SoftHold™ System
The Core Goes In.
The Core
Comes Out.
SoftHold™ combines engineered soft catch entry with full closure containment — delivering intact core retrieval across the widest formation range, from hard brittle rock to highly unconsolidated sands, where standard catchers lose the sample.
Containment System
Two Mechanisms.
One Complete Containment Workflow.
Phase 01
Soft Catch Entry
SoftHold™ uses an engineered core entry and capture mechanism that gently guides the core into the recovery system with minimum impact and disturbance. This design reduces mechanical shock and preserves the in-situ physical and fluid properties of the sample — essential for accurate geological, petrophysical, and reservoir characterization.
Standard catchers grip the core abruptly. SoftHold™ accepts it. The difference is measurable in laboratory results: lower breakage rate, intact pore structure, preserved fluid saturation.
Formation Range
Hard Brittle Rock to Friable Unconsolidated Sands
Mechanism
Engineered Core Entry and Gentle Capture
Objective
Preserve In-Situ Properties from Point of Entry
Phase 02
Full Closure Containment
Once coring is complete, SoftHold™ activates a full closure catcher that securely seals the core inside the inner barrel. Full closure ensures that even highly unconsolidated or friable formations are completely retained and isolated from drilling fluid invasion and loss during tripping to surface.
The sample that enters the barrel is the sample that arrives at the lab. No washing, no disintegration, no partial recovery.
Trigger
Activates on Coring Completion
Isolation
Sealed Against Drilling Fluid Invasion
Retention
Complete Containment Through Full Trip to Surface
Performance Advantages
Five Reasons SoftHold™
Recovers What Others Lose
Core Integrity
Enhanced Core Integrity Through Full Closure
Full closure containment prevents core loss and preserves sample structure and fluids for reliable laboratory analysis across all formation types.
Core Damage
Reduced Core Damage at Point of Entry
Soft catch entry and smooth transition into the barrel minimize breakage and cracking that skew porosity, permeability, and saturation laboratory results.
Difficult Formations
Improved Recovery Where Conventional Catchers Fail
Highly effective in unconsolidated, friable, fractured, and high-risk geologies where standard catcher designs consistently underperform or lose sample entirely.
Operational Efficiency
Lower Non-Productive Time Through Reliable First-Run Capture
Reliable capture and closure reduce the need for multiple coring runs, improving operational efficiency and lowering total drilling cost per barrel of recoverable data.
Platform Compatibility
Fully Integrable with Standard and Advanced Coring Platforms
Compatible with standard core barrel systems, liners, and automation used in modern wireline and rotary coring operations — no new infrastructure required.
Why SoftHold™ Matters
Core Quality Determines Decision Quality
In modern reservoir evaluation, the quality of core samples directly influences the accuracy of porosity, permeability, and saturation analyses — impacting decisions on field development, completion strategy, and production forecasting.
Recovery Rates
Higher core recovery rates even in challenging subsurface environments — converting intervals that defeat standard systems into usable formation data for reserve estimation and field development planning.
Fluid Preservation
Better preservation of reservoir fluids and rock fabric from the moment of capture to laboratory delivery. Soft catch entry preserves the in-situ saturation state that standard gripping catchers destroy.
Evaluation Confidence
More reliable data for formation evaluation and reserve estimation. A sample that arrives intact supports petrophysical and geomechanical analysis that wouldn't be possible from a crushed or partial core.
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