Ingrain
Ingrain is a Houston-based digital rock physics laboratory that delivers high-resolution CT imaging and multi-scale rock analysis to oil and gas E&P operators developing shale and carbonate reservoirs, helping identify production sweet spots.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersHouston, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ingrain does
Ingrain is a Houston-headquartered digital rock physics laboratory that delivers near real-time, high-resolution measurements of physical properties of reservoir rocks and drill cuttings for oil and gas exploration and production operators. The company's platform is anchored by its proprietary CoreHD® 3D Whole Core CT Imaging suite, complemented by high-resolution dual-energy CT scanning and a multi-scale rock analysis methodology developed and published through Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) papers such as SPE-175598-MS. Its primary customer base consists of E&P operators developing unconventional shale plays and complex conventional carbonate reservoirs, where Ingrain's analyses aim to identify high-potential "sweet spots" and shorten reservoir characterization timeframes relative to traditional core analysis methods. Ingrain operates a professional services model priced on a project basis, with additional revenue from Joint Industry Projects (multi-client consortium research) and shared access to a Digital Core Library of previously analyzed samples. The company maintains localized Spanish (ingrainrocks.com.co) and Portuguese (ingrainbrasil.com.br) websites, indicating a multinational footprint across North America and Latin America, and was acquired by Halliburton by 2017, as evidenced by the "Return to Halliburton" link on the ingrainrocks.com 404 page, with capabilities now integrated within Halliburton's broader oilfield services portfolio.
Ingrain firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ingrain
- Legal name
- Ingrain
- Website
- https://ingrainrocks.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Ingrain is a Houston-based digital rock physics laboratory that delivers high-resolution CT imaging and multi-scale rock analysis to oil and gas E&P operators developing shale and carbonate reservoirs, helping identify production sweet spots.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ingrain industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Rock Physics Services
- NAICS
- Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Mining and Oil and Gas Field Machinery Manufacturing (33313), Engineering Services (54133)
- SIC
- Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation) (EUALABAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) & Advanced Inspection (Phased Array, TOFD, Guided Wave) (EUAEAKAF), Geotechnical, Hydrogeological & Seismic Engineering (Slope Stability, Ground Support, Dewatering) (IMAKAOAN)
Keywords
Where Ingrain is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Houston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Ingrain business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Digital rock analysis services for shale and carbonate reservoirs: Project-based professional services delivering digital core analysis for shale (unconventional) and carbonate (complex conventional) reservoirs under service contracts with E&P operators. Engagements are scoped per reservoir, with technical specialists performing imaging, multi-scale analysis, and interpretation to identify sweet spots and maximize production.
- Joint Industry Projects and Digital Core Library access: Multi-client consortium programs in which multiple operators co-fund pre-competitive digital rock research and gain access to a shared digital core library of previously analyzed samples. Creates collaborative, recurring research revenue across a multi-client base.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Ingrain product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ingrain operates a Digital Rock Physics Laboratory that delivers near real-time measurements of physical properties of reservoir rocks and drill cuttings through its proprietary CoreHD® 3D Whole Core CT Imaging suite, high-resolution dual-energy CT scanning, and multi-scale rock analysis. The company provides specialized digital core analysis services for unconventional (shale) and complex conventional (carbonate) reservoirs, plus Joint Industry Projects with access to a shared Digital Core Library.
Product overview
Ingrain operates as a Digital Rock Physics Lab built around a single integrated platform anchored by the CoreHD® Suite (3D Whole Core CT Imaging), complemented by three specialized service modules: Digital Core Analysis for Shale Plays (unconventional reservoirs), Digital Core Analysis for Carbonates (complex conventional reservoirs), and Joint Industry Projects & Digital Core Library. Together these modules allow Ingrain to ingest physical rock cores, digitize them via CT imaging, and deliver specialized reservoir analyses (including machine-learning-enhanced characterization) that help clients locate productive "sweet spots" and maximize reservoir production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CoreHD®: 3D Whole Core CT Imaging suite for digital core analysis.
Products and services
- CoreHD® Suite Proprietary 3D Whole Core CT Imaging suite that scans and digitizes whole core samples, producing high-resolution three-dimensional images of reservoir rock structure for shale, carbonate, and other complex lithologies. Used by E&P operators for reservoir characterization projects.
- Digital Core Analysis for Shale Plays Digital rock analysis service focused on unconventional shale reservoirs, helping operators identify high-potential 'sweet spots' and maximize production in shorter time-frames than conventional methods. Targeted at E&P operators developing shale plays.
- Digital Core Analysis for Carbonates Digital core analysis tailored to complex conventional carbonate reservoirs, applying multi-scale rock analysis for improved characterization and production optimization. Targeted at E&P operators developing complex carbonate fields.
- Joint Industry Projects and Digital Core Library Multi-client collaborative research programs paired with a shared digital core library of previously analyzed samples, allowing multiple operators to co-fund pre-competitive digital rock research and gain access to shared digitized rock datasets.
Quantifiable outcome
- Shortened analysis time-frame for complex rock types versus what has been historically possible.
Companies that use Ingrain
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Ingrain technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
Ingrain partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- HalliburtonflagshipIngrain's website footer on its 404 page contains a 'Return to Halliburton' link directing users back to Halliburton, indicating that Ingrain operates as part of the Halliburton corporate family. Ingrain's digital rock physics capabilities appear to be integrated within Halliburton's broader oilfield services portfolio.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ingrain competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Core Laboratories: Core Laboratories is a direct peer — both firms sell core and reservoir analysis services to E&P operators, including rock property measurements and reservoir characterization. Core Labs' traditional core analysis offering overlaps directly with Ingrain's digital rock physics services for shale and carbonate reservoirs.
Broad incumbents
- Halliburton: Halliburton is Ingrain's parent company and the broadest incumbent in oilfield services. It offers formation evaluation, drilling, and completions as part of an integrated portfolio, with Ingrain's digital rock physics now embedded within its broader reservoir services line.
- Schlumberger (SLB): SLB is a broad incumbent with extensive formation evaluation and rock analysis capabilities, including its own digital rock and reservoir characterization services. It targets the same E&P operator customers as Ingrain with a much wider portfolio of services.
- Baker Hughes: Baker Hughes is a broad incumbent in oilfield services with subsurface evaluation and rock analysis offerings. As one of the "big three" service companies, it competes for the same reservoir characterization spend that Ingrain targets, albeit at much greater scale and breadth.
- Weatherford International: Weatherford provides formation evaluation and reservoir services to E&P operators globally, including core analysis capabilities. It is comparable as a broad oilfield services incumbent overlapping with Ingrain's reservoir characterization value proposition.
Emerging players
- Geocosm: Geocosm is a smaller, specialized consultancy focused on digital rock physics and reservoir simulation. It overlaps with Ingrain's CT-based rock characterization work and targets a similar niche of academic and operator clients.
- Digital Petrophysics: Digital Petrophysics is an emerging specialist in digital rock and petrophysical analysis. It is comparable to Ingrain as a niche provider applying imaging and computational workflows to reservoir characterization for E&P operators.
Others
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (FEI): Thermo Fisher, through its former FEI division, supplies the high-resolution CT scanning instrumentation that underpins digital rock workflows including Ingrain's CoreHD® Suite. It is an enabling technology provider rather than a direct competitor.
- Bruker micro-CT: Bruker is a leading supplier of micro-CT and X-ray imaging systems used in digital rock analysis. It is comparable to Ingrain as an enabling ecosystem participant supplying the underlying imaging technology rather than competing in service delivery.
Regional players
- CGG: CGG is a geoscience services provider with reservoir characterization and rock physics capabilities serving E&P operators globally. It is comparable as a geoscience-focused services peer with overlapping digital rock and reservoir analytics offerings.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Ingrain social profiles
Digital presenceIngrain financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ingrain leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Ingrain funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ingrain M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ingrain
What does Ingrain do?
Ingrain operates a Digital Rock Physics Laboratory that delivers near real-time measurements of physical properties of reservoir rocks and drill cuttings through its proprietary CoreHD® 3D Whole Core CT Imaging suite, high-resolution dual-energy CT scanning, and multi-scale rock analysis. The company provides specialized digital core analysis services for unconventional (shale) and complex conventional (carbonate) reservoirs, plus Joint Industry Projects with access to a shared Digital Core Library.
Is Ingrain a public or private company?
Ingrain is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Ingrain founded?
Ingrain was founded in 2015. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Ingrain based?
Ingrain is headquartered in Houston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ingrain make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Digital rock analysis services for shale and carbonate reservoirs are the primary driver. The others are joint Industry Projects and Digital Core Library access.
Who are Ingrain's main competitors?
Core Laboratories is listed as a direct peer. Broad incumbents are Halliburton, Schlumberger (SLB), Baker Hughes and Weatherford International. Emerging players are Geocosm and Digital Petrophysics. Others are Thermo Fisher Scientific (FEI) and Bruker micro-CT. CGG is listed as a regional player.
Does Ingrain have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ingrain.
What industry is Ingrain in?
Ingrain's product category is Digital Rock Physics Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUALABAK, Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation), with a secondary code of EUAEAKAF, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) & Advanced Inspection (Phased Array, TOFD, Guided Wave). Its NAICS code is 54136 and its SIC code is 1382.