Mud Bay Drilling
Mud Bay Drilling is a Canadian specialty contractor providing geotechnical, environmental, and exploration drilling and site investigation services across North America, operating a modern sonic and rotary drill fleet with custom-engineered heli-portable and over-water systems for engineering, mining, and infrastructure clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1972
- HeadquartersSurrey, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Mud Bay Drilling does
Mud Bay Drilling is a Canadian specialty contractor providing geotechnical, environmental, and exploration drilling and site investigation services across North America and selected international markets. Founded in 1972 as a family business and now operating as part of the VINCI group in close affiliation with sister company ConeTec, the company delivers contract drilling, in-situ testing, sampling, and post-drilling installations for engineering, environmental, mining, and infrastructure clients. Its service portfolio is organized around four core capabilities: sonic drilling (continuous-core recovery across all overburden types), rotary and auger drilling (mud rotary, air rotary, down-the-hole hammer, diamond core, hollow/solid stem auger), remote and limited-access deployment (helicopter-portable rigs, over-water spud barges, cantilever platforms, arctic winter systems), and integrated testing and sampling (CPTu, eVST, PMT, DMT, iBPT, Packer Testing, SPT/LPT, MARL eSPT, plus thin-wall and direct-push sampling systems).
Mud Bay differentiates through custom-engineered equipment rather than off-the-shelf rigs, including the Heli-Sonic HC5000S (a purpose-built mini-sonic drill with heaviest fly component under 1,500 lbs), an integrated 20-ton (200 kN) CPTu Ramset that mounts to any of its rigs (sonic, multi-drill, heli-sonic, or external platforms such as barge decks), a high-speed coring head for HQ3 sampling, and a custom eVST isolation mounting for over-water conditions. Its fleet spans Boart Longyear LS600 and High Altitude LS600 long-stroke sonic rigs, TerraSonic 150T and 150CC sonic rigs, an Eijkelkamp LRS FS250 Combo-drilling Truck Rig, Fraste MDML/MDXL multi-drill rigs, Gus Pech 900 XHR, Mobile B61, and MARL M-series auger rigs. Performance benchmarks cited include a record 567-meter (1,860-foot) override casing deployment with less than 1 degree of deviation in Eastern BC, 200+ meter sonic casing depths with 12-inch diameter, 45-meter Pressuremeter Testing in coarse Alberta overburden, and overwater drilling to 150 meters below mudline in 18 meters of tidal water.
Mud Bay operates six full-service shop locations across Canada (Surrey BC headquarters; Kelowna BC; Calgary and Edmonton AB; Fort McMurray AB; and Richmond Hill ON near Toronto) with mobile crews mobilized internationally to the US, Mexico, and South America. Revenue is generated on a project-based, quote-driven professional services model: customers submit a Request a Quote specifying rig type (truck, track, heli-portable, over water), drilling method (sonic, rotary, auger, diamond, mud rotary, well decommissioning), and required timeframe, and receive tailored project estimates within 12 hours to 1 week. Customers are enterprise and government buyers (engineers, environmental consultants, regulators, mining operators, infrastructure owner-clients) reached via direct field sales supported by a National Sales Manager, the corporate website funnel, and procurement-gatekeeper prequalifications (ISNetworld, Avetta, ComplyWorks, Gold Shovel Standard, BCCSA COR). No published pricing, customer logos, or revenue figures are disclosed.
Mud Bay Drilling firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mud Bay Drilling
- Legal name
- Mud Bay Drilling
- Website
- https://mudbaydrilling.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1972
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mud Bay Drilling is a Canadian specialty contractor providing geotechnical, environmental, and exploration drilling and site investigation services across North America, operating a modern sonic and rotary drill fleet with custom-engineered heli-portable and over-water systems for engineering, mining, and infrastructure clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mud Bay Drilling industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Geotechnical Drilling Services
- NAICS
- Drilling Oil and Gas Wells (213111), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Support Activities for Mining (2131)
- SIC
- Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382), Oil & Gas Field Services, Nec (1389)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Exploration & Production Drilling Services (RC, Core, Directional, Sonic, Auger) (IMAKAKAB)
Keywords
Where Mud Bay Drilling is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Surrey
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Mud Bay Drilling business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Contract Drilling & Site Investigation Services: Project-based revenue from geotechnical, environmental, and exploration drilling contracts. Customers request tailored quotes based on rig type, drilling method, and timeline; pricing reflects project scope rather than published rate cards. One-time project engagements with potential for follow-on work across sectors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom quote-based pricing per project scope |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Mud Bay Drilling product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mud Bay Drilling provides contract drilling and site investigation services for geotechnical, environmental, and exploration projects. The company delivers sonic, rotary (mud/air/auger/diamond), and heli-portable drilling combined with in-situ testing (CPTu, eVST, PMT, DMT, iBPT) and soil/water/vapour sampling from a single equipment package, serving clients across mining, infrastructure, and environmental sectors in Canada and internationally.
Product overview
Mud Bay Drilling operates a unified full-service site investigation practice — not a packaged software platform — in which a core fleet of drilling rigs and tooling is paired with modular in-situ testing, sampling, access, and installation capabilities. The Sonic Drilling and Rotary Drilling offerings form the foundational drilling services (with dedicated equipment lines for Sonic Drill Rigs, Multi-Drill Rigs, and Auger Drills), while the Remote & Limited Access Equipment and Testing & Sampling Equipment modules extend those services into heli-portable, over-water, winter, and limited-footprint sites, and into geotechnical/environmental data collection. These capabilities are delivered across the sector-focused services of Geotechnical Drilling, Environmental Drilling & HRSC, Exploration Drilling, and Installations, allowing a single project to combine drilling, testing, sampling, and monitoring well/instrument installation from one equipment package.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sonic Drilling Services Continuous-core drilling technique delivered across all overburden soil types (sands, gravels, glacial tills), supporting 2–8 inch diameter cores and 2–12 inch casing. Mud Bay has directly offered sonic drilling since 2005 and operates a large, modern fleet (Long Stroke LS600/High Altitude LS600, TerraSonic 150T truck, TerraSonic 150CC compact, Eijkelkamp LRS FS250 Combo truck, and the custom Heli-Sonic HC5000S) for geotechnical, environmental and exploration clients.
- Rotary Drilling Services Conventional rotary-based drilling delivered through Multi-Drill rigs (Fraste MDML, Fraste MDXL, Gus Pech 900 XHR) and dedicated Auger Drills (MARL M5T track, MARL M7 truck, Mobile B61 truck). Capabilities include open hole and casing advance mud rotary, air rotary/ODEX, down-the-hole hammer, diamond core drilling, and hollow/solid stem auger work up to 12 inches for geotechnical, environmental, and exploration projects.
- Remote & Limited Access Drilling Equipment Custom-built equipment packages for challenging or restricted sites, including the heli-portable Heli-Sonic HC5000S (heaviest fly component under 1,500 lbs), 20-ton Direct Push Ramset, MARL M1.3T rubber-tracked limited-access rig, cantilever sonic platforms, sectional spud barges with moonpools for over-water work, and tent enclosures / boiler truck / heating systems for winter operations. Used for heli-portable, over-water, limited-footprint, and arctic winter sites.
- Testing & Sampling Services In-situ testing and sampling services covering CPTu (Seismic, Resistivity, UVIF, UVOST, Gamma, MIP, HPT), Vane Shear Testing (digital electric, Nilcon), Pressuremeter Testing (Menard, Texam, Boremac, Cambridge Self-Boring 6-arm), Dilatometer, Packer Testing, SPT/LPT, DCPT/DPT, MARL eSPT, Iso-flow, and iBPT, plus thin-wall/Pitcher/Diamond/MOSTAP/soft-soil samplers and direct-push water/soil sampling systems — coupled to any Mud Bay drill rig.
- Geotechnical Drilling Characterization of overburden soils and bedrock formations for geotechnical design, accessible from land, over water or via helicopter, using sonic, mud rotary, and diamond coring methods. Targets foundation, embankment, slope, and infrastructure projects.
- Environmental Drilling & High-Resolution Site Characterization Soil stratigraphy and hydrogeological assessment through soil, water, and vapour sampling programs, with High-Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC) deployable from any Mud Bay drill rig (delivered in partnership with sister company ConeTec) for environmental consultants and brownfield site owners.
- Exploration Drilling Resource exploration drilling with comprehensive health & safety planning and specialty site access equipment for unique project scopes in mining, geothermal, and other earth-resource sectors.
- Field Installations Services Post-drilling field installations for geotechnical or environmental monitoring, including nested Vibrating Wire Piezometer (VWP) installations, PVC monitoring wells with relief pump configurations for artesian conditions, and custom instrumentation setups.
Quantifiable outcome
- Record angle borehole in Eastern BC: 567 meters (1,860 feet) of override casing up to 12 inches in diameter deployed; less than 1 degree of measured deviation along the borehole.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Mud Bay Drilling
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Mud Bay Drilling technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Mud Bay Drilling partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, strategic, core and minor.
- ConeTecflagshipConeTec appears as Mud Bay's parent/affiliated brand. The Mud Bay website footer displays a combined 'mudbay conetec' logo linking to conetec.com, and the careers page redirects job applications to conetec.bamboohr.com/jobs/. The Contact page directs prospects to ConeTec locations for project inquiries outside Mud Bay's office footprint. ConeTec also delivers complementary services that Mud Bay cross-references (CPTu, VST, PMT, DMT, iBPT, soil/water/vapor sampling, HRSC).
- VINCIstrategicMud Bay's Business Ethics page binds itself to the VINCI Group Ethics and Behaviour Charter, Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct, and Manifesto, and uses the VINCI Integrity whistleblowing portal (vinci-integrity.com) for anonymous reporting of ethics, human rights, environment, or HSE violations. This indicates Mud Bay is a VINCI group company or operating subsidiary.
- Boart LongyearcoreMud Bay operates Boart Longyear LS600 and Boart Longyear High Altitude LS600 (ATV) long-stroke sonic drill rigs as core fleet equipment for deep site investigations.
- TerraSoniccoreMud Bay operates TerraSonic 150T (truck-mounted) and TerraSonic 150CC (TSi 150CC) sonic drill rigs as part of its sonic fleet for full-size and compact sonic applications.
- EijkelkampcoreMud Bay operates the Eijkelkamp LRS FS250 Combo-drilling Truck Rig, which combines sonic, mud rotary, and air rotary drilling in one package with angle-drilling capability up to 30° from horizontal.
- FrastecoreMud Bay operates Fraste MDML and Fraste MDXL multi-drill track rigs (referenced on Alberta Mud Rotary + Pressuremeter project) for rotary, casing advance, and CPTu deployment.
- ISNetWorldcoreISNetWorld prequalification is listed under Mud Bay's certifications and serves as a procurement gatekeeper for owner-clients to discover and approve Mud Bay as a qualified contractor.
- AvettacoreAvetta prequalification is listed under Mud Bay's certifications and serves as a supply-chain compliance platform for HSE-aware owner clients.
- ComplyWorkscoreComplyWorks prequalification is listed under Mud Bay's certifications and supports contractor compliance management for owner clients.
- Gold Shovel StandardminorGold Shovel Standard certification for excavation and buried-infrastructure damage prevention is listed under Mud Bay's certifications.
- BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA)coreBCCSA Certificate of Recognition (COR) — nationally recognized safety prequalification standard in BC, enabling work for owner-clients that require COR-equivalent status.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Mud Bay Drilling competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Stantec: Stantec is a global engineering, environmental, and geotechnical consultancy with significant site investigation work across North America. Comparable as a broader consulting peer and potential client/competitor in geotechnical and environmental site characterization.
- Boart Longyear: Boart Longyear is a global drilling services and equipment OEM whose LS600/High Altitude LS600 sonic rigs are core to Mud Bay's fleet. As a much larger global drilling contractor and equipment manufacturer, it competes with Mud Bay on sonic and conventional drilling scopes while supplying the underlying equipment.
- Foraco International: Foraco is a global drilling services company with mineral exploration, geotechnical, and water well drilling capabilities. Comparable to Mud Bay in offering multi-method drilling (rotary, sonic, diamond) for mining and infrastructure end markets.
- Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a global consulting and engineering firm with deep geotechnical, environmental site assessment, and water resources practices. Comparable as a downstream customer/partner that often subcontracts geotechnical drilling work to firms like Mud Bay.
- Major Drilling Group International: Major Drilling is a global mineral exploration and surface drilling services contractor with a comparable specialty drilling offering, including sonic and rotary methods. Its mining exploration focus and large fleet overlap with Mud Bay's mineral exploration and geotechnical drilling services.
- WSP Global: WSP (which acquired Golder Associates) is a major global engineering consultancy with a large geotechnical and environmental site assessment practice. Comparable as a large-scale consulting peer that procures drilling services and competes for site characterization scope.
Direct peers
- Cascade Environmental: Cascade Environmental is a US-based direct-push and environmental drilling contractor offering sonic, auger, and CPTu services for site characterization. Highly comparable to Mud Bay in environmental drilling, HRSC, and geotechnical service offerings.
- ConeTec: ConeTec is Mud Bay's sister/affiliated company within the VINCI group, sharing branding, careers portal, and contact routing. ConeTec delivers complementary in-situ testing (CPTu, VST, PMT, DMT, iBPT) and High-Resolution Site Characterization, making it a directly comparable geotechnical site investigation peer.
Regional players
- Northstar Drilling: Northstar Drilling is a Western Canadian drilling contractor offering sonic, rotary, and auger services for geotechnical and environmental projects. Comparable regional peer in the same BC/Alberta market with overlapping sonic drilling capabilities.
Emerging players
- Enviro-Drill: Enviro-Drill is a North American environmental and geotechnical drilling contractor offering direct-push, sonic, and auger methods. Comparable emerging peer with overlapping environmental drilling and HRSC capabilities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mud Bay Drilling social profiles
Digital presenceMud Bay Drilling compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Mud Bay Drilling financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mud Bay Drilling leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Mud Bay Drilling funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mud Bay Drilling 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 Mud Bay Drilling
What does Mud Bay Drilling do?
Mud Bay Drilling provides contract drilling and site investigation services for geotechnical, environmental, and exploration projects. The company delivers sonic, rotary (mud/air/auger/diamond), and heli-portable drilling combined with in-situ testing (CPTu, eVST, PMT, DMT, iBPT) and soil/water/vapour sampling from a single equipment package, serving clients across mining, infrastructure, and environmental sectors in Canada and internationally.
Is Mud Bay Drilling a public or private company?
Mud Bay Drilling is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Mud Bay Drilling founded?
Mud Bay Drilling was founded in 1972. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mud Bay Drilling based?
Mud Bay Drilling is headquartered in Surrey, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Mud Bay Drilling make money?
One revenue line is on record: contract Drilling & Site Investigation Services.
Who are Mud Bay Drilling's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Stantec, Boart Longyear, Foraco International, Tetra Tech, Major Drilling Group International and WSP Global. Direct peers are Cascade Environmental and ConeTec. Northstar Drilling is listed as a regional player. Enviro-Drill is listed as an emerging player.
Does Mud Bay Drilling have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mud Bay Drilling.
What industry is Mud Bay Drilling in?
Mud Bay Drilling's product category is Geotechnical Drilling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAKAB, Exploration & Production Drilling Services (RC, Core, Directional, Sonic, Auger). Its NAICS code is 213111 and its SIC code is 1382.