What Rockwash Geodata does

Rockwash Geodata Ltd. is a UK-based geological laboratory and service company founded in 2010 that specialises in the digitalisation of drill cuttings — the rock fragments generated during oil and gas drilling that are typically sidelined in storage. The company's foundational asset is a patented automated rock sample washing and drying methodology, originally developed in 2010 and continuously refined, which it uses to standardise sample preparation across its service portfolio. Around this proprietary process the company has built a modular service stack including PhotoSTRAT™ (high-resolution cuttings imaging in white and UV light), RockSCREEN™ (XRF-based chemical stratigraphy with elemental profiling and magnetic susceptibility), XRD mineral identification and quantification, Core & Slide Scanning, Log Digitisation, and Cuttings Description & Interpretation.

The company earns revenue through three primary channels: multiclient projects (large-scale regional Digital Rock Atlas databases where costs and data are shared among multiple subscribing operators), proprietary projects (bespoke engagements for individual oil and gas companies or government agencies), and equipment leasing of portable Rockwash systems to strategic partners. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting oil and gas exploration companies and national petroleum authorities, with delivery handled both from permanent laboratory facilities and via remote deployments to core repositories worldwide. The company operates from headquarters in Llandudno Junction, North Wales, with operational laboratories in Stavanger (Norway) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and has delivered projects across the UK, Norway, Canada, Ireland, USA, South Africa, Namibia, the Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, and Malaysia.

Rockwash's most consequential commercial achievement is the NOROG Released Wells Initiative, a landmark contract awarded in 2019 alongside partner Stratum Reservoir to process over 700,000 drill cuttings samples from approximately 1,900 exploration and appraisal wells on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with 450 wells delivered by mid-2020. The dataset, accessible to 27 operating companies through the Diskos national data repository, is explicitly engineered for machine learning applications in subsurface analysis, positioning Rockwash as an enabling data layer for AI-driven exploration workflows.

Name

Rockwash Geodata

Legal name

Rockwash Geodata Ltd.

Website

https://rockwash.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UK-based geological laboratory founded in 2010 that pioneered patented automated drill cuttings digitalisation, serving oil and gas explorers and national petroleum authorities globally with integrated PhotoSTRAT imaging, XRF chemical stratigraphy, XRD mineralogy, and core scanning services delivered through multiclient and proprietary projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geological Laboratory Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Mining (2131), Support Activities for Mining (213), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382)

akta.pro primary industry

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation) (EUALABAK), Geotechnical & Subsurface Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAB)

Keywords

• Geological laboratory services
• Drill cuttings digitalisation
• Rock sample preparation
• XRF chemical stratigraphy
• Subsurface data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Llandudno Junction

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Multiclient Projects: Large-scale regional digitalisation projects where data is shared among multiple operating companies. Clients subscribe to access comprehensive regional datasets covering multiple wells, with costs shared among participants.
2. Proprietary Projects: Dedicated project work for individual oil and gas companies or government agencies, providing exclusive access to digitalisation results for specific wells or regions.
3. Equipment Leasing: Portable Rockwash systems leased to strategic partners for remote deployment, enabling on-site sample processing without full equipment ownership.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Rockwash Geodata operates a geological laboratory and service company delivering automated drill cuttings washing and digitalisation services for the oil and gas exploration industry. Its core offering is the patented automated rock sample washing and drying process, which prepares drill cuttings for downstream analytical services including PhotoSTRAT™ imaging, RockSCREEN™ XRF chemical stratigraphy, XRD mineral analysis, and core/slide scanning. The company delivers both proprietary single-client projects and multiclient regional Digital Rock Atlas datasets through permanent laboratories and portable equipment deployed to core repositories worldwide.

Product overview

Rockwash Geodata operates as a geological laboratory and service company offering a modular portfolio of rock digitalisation services built around their patented automated sample preparation process. The core offerings include PhotoSTRAT™ (high-resolution cuttings imaging), RockSCREEN™ (XRF chemical stratigraphy with elemental analysis and magnetic susceptibility), and Automated Sample Preparation. These are complemented by add-on services including XRD mineral analysis, Core & Slide Scanning, Cuttings Description & Interpretation, and Log Digitisation. The company pioneered full-well rock cuttings digitalisation since 2010, providing comprehensive data for every rock sample in every well to support machine learning workflows in subsurface analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Cuttings Company®: Registered trademark brand name for Rockwash Geodata's rock sample washing and cuttings digitalisation services.

Products and services

• PhotoSTRAT™ High-resolution imaging service capturing every cuttings sample in white and UV light, providing visual geological insight for petrophysical, sedimentological, and drilling-related analysis.
• RockSCREEN™ Comprehensive chemical stratigraphy service suite providing XRF elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and chemical lithotypes throughout the entire wellbore, enabling detailed assessment of physical and chemical changes downhole.
• XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) Analysis Elemental data analysis providing fundamental downhole profiles for interpreting changes in depositional environment, sediment provenance and organic matter distribution, enabling well-to-well correlations.
• XRD (X-ray Diffraction) Gold standard mineral identification and quantification technique that identifies and semi-quantifies minerals including clays in bulk rock assemblages using crystal structure analysis, covering 37 key minerals plus amorphous material.
• Core & Slide Scanning High-resolution drill core scanning in plain and UV light, plus petrographic thin section scanning viewable in plane- and cross-polarised light, with portable equipment for on-site deployment in core repositories worldwide.
• Cuttings Description & Interpretation Post-well cuttings descriptions to industry standards by trained in-house geologists, integrated into PhotoSTRAT software alongside cuttings images for simultaneous viewing.
• Log Digitisation Conversion of paper well logs, mud logs and lithology columns into LAS files ready for use in subsurface evaluation, integrating with RockSCREEN datasets for comprehensive downhole data.
• Automated Sample Preparation Patented automated rock sample washing and drying process using portable equipment designed for remote deployments, providing consistent sample preparation for machine learning workflows.
• National Cuttings Digitalisation Projects (Multiclient) National-scale regional cuttings digitalisation projects where data is shared among multiple operating companies, providing access to comprehensive regional datasets covering multiple wells with costs shared among participants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700,000 drill cuttings samples digitalised from 1,900+ wells in Norway alone
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stratum ReservoircoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Strategic partnership for NOROG Released Wells Initiative. Rockwash Geodata operates a purpose-built laboratory within Stratum Reservoir facilities in Stavanger, Norway. Collaboration on processing and analysing over 700,000 drill cuttings samples from the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
• Nalcor EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Nalcor to deploy Rockwash system at the core repository in St. John's, Newfoundland for washing and digitalising cuttings from 115 wells, creating the first regional dataset of its kind in East Canada.
• CNLOPB (Canada-Nova Scotia/Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported by CNLOPB for the Canadian national cuttings digitalisation project in partnership with Nalcor, covering the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore region.
• Norsk Olje og Gass (NOROG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAwarded landmark contract in 2019 to deliver the NOROG Released Wells Initiative - a first-of-its-kind National Cuttings Digitalisation project processing over 700,000 samples from 1,900+ wells.
• Norwegian Petroleum DirectoratecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership since 2012 for large-scale digitalisation projects. Also partnered for Norwegian Type & Reference Wells database (2013-2014) and ongoing NOROG initiative.
• PASA & NAMCORcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with South African Petroleum Agency (PASA) and NAMCOR (Namibia) for Orange Basin Digital Rock Atlas covering 21 wells (2010).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TGS: TGS is a leading multi-client geoscience data provider offering seismic, well log, and reservoir data to the upstream industry. Its data library and digital subsurface products compete for the same E&P exploration analytical budget as Rockwash's multiclient Digital Rock Atlas databases.
• Bureau Veritas Minerals and Oil & Gas: Bureau Veritas offers commodity inspection, laboratory testing, and asset integrity services to the mining and oil & gas sectors. Its geochemical and metallurgical laboratories produce analytical data used by exploration and production companies, partially overlap with Rockwash's analytical workflows, and compete for the same corporate procurement budgets.
• AGR (part of Aker Solutions): AGR is a multi-discipline upstream consultancy providing reservoir management, well management, and subsurface advisory services to oil & gas operators globally. It is a broader incumbent that occasionally consumes geological laboratory services and competes for national-scale characterisation contracts in the same basins.
• SGS Natural Resources: SGS is a global testing, inspection, and certification company with a major natural resources (mining and oil & gas) laboratory services division. Its geochemical and mineralogical services compete for the same upstream and mining laboratory spend that Rockwash addresses.
• CGG: CGG is a global geoscience company providing seismic acquisition, multi-client subsurface data, and reservoir characterisation services. While seismic-focused, its multi-client data library and geoscience services compete with Rockwash's multiclient data offerings for the same exploration customer wallet.

Direct peers

• Stratum Reservoir: Stratum Reservoir is a rock physics and geological laboratory services firm that is Rockwash's core strategic partner on the NOROG Released Wells Initiative, operating a shared lab in Stavanger. Both companies provide lab-based geological and petrophysical analysis to the upstream oil & gas industry, and Stratum's core and cuttings analysis services directly overlap with Rockwash's offerings.
• Ichron: Ichron is a UK-based geological services firm providing biostratigraphy, sedimentology, and petrography to the upstream oil & gas industry. Its expertise in wellsite and post-well geological analysis overlaps with Rockwash's cuttings description and interpretation services.
• Rocktype: Rocktype is a geological services company that integrates XRF, XRD, and QEMSCAN data for lithology and provenance studies in oil & gas exploration. Rockwash has partnered with Rocktype on the Orphan and Flemish Pass Basins study, and the two firms compete for mineralogy and chemostratigraphy work in the same basins.
• Chemostrat: Chemostrat is a geochemistry-focused service company that pioneered inorganic geochemical stratigraphy for oil & gas exploration with its own branded workflow. Its XRF/inorganic geochemistry offering directly competes with Rockwash's RockSCREEN™ XRF service for the same E&P customer base.
• Premier Oilfields Group: Premier Oilfields Group provides specialist geological and laboratory services (including petrography, biostratigraphy, and mineralogy) to the upstream sector. Its profile of value-added laboratory services to oil & gas operators directly competes with Rockwash's Cuttings Description & Interpretation and XRD offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rockwash Geodata