The Value of Visualization in Exploration and Production: Anecdotal Evidence and Quantitative Data

Since the introduction of large-scale visualization systems in the energy industry over a<br>decade ago, discussion has focused on the relative benefits, if any, of conducting typical<br>exploration and development tasks in a large visualization environment vs. a desktop display.<br>The only industry specific information with regard to benefits has been anecdotal in nature.<br>Five human performance studies have been conducted over the last five years to quantify the<br>amount of benefit achieved in a set of directional well path planning problems using largescale<br>visualization. These studies have demonstrated that significant, quantifiable<br>improvements in efficiency and accuracy of results are achieved using large-scale<br>visualization environments for design engineering tasks, such as well path planning.