TGC Industries Announces Purchase of New Equipment

PLANO, Texas, April 9, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- TGC Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: TGE) today announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement with OYO Geospace to acquire an additional 13,000 GSR single-channel wireless data acquisition units and related equipment for a total cost of $14 million.  Delivery is expected by the end of May 2012.  Upon receipt of this equipment, TGC Industries will have the largest fleet of single-channel GSR wireless data acquisition units in North America, comprised of more than 45,000 channels.  

The Company also announced that it will purchase seven vibrator vehicles from INOVA, for delivery by the end of April 2012.  The purchase of the new equipment will be financed with a combination of cash and debt.

Wayne Whitener, TGC Industries' President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Due to ongoing strong demand for our services, we continue to invest in the most advanced equipment to maintain optimum crew productivity and efficiency.  The GSR wireless system has the operational flexibility to be utilized in many different types of surroundings, and the INOVA vibrator vehicles have the capability to operate in various types of terrain.  This new equipment will further enhance our capability to respond quickly and efficiently to our clients' needs.  With the delivery of these new GSR channels, our total channel count will be approximately 112,000, comprised of GSR and ARAM channels, and our total vibrator vehicle count will be 81."

TGC Industries, Inc., based in Plano, Texas, is a leading provider of seismic data acquisition services with operations throughout the continental United States and Canada.  The Company has branch offices in Houston, Midland, Oklahoma City and Calgary.

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release regarding the Company are forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that those expectations and projections will prove to be correct.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such expectations and projections are disclosed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and include, but are not limited to, the dependence upon energy industry spending for seismic services, the unpredictable nature of forecasting weather, the potential for contract delay or cancellation, and the potential for fluctuations in oil and gas prices.  We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE TGC Industries, Inc.