology is presented which will take advantage of the qualitative nature of geological data and the quantitative nature of geophysical data. This technique will allow the user to combine, correlate, modify, display, and analyze both kinds of data together.

Through such analysis of both geologic and geophysical data for both known and prospective sites, decisions can be made as to where to look for oil, or, at least, where to look for data which will, in turn, indicate where to look for oil.

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