ION Launches Calypso Seabed Seismic System

ION Geophysical Corporation announced the launch of Calypso, its next generation redeployable seabed acquisition system. Leveraging ION's industry-leading VectorSeis digital sensors to deliver the same unrivaled broadband imaging, Calypso is designed to operate at twice the depth and to deliver twice the operational efficiency of its predecessor system, VectorSeis Ocean (VSO).

The seabed seismic market has grown over 250% in the last five years, with over $300 million in contracts awarded in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Prompting this tremendous growth is seabed seismic's ability to deliver superior image quality and operate in areas of dense infrastructure. Yet, despite its increasing popularity, seabed seismic still represents a relatively small percentage of total marine seismic projects, largely due to historically high costs and long cycle times relative to towed streamer acquisition. ION's new Calypso system has the potential to mitigate both barriers to wider adoption by doubling cable lengths and productivity while significantly expanding operating depths.

Since 2004, ION's seabed acquisition systems have delivered the highest quality seismic data on numerous projects worldwide, including in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Caspian Sea, Middle East, offshore Brazil and West Africa. ION's next generation Calypso system leverages ION's award-winning VectorSeis sensor to provide the same superior imaging as VSO, but with step-change improvements in efficiency, operating depths, and flexibility:

- Tilt-insensitive multicomponent (4C) VectorSeis sensors record broad bandwidth seismic data with superior vector fidelity, capturing richer frequency content at both the low- and high-frequency ends of the spectrum.
- Buoy-based recording eliminates the operational expense and complexity of dedicated recording vessel(s).
- An unlimited number of cables with twice the length (12-24 km) dramatically increases productivity and shortens cycle time.
- The newly designed rugged system excels in water depths from 5 to 2,000 meters, providing flexibility to work in the most challenging fields and conditions.

Tim Rigsby, Vice President of Seabed at ION, commented, "ION has been committed to expanding the adoption of full-wave seabed imaging since introducing our first ocean bottom cable system, VSO, in 2004. Our goal has been to provide our clients with the superior imaging benefits of ocean bottom cable systems, at a price point closer to that of towed streamer acquisition. Calypso is a step-change in that direction."