The data issue:
In today's upstream oil business, data is the critical resource upon which all operations depend. Once mislaid, data is expensive to replace or, with interpreted data, impossible to recover.
With ever more sophisticated logging operations, data volumes are increasing rapidly. Historical data from mature areas is revisited to take advantage of new processing techniques or to investigate new play concepts. Studies suggest that E&P professionals can spend more than half of their time looking for data. In a large corporation, this cost is enormous.
Given these factors, sound data management philosophy and procedures are essential for the successful operation of any company.
Unfortunately once immediate operational needs have been met, data is frequently forgotten and not returned for publication in the corporate dataset. As staff move on data becomes irretrievable with the result that the data has to be reworked or recaptured.