ION, Polarcus to shoot seismic offshore Ireland

ION Geophysical Corporation is collaborating with Polarcus to acquire a new 4,000 sq. km. 3D multi-client seismic survey offshore southwest Ireland, the first major survey of the significantly underexplored deep-water Southern Porcupine Basin.

Drilling results in the area have proven the existence of a petroleum system, and 2D seismic data indicates significant sediments and prospective structures. The survey will leverage the geological knowledge gained from ION’s Northeast AtlanticSPANTM 2D survey to deliver the high-quality 3D data required by oil and gas companies to further develop the area.
Brian Hanson, ION’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “This is the first survey to arise from our alliance with Polarcus, announced last year, to jointly develop and market multi-client regionally-calibrated 3D surveys. The alliance provides us access to a world-class seismic fleet and allows us to naturally leverage our 2D BasinSPANS, which have generated $1.5 billion in revenues to date, to create a new growth segment for ION in the lucrative 3D multi-client market.”

Rolf Ronningen, Polarcus’ Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are pleased that ION has elected to participate in this timely new 3D project offshore southwest Ireland. The South Porcupine Basin is a Mesozoic rift basin that is attracting significant interest ahead of the forthcoming Irish 2015 Atlantic Margin Oil and Gas Exploration Licensing Round. ION’s unique SPAN data available in the area will provide important geological and geophysical information to ensure optimum imaging of key geologic structures and assist in the understanding of the major structural elements across the basin. The project has received previously announced industry underwriting.”