UPDATE 1-I/O in JV for offshore reservoir monitoring system

(Adds details, updates stock price)

June 14 (Reuters) - Input/Output Inc. (IO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it formed a joint venture to develop and market a full-wave seismic system to permanently monitor offshore oil and gas reservoirs.

Shares of Input/Output touched a new year-high of $17.06 in morning trade. They rose more than 6 percent to $16.84 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The seismic solutions provider said it will license technology and contribute personnel to the JV formed along with Reservoir Innovation AS and Hydro Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of a Norsk Hydro ASA (NHY.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) subsidiary.

I/O said it had been assessing the project for several years, but needed partnership with an oil & gas company to participate in the development and to field test the system.

The three companies, which have equal shares in the JV company, expect that a pilot system will be in place before the end of 2008 on a producing Hydro asset.

Shortly thereafter, the system would be made available to exploration and production operators on a worldwide basis.

The permanent seabed system will enable time-lapse (4D) measurements of seismic responses, from which geoscientists can infer both pressure and saturation changes, as well as fluid movements, in hydrocarbon reservoirs. (Reporting by Gurdeep Singh in Bangalore)