ION Deploying FireFly to East Texas on Behalf of BP

Cableless, Full-wave Seismic System to be used on East Texas Acquisition Projects

HOUSTON, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that a 6,100 station FireFly(R) system will be utilized by BP America Production Company to undertake two high channel count, multicomponent (full-wave) seismic acquisition programs in northeast Texas. The projects are expected to begin in May 2009 and be completed by the end of the year.

Jim Hollis, President and Chief Operating Officer at ION, commented, “We are delighted that BP has commissioned another series of FireFly surveys, their first using Version 2.0 of the system. As many of you recall, BP was one of our field trial partners for the first-ever deployment of FireFly in November 2006. They are as familiar as anyone with the system and believe there are benefits to using FireFly to image a complex subsurface in this challenging acquisition environment. We expect that our VectorSeis(R) full-wave sensor will allow BP to optimally image unconventional reservoir targets, including portions of the Haynesville shale resource play, while the cableless architecture of FireFly should allow the seismic contractor to efficiently acquire the needed seismic data in an area interspersed with farms, forests, swamps, road crossings, and active mining operations. Should these surveys go well, we believe that additional FireFly-enabled projects may emerge in this area over the next 12-18 months. I should also add that this will be the first deployment of FireFly in which vibroseis will serve as the energy source.”

Dawson Geophysical, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWSN), America’s leading provider of onshore seismic data acquisition services, was awarded the contract to acquire the data on these projects by BP.

To learn more about FireFly, visit: www.iongeo.com/FireFly

To learn more about the Haynesville shale, visit: www.aapg.org/explorer/2008/07jul/haynesville.cfm

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.

About Dawson

Dawson Geophysical Company is the leading provider of U.S. onshore seismic data acquisition services as measured by the number of active data acquisition crews. Founded in 1952, Dawson acquires and processes 2D, 3D, and multi-component seismic data solely for its clients, ranging from major oil and gas companies to independent oil and gas operators as well as providers of multi-client data libraries. Additional information about Dawson is available at www.dawson3d.com.

The information included herein contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may vary fundamentally from those described in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include risk factors that are disclosed by ION from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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    karen.abercrombie@iongeo.com

SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation