1. An automated method for identifying subsurface locations with hydrocarbon potential from a seismic data volume, comprising: dividing the seismic data volume into two or more groupings, each grouping representing a different subsurface location; using a computer to apply, to each of a plurality of the two or more groupings, one or more algorithms that define, in a quantitative way, and compute at least two direct hydrocarbon indicators from the seismic data; and using the computer to evaluate the groupings for hydrocarbon potential based on applying one or more selected criteria to the computed direct hydrocarbon indicators.