ION Announces Opening of New Seismic Data Processing Center in Brazil

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HOUSTON, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that its GX Technology (GXT) Imaging Solutions group has established a new seismic data processing center in Rio de Janeiro.  A joint venture of GXT and Brazilian energy consultancy Bratexco, GX Technology Processamento de Dados Ltda. will provide advanced imaging services to E&P companies operating in the highly prospective basins off the coasts of Brazil and environs, combining the technological strengths of GXT with Bratexco's extensive knowledge of the Brazilian energy industry and operators.

The largest oilfield discoveries of the past 35 years lie along the coast of Brazil, the ninth largest energy consumer in the world and third largest in the Western Hemisphere. These discoveries, including Lula (formerly known as Tupi) and Cernambi (formerly known as Iracema), are collectively estimated to contain in excess of 75 billion barrels of oil and will add significantly to the current estimated 2 million barrels of oil produced a day in Brazil.  Increasing domestic oil production had been a long-term goal of the Brazilian government, and recent discoveries of large, pre-salt oil deposits could transform Brazil into one of the largest oil producers in the world.

The new center is ideally suited to meet the needs of the rapidly growing Brazilian energy industry, as it delivers a broad range of advanced seismic processing services for land, marine, ocean bottom cable (OBC), and transition zone data, with initial emphasis on 3D marine. The full scope of services includes data conditioning, noise attenuation and multiple elimination, velocity model building, and state-of-the-art imaging algorithms, such as GXT's proprietary Reverse Time Migration (RTM). The center is equipped with the latest Linux-based server hardware and staffed by Brazilian geophysicists who are experts in applying high-end data processing techniques and workflows.

Mr. Nick Bernitsas, Senior Vice President of ION's GXT Imaging Solutions group, commented, "Imaging the complex pre-salt basins offshore Brazil requires application of the most advanced depth imaging techniques, such as GXT-pioneered RTM and TTI anisotropic velocity model building, areas in which GXT is a leader.  GXT has extensive experience in Brazil, having already processed over 42,000 kilometers of data offshore Brazil as part of ION's BrasilSPAN™ regional seismic data program, which several major E&P operators are using to optimize their exploration programs in the highly prolific Campos and Santos basins.  We see this new center as a logical – and very promising – extension of our growing network of global processing centers, and we're excited about working with our partner Bratexco to leverage their expertise and experience in the Brazilian seismic market."  

Mr. Cosme Peruzzolo, Principal Partner at Bratexco and Managing Director of the new center, added, "What attracted us to GXT is their industry reputation and proven track record of imaging subsalt data in Brazil, West Africa, and the Gulf of Mexico. We are excited to bring the services of the market leader in high-quality depth imaging to meet the growing and increasingly sophisticated needs of the Brazilian energy industry."

The center will be operational by the end of March 2011.

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.

SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation