CGG's Sercel Buys ION Geophysical's Software Business

Marlin - Credit: ION Geo (file image)
Marlin - Credit: ION Geo (file image)

French seismic data firm CGG said Monday that its Sensing & Monitoring division Sercel had completed the acquisition of ION Geophysical Corporation’s (“ION”) software business.

ION's software business includes Orca: a navigation system dedicated to streamers; Gator: a navigation system dedicated to OBN; Mesa: a set of tools for optimizing land and marine seismic crews; and Marlin: a software for managing simultaneous marine operations, used for marine seismic crews, as well as for various other offshore operations and harbors.

"This acquisition enables Sercel to supplement its range of software and services, and opens further diversification opportunities in simultaneous marine operations, thanks to the Marlin software," CGG said.

Sercel plans to operate the newly acquired technology as a business unit for the near future, and product portfolio will be kept as it is.  

The purchase completion comes after seismic firms TGS and CGG said in July they had been successful in their respective bids in the auction process conducted in relation to their rival's ION Geophysical Corporation’s (ION) Chapter 11 bankruptcy case pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

TGS closed its part of the acquisition on August 31. TGS acquired the multi-client and processing business of ION Geophysical Corporation (ION). The acquisition included substantially all of ION’s global offshore multi-client data library, data processing and imaging capabilities, intellectual property, and Gemini Extended Frequency Source technology and equipment.  

ION’s data library consists of over 637,000 kilometers of 2D and over 317,000 square kilometers of 3D multi-client seismic data in major offshore petroleum provinces globally, generating revenues in excess of USD 86M in 2021. TGS funded the acquisition from its current cash holdings and employed over 60 ION employees associated with the acquired business as part of the transaction.


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