Applications of Support Vector Machines in the Exploratory Phase of Petroleum and Natural Gas: a Survey

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of support vector machines (SVM) as one of the most promising intelligent techniques for data analysis found in the published literature, as theoretical approaches and sophisticated applications developed for various research areas and problem domains. This work is an attempt to provide a survey of the applications of SVM for oil and gas exploration to professionals, researchers and academics involved with the hydrocarbons industry. The applications of SVM have been grouped and summarized in the different areas of the exploration phase, which can be used as a guide to assess the effectiveness of SVM over other data mining algorithms. It also provides a better understanding of the various applications that have been developed for an area that offers a glimpse of innovative applications in other domains of the industry.