In the oil and gas business, what unresolved image analysis problems could lead to a breakthrough?

I am interested in issues directly related to the oil and gas exploration and production. Of course, the first task is to identify which problems need to be solved. I will be more than happy if I get specific answers about issues that affect the oil business and that are yet to be solved.In the oil and gas business, what unresolved image analysis problems could lead to a breakthrough?
A major tool in exploration is images made from the reflections of sound waves from surface explosions. Analysis of these images is what helps explorers figure out the existence and location of oil and gas reserves. Any improvement in the image processing and pattern recognition would help reveal overlooked sources and deeper sources, and would reduce the waste of drilling to a false image.





On the production side, refining crude oil into its various products safely and efficiently is a set of extremely complex and sensitive chemical processes. Some really good visualization of these processes could help run an individual refinery smoothly, efficiently, and safely, and could also help reveal parts of the process which could be improved. The human brain has tremendous pattern recognition capability with data presented to it visually.





As an industry outsider, that's all I know.