HOUSTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE:IO) today announced that its seismic imaging subsidiary, GX Technology (GXT), has been awarded a multi-year contract with Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the national oil company of Mexico. Under this contract, GXT will be delivering a broad range of seismic data processing and imaging services for multiple offshore and onshore projects during the next three years. In order to execute the work, GXT has established a local presence in Villahermosa, Mexico where PEMEX's exploration headquarters are located. GXT will utilize its proprietary imaging technologies to process and interpret seismic data acquired on behalf of PEMEX, including in deepwater regions of the Gulf of Mexico, in highly complex sub-salt areas, and in various onshore regions throughout Mexico. The scope of services includes velocity model building and pre-stack depth migration (PreSDM) using both beam migration and reverse time migration (RTM) techniques. By establishing a presence in Villahermosa, GXT professionals will be able to closely collaborate with their PEMEX counterparts on a daily basis in order to accelerate the interpretation of the imaging results and to rapidly identify new exploration and development drilling targets. Mr. Jose Antonio Escalera, Sub-Director of Exploration Technology at PEMEX, commented, "PEMEX will be investing heavily in hydrocarbon exploration and development in the years ahead. Much of this investment will be directed at E&P projects in which the targets are located in complex geologic regimes, including in fractured carbonate and deepwater sub-salt reservoirs. Processing these datasets requires the most advanced imaging techniques. GXT is well suited to help us address these challenges and have demonstrated their ability to deliver superior images within our required timeframes." Mr. Nick Bernitsas, Senior Vice President of ION's GXT Imaging Solutions group, added, "GXT continues to expand our relationship with PEMEX. We are excited about collaborating with PEMEX on these complex, high value projects and validating PEMEX's belief in our differential seismic imaging technologies." About ION ION Geophysical Corporation 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 http://www.iongeo.com/. Contacts ION (Financial community) Chief Financial Officer Brian Hanson, +1 281.879.3672 ION (Media affairs) Director - Corporate Marketing Karen Abercrombie, +1 713.366.7281 The information included herein contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may vary fundamentally from those described in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include risk factors that are disclosed by ION from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: ION Geophysical Corporation CONTACT: Financial community, Brian Hanson, Chief Financial Officer, +1-281-879-3672, or Media affairs, Karen Abercrombie, Director - Corporate Marketing, +1-713-366-7281,, both of ION Geophysical Corporation Web Site: http://www.iongeo.com/

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