ION Delivers Initial Commercial Version of FireFly Land Seismic System

HOUSTON, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that it has delivered a multi-thousand station FireFly(R) system equipped with digital, full-wave VectorSeis(R) sensors to one of the world’s largest seismic contractors. The deployment of ION’s first commercialized FireFly system is taking place in a producing hydrocarbon basin containing reservoirs that have proven difficult to image with conventional seismic techniques.

Bob Peebler, ION’s CEO, commented, “We originally planned to commercialize our FireFly system in North America to be closer to our technology centers, but those plans were altered due to the significant slowdown in seismic activity among our U.S. and Canadian contractor customers. I’m delighted that we were able to adjust our plans so quickly and deliver our first commercial system to a long-standing customer with a global operating footprint. We will reveal more information on the specifics of this transaction after the first survey has been completed. We are very excited to be entering full commercialization with such an important customer. I should also add that business development activities related to FireFly are still underway in North America, though we are shifting our business model to also include rental and leasing options for known and well-financed customers. This change allows us to take advantage of ARAM’s existing North American rental operation, complement our traditional business model of ‘cash and carry’ purchases, and expand the pool of customers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to shoot FireFly surveys in the current economic climate.”

About ION

ION is a leading provider of geophysical technology, services, and solutions for the global oil & gas industry. ION’s offerings allow E&P operators to obtain higher resolution images of the subsurface to reduce the risk of exploration and reservoir development, and enable seismic contractors to acquire geophysical data more efficiently. Additional information about ION is available at www.iongeo.com.

    Contacts
    ION (Financial community)          ION (Media affairs)
    Chief Financial Officer            Senior Manager - Corporate Marketing
    Brian Hanson, +1 281.879.3672      Jenny Salinas, +1 713.366.7286
                                       jenny.salinas@iongeo.com

SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation