CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
          The exploration activities involve the acquisition of data and processing.  As exploration activities increases in the modern world, the computer manufactures are also working hard to produce super computers and their processing algorithm: thus with high computing power to cope with the larger data processing that are involved.
          Owing to the inevitable roles that are played by the oil industries in the modern world, the federal govt. recently issue out a white paper enforcing all oil companies to do more exploration to increase oil reservoir. This means that there will be more data acquisition and processing jobs in the near future.
          The importance of oil exploration in modern countries can never be our emphasized.  In the United States of America and Britain, Intensive exploration activities are on for the last two decades all in a attempt to have enough oil reserves.
          And so seismic data processing is very indispensable in the oil industry because it is the first step taken in the discovering of hydrocarbon or better more seismic data processing is a key sequence in search for hydrocarbon.
          In the processing of seismic data, care should be taken because if not properly processed, it might lead to wrong interpretation and this might lead to false prospect.  In fact wrong processing will reduce the success ration in the discovery of hydrocarbon and this causes the cost of drilling to increase.  In essence, wrong processing will lead to drilling false prospect and we know that it costs millions if not billions of Naira to drill a well.
          The role of the govt. in oil industry had gradually progressed from a regulatory one to direct involvement in all exploitation and exploration initially government only made rudimentary laws and collected royalties from the oil companies.  By 1971 the situation changed as oil become more important to the Nigeria Economy.  Oil accounts for about 90% of the total foreign exchange earning for the country.
          In essence, Nigeria that wants increase in her revenue, must engage in acquisition, processing and management of seismic data.  Seismic data management system is therefore a software development for the purpose. That is why the case study was the integrated data services limited (IDSL) Benin city a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC).