ION Expands AfricaSPAN Regional Seismic Program

ION Geophysical Corporation IO today announced that it has successfully acquired 8,700 km of regional seismic data offshore Tanzania, Mozambique, and Comoros, adding to the 14,000 km of data the company previously acquired in the region in the first two phases of its East AfricaSPAN™ program. Several recent large discoveries offshore Mozambique and southern Tanzania have created tremendous interest in the East Africa margin for oil exploration. This third phase of ION's East AfricaSPAN program provides the basis for an improved understanding of the hydrocarbon potential in this highly prospective region. Ken Williamson, Senior Vice President of ION's Integrated Seismic Solutions group, commented, "Recent development activities in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania, were initiated as a result of geologic insights provided by the first two phases of our East AfricaSPAN program. This additional dataset will provide important ties to the Southern petroleum provinces of East Africa in Mozambique and southern Tanzania, and help shape ideas for exploration in the rest of the margin."