Issa Kalil and Bill Taylor, currently with Altus Well Experts and previously with Enertech who created WellCat, will soon be joining eWellbore.
For decades, well integrity has relied on inspections, testing, and engineering judgment throughout the life of the well. Yet there is no Integrity Safety Factor (ISF) to measure and track degradation of well integrity before failure occurs.
Once signs of an integrity problem appear, it's already too late. Sustained casing pressure means leakage of pipe or cement has already occurred. And leaks get worse with time, resulting in costly intervention, deferred production, and increased environmental risk.
Operating loads, however, can differ significantly from design assumptions. Once operations begin, changes in well integrity often remain hidden until anomalous pressure, a leak, or another sign of degradation appears.
The well may be shut in while engineers evaluate the issue, leading to downtime, deferred production, and added cost.
Engineers analyze available data to understand the likely cause and assess the potential impact on safety, the environment, and continued operation.
The well returns to service, but the underlying integrity challenge may remain. The cycle repeats until the next issue is detected.
↺Repeat, well by well, for the life of the field
It's time to stop reacting to failures and start measuring well integrity. More safety. Less cost.
Engineers have long relied on proven methods to measure strength, pressure, and fatigue. Until now, there has been no consistent way to measure and benchmark well integrity itself.
eWellbore develops engineering software and provides consulting services for well design and integrity management, making well safety measurable, trackable, and manageable throughout the life of the well—before something fails.
Ovality drives integrity.
eWellbore closes that gap with the Integrity Safety Factor (ISF), the first metric for measuring well integrity. Pipe, cement, and operational ISFs are measured, monitored, and maintained at acceptable values throughout the life of the well.
Rooted in the engineering methods that helped shape today's well-design standards.
When the root cause of well integrity problems remains unresolved, the consequences extend beyond the immediate failure. Asset damage, environmental liability, litigation, and reputational harm can far exceed the direct costs of repairs, lost production, and downtime.
Global annual cost of well construction.
Additional annual spend on well-integrity failures across the industry.
Potential integrity savings annually through early detection.
Source: Industry failure reports and operator disclosures.
Strength, pressure, and fatigue each have a defensible engineering metric. Until now, well integrity has been the exception. eWellbore gives integrity the same footing.
If you cannot measure well integrity, you cannot keep score using the 3Ms: Measure. Monitor. Maintain Integrity.
Without a score, there is no way to know whether integrity is improving or deteriorating.
eWellbore's engineering software is built around a single physics engine that powers two integrated digital twins. The WellDone twin simulates the planned well based on assumed conditions, while the WellGrit twin simulates the live well in real time under actual conditions. Engineering data, including ISFs, flows continuously between the two digital twins, creating a closed-loop learning system for well integrity.
Advances well design using advanced multi-string stress analysis and multi-well thermal analysis, providing a more accurate representation of complex well behavior than traditional single-string, single-well methods.
Imagine trying to unscrew an oval pipe, seal oval threads, and keep the surrounding cement from cracking. Ovality drives integrity. That’s the type of real-world behavior WellDone is designed to model.
Continuously evaluates the live well against the designed well. ISFs are measured and monitored across pipe, cement, and operations, helping operators identify degrading well integrity before failure occurs. Works with the data and downhole instrumentation you already have
Together, WellDone and WellGrit transform well integrity from a design assumption into an actionable engineering metric. Traditionally, increased safety comes at increased cost. WellDone and WellGrit improve safety while delivering potential cost savings of 10% or more through fewer repairs, less downtime, and reduced legal and environmental exposure.
While WellDone and WellGrit move toward commercialization, eWellbore provides engineering consulting and training using existing industry tools together with its advanced multi-string stress and multi-well thermal calculations that form the basis for WellDone and WellGrit.
Manual WellDone Service: Well design using proven commercial tools together with checks using eWellbore's advanced methods.
Manual WellGrit Service: Measure and monitor tubular, cement, and operational ISFs, evaluate future conditions, and identify operational adjustments to help maintain safe loads.
Technical Training: Well design and well integrity training covering both conventional and eWellbore's advanced engineering methods.
The Joint Industry Project brings together operators, suppliers, and service companies to validate, refine, and establish the Integrity Safety Factor (ISF) as the next benchmark for well integrity while significantly advancing the technical capabilities of WellDone and WellGrit.
Participants help shape new capabilities, establish industry benchmarks, and gain early access while evaluating their own well portfolios.
The evolution of well integrity mirrors what happened with road travel. Maps established the route, digital maps made planning easier, and GPS introduced real-time guidance based on actual conditions.
| Capability | Current GPS Navigation | WellGrit |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Optimize travel over full trip | Optimize well over full well life |
| Safety | Less accidents | Less leaks and failures |
| Timing | Arrive on time, less stops | Operate efficiently, less downtime |
| Cost savings | Fuel efficiency | Major cost reduction >10% |
| Environment | Less emissions | Less oil spills and fires |
| Planning | Maps plus assumed traffic | Design based on assumed events |
| 1st of 3 Ms: Measure | Measure actual traffic | Measure integrity safety factor (ISF) |
| 2nd of 3 Ms: Monitor | Monitor traffic along route | Monitor ISFs in real time |
| Threshold alarm | Traffic problem | ISF problem |
| Look-ahead with AI | Investigate different routes | What-ifs to improve ISF |
| 3rd of 3 Ms: Maintain | Adjust route, maintain speed | Adjust operations, maintain safety |
| Learnings | Improve driving | Improve future designs |
| Advantages | New routes | Digital twin for training |
| Benefits | Safer travel and less delays | Safer wells and less repairs |
If WellGrit is the GPS, then WellDone is the digital map.
Just as GPS transformed navigation from static planning to real-time guidance, WellGrit transforms well integrity from periodic inspection to real-time management.
Explore stress results from an example WellDone case and experience eWellbore's advanced engineering analysis firsthand. Or request a demonstration of the new stress model, coming soon.
The Integrity Safety Factor (ISF) didn't appear overnight. It builds on more than four decades of engineering innovation that helped shape modern well-design practices and ultimately made measurable well integrity possible.
Malcolm Goodman pioneers quantitative casing design, helping move engineering analysis from theory into everyday field practice.
WellCat, developed by Goodman and built on those engineering methods, is acquired by Halliburton and becomes one of the industry's leading well-design platforms.
The method is proven across live wells and legacy portfolios.
Building on that same engineering foundation, eWellbore introduces the ISF, bringing measurable engineering to well integrity with advanced wellbore analysis.
Every calculation traces to published engineering methods. Not a black box.
Works with the data and downhole instrumentation you already have.
Outputs designed to stand up to engineering review, regulatory scrutiny, and operational decision-making.
The future of well-integrity begins with measuring it.