ION, iSEISMIC Collaborate on Seabed Acquisition Technology

ION Geophysical and iSEISMIC, an ocean bottom seismic (OBS) acquisition specialist, have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on seabed acquisition technologies.

iSEISMIC plans to utilize the full suite of ION’s 4Sea ocean bottom acquisition and imaging technology to deliver a step-change in the safety, efficiency, quality and turnaround time of seabed surveys.

This agreement will enable ION to commercialize its new 4Sea technology and provides an opportunity to realize the benefits of the technology to acquire ocean bottom multi-client programs more quickly and cost-effectively.

“This collaboration validates our component approach and provides ION an exciting opportunity to further participate in the growing, high value seabed market and extract recurring revenue from the value our technology delivers, without compromising our asset light strategy,” said Chris Usher, ION’s president and chief executive officer.

“Deploying 4Sea as a complete system will enable iSEISMIC and our multi-client customers to gain maximum benefit from this fully integrated transformational architecture for exceptionally efficient OBS data acquisition.  We look forward to working with iSEISMIC to create a Blue Ocean shift for the applications of OBS data in our industry.”

“This partnership presents a unique opportunity for both companies to leverage significant synergies to gain a strengthened foothold in the OBS market,” stated Carl Berg, iSEISMIC’s chief executive officer.

 “ION is an ideal partner as their multi-client business development, imaging expertise and revolutionary technology nicely complements our team’s aggregated operational experience acquiring over 150 surveys, including more than 50 OBS surveys, while deploying a range of new technologies.  After considering a number of industry alternatives, we believe the full suite of ION’s 4Sea technologies will enable us to achieve a radical breakthrough in OBS performance and give us a range of competitive advantages.  As a first mover with the complete 4Sea platform, including the fully automated deployment and retrieval system, we will have the fastest operational speed in the industry, significantly faster than today’s standard.”