BGP Increases Purchases of INOVA Products

HOUSTON, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- INOVA Geophysical Equipment Limited announced today that during the fourth quarter of 2010, it received $15 million in equipment purchases from BGP Inc., a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, marking the third consecutive quarter of increased purchases from BGP after the inception of INOVA. Fourth quarter sales to BGP included over 20,000 channels of Scorpion^®, INOVA's cable-based recording system, to be used for projects in China. Additionally, Pelton source controllers and several AHV-IV 364 vibroseis trucks and AHV-IV 364 truck upgrade kits were purchased for use in the Middle East.

INOVA's land acquisition systems and source products are designed to maximize return on investment by minimizing equipment related downtime and reducing the impact of harsh environmental and operational conditions.

Steve Bate, President and Chief Executive Officer of INOVA commented, "We are pleased that BGP has increased and broadened its purchasing activity in the latter part of the year. These sales are a result of our ongoing partnership with BGP and are indicative of their continued support of our portfolio of products.  Through our collaborative efforts, INOVA will continue to develop innovative technologies that drive tremendous benefit to our customers and functionality that meets BGP's high standards of operational excellence in the land seismic service industry."

Mr. Wang Tiejun, President of BGP added, "Using INOVA's state-of the-art equipment enables us to provide the best service to our customers and helps us perform as a world class geophysical company. With BGP's advanced field operations and INOVA's innovative and reliable technologies, we can deliver the highest level of quality and productivity within our market space. By using INOVA's products we've seen continued success in our projects and are very pleased with the results coming from the recent test of their latest technology enhancements."

About INOVA Geophysical Equipment Limited

INOVA Geophysical Equipment Limited is a leading provider of land geophysical technology, including source and source control systems, cabled and cableless land acquisition systems, and advanced seismic sensing devices. Managed as an independent company, INOVA is a joint venture owned 51% by BGP (a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation) and 49% by ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO). Additional information about INOVA is available at www.inovageo.com.

About BGP

BGP is one of the world's leading geophysical service companies, delivering a wide range of technologies, services and equipment to the oil and gas industry world-wide. They are engaged in seismic data acquisition, processing, interpretation, GME and multi-client surveys, equipment manufacturing and software R & D. More information about BGP is available at http://www.bgp.com.cn/

SOURCE INOVA Geophysical Equipment Limited