Processing of Geological Data

A method of processing data points distributed throughout a geological volume, each data point being associated with respective geological attributes and the geological attributes of each data point being coded as a respective character string, the method including the steps of:

• compiling a query character string defining sought geological attributes of an arrangement of one or more data points;
• searching the coded geological attributes for arrangements of data points having geological attributes matching the query character string;
• and
• identifying matched data points.

A method of identifying possible drilling hazards and/or target drilling locations including the steps of:

• providing a model repository of the subsurface, the model repository containing interpreted subsurface features having geological attributes at respective subsurface positions of the features;
• compiling a drilling hazard signature and/or a drilling target signature based on the geological attributes;
• and
• searching the model repository to identify subsurface positions which have geological attributes matching the drilling hazard signature and/or the target drilling signature.