Throughout the years, ION has concentrated on developing technology to improve seismic image quality and reduce exploration and production risk for E&P companies. ION is dedicated to improving seismic imaging technology, increasing operational efficiency of the acquisition process in the field, shortening the time associated with the planning-acquisition-processing cycle, and reducing the environmental impact of seismic operations throughout the world.
Founded in 1968 as Input/Output (I/O), we began as a provider of highly specialized, seismic source synchronization equipment. Since then, we have introduced innovative technologies and completed a series of acquisitions to become a leading independent provider of seismic imaging solutions for the oil & gas industry.
Our technologies are used in traditional 2D and 3D seismic surveys and in rapidly growing areas like time-lapse 4D reservoir monitoring and full-wave, multi-component data acquisition.
Headquartered Houston, Texas, ION is truly a global company with operations in the Americas, Europe, China, the Former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Africa.
From 1968 to 1988, we designed and manufactured products that improved and complemented seismic acquisition systems from other manufacturers including Texas Instruments, Geoscience, and Sercel.
In 1988, we introduced System One®, an advanced land seismic acquisition system capable of recording more than 8,000 channels of data. System One not only changed the future of the company, but also the acquisition of seismic data. System One made 3D seismic surveys cost-effective on land, helping the exploration and production (E&P) industry make the transition from 2D to 3D data acquisition. The result was a dramatic increase in exploration drilling success ratios and far more effective field development drilling and development programs for the oil & gas companies.
Introduced in 1991, System Two® was the first 24-bit distributed seismic acquisition system. System Two dramatically increased the dynamic range of recorded seismic signals, helping to improve subsurface images that the oil & gas industry depended on in determining where to drill their wells. System Two also allowed 3D seismic surveys to emphasize signal enhancement (rather than noise rejection, the industry convention until that time), which greatly enhanced data and image quality.
ION's history of technical innovation and organic growth continued with the introduction of the E&P industry's next-generation land seismic acquisition system, System Four. Introduced in 2002, System Four is a lightweight, compact, highly reliable acquisition platform with best-in-class operational stability, redundancy, and reliability. System Four supports the complexity of higher channel count operations and shear wave data acquisition, delivering broader bandwidth data and improved image quality for the oil & gas companies. Most importantly, System Four is designed to be compatible with VectorSeis®, our cutting-edge digital sensor. VectorSeis allows the full seismic wavefield to be captured with the highest vector fidelity of any sensor in the marketplace, improving the quality of the final image for the oil & gas company geoscientist. At the same time, VectorSeis' built-in, tilt-sensing capability dramatically improves the efficiency of seismic contractors during the sensor deployment operation.
In 2004, following the acquisition of GX Technology and Concept Systems Limited and numerous technological advancements, ION became a leading technology-only seismic solutions company and was poised to lead the industry into the third seismic wave of Digital, Full-wave Imaging. Through the development and deployment of advanced technologies and services across the entire seismic workflow, from survey planning to field acquisition, data processing and final image rendering, ION has created a total solutions toolkit for acquiring high resolution subsurface images that can be delivered at lower costs and in shorter periods of time. By providing integrated solutions that close the gaps in seismic workflow, ION significantly improves image quality and reduces the risks associated with oil & gas exploration and reservoir development and production.
ION became publicly traded on NASDAQ in 1991, and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in November 1994.
