SCVF remediation
High-rate vent-flow investigation and repair
Equipment removal, retainer setting, diagnostic logging, thirteen cement squeezes, fresh-water completion, and long-term monitoring. Recorded end-of-job vent flow was zero.
Drilling · completions · decommissioning
We drill and complete wells, then see them through to closure.
Engineering-led execution. Field-proven follow-through.
“Specialty work demands more than technical skill. It requires attention to detail, disciplined follow-through, and a commitment to finish every scope the right way.”
From drilling and completions to well abandonment and environmental remediation, Grindstone brings engineering leadership and field execution to the full well lifecycle.
Schedule a 30-minute consultationDrilling, Completions & Decommissioning
Proven Canadian project experience built for difficult wells and demanding field conditions.
$1B+
Cumulative energy-sector revenue and project value
5,000+
Wells decommissioned across cumulative team experience
Built over years of hands-on field execution and engineering leadership, this volume reflects a proven track record of delivering complex energy and well-closure work safely, efficiently, and with disciplined follow-through.
Figures reflect cumulative team career experience across energy operations and well-closure programs.
Engineering-led planning
Difficult-well experience
Prime and subcontractor support
Canada-based, cross-border capable
Start in the right place
How can Grindstone help?
I have a well or site project
Discuss drilling, completions, workovers, abandonment, problem-well, remediation, groundwater, or restoration needs.
Start hereI need a project partner
Explore subcontracting, engineering support, overflow capacity, regional coverage, or reciprocal referrals.
Start hereI want to join the team
Introduce yourself for future engineering, supervisory, operating, or field opportunities.
Start hereOur work in focus
Field execution, environmental care, and disciplined planning.
Grindstone supports projects from drilling and completion through workovers, remediation, and final abandonment.
Oil & gas wells
Abandonment preparation, vent-flow repair, monitoring, and cut-and-cap readiness.
Explore well types
Water & groundwater
Water-well, groundwater investigation, sampling, and related environmental field support.
Explore water services
Engineering & planning
Project review, qualification support, technical coordination, and field-ready execution plans.
Why engineering mattersRepresentative imagery illustrates typical work environments. Project records, references, and qualification materials are available as appropriate.
What we do
From drilling to restoration.
We support owners and prime contractors across the well lifecycle with drilling, completions, intervention, decommissioning, and environmental field work.
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Well drilling & completions
Engineering-led drilling and completion programs, field execution, workovers, contractor coordination, and technical closeout with qualified crews and project partners.
Understand the service02
Well abandonment & decommissioning
Historical well-file review, field-ready abandonment programs, downhole preparation, contractor coordination, plugging, verification, and final cut-and-cap support.
Understand the service03
SCVF investigation & repair
Surface casing vent flow testing, diagnostic logging, cement remediation, monitoring, and post-repair verification.
Understand the service04
Environmental field support
Field capacity for groundwater, spill response, contaminated-site, water-well, and related remediation scopes with qualified project partners.
Understand the service05
Brownfield & spill response
Field support for legacy contamination, tanker and petroleum releases, impacted soil or water, cleanup coordination, and site restoration.
Understand the service06
Specialty subcontracting
Flexible crews and technical support for prime contractors managing overflow, remote, specialized, or hard-to-staff scopes.
Understand the serviceHow a well is decommissioned
Explore the well-retirement process.
See how a well moves from production and suspension through engineering, equipment removal, permanent isolation, cut-and-cap work, and final land restoration.
Explore all 8 stagesProduction history, suspension status, field investigation, risk assessment, permitting, and a field-ready closure program.
Surface-equipment disconnection, tubing and downhole-equipment recovery as required, well preparation, plugging, isolation, and verification.
Final surface abandonment, infrastructure removal, remediation, backfilling, reclamation, monitoring, and closeout records.
A typical pathway—not a universal job sequence. The timing of tubing recovery, surface-equipment removal, downhole abandonment, cut-and-cap work, remediation, and reclamation varies with well construction, integrity, fluids, site conditions, jurisdiction, and the regulator-approved technical program.
Capability profile
Experience built below the surface.
Bridge plugs, cement retainers, and cement-capped abandonment devices
Cement squeezes, porous-zone isolation, and circulation to surface
Noise-temperature, RBL, and cement-bond diagnostic logging
Pressure monitoring, freshwater circulation, and verification
Long-term vent-flow monitoring and bubble testing
Downhole equipment removal and abandonment preparation
Representative field imagery; not a photograph of a named client site.
Current & recent project experience
Complex wells. Documented follow-through.
Representative project records demonstrate practical experience across vent-flow investigation, prior-abandonment remediation, cement isolation, monitoring, and cut-and-cap preparation.
Downhole remediation
Prior-abandonment remediation
Rods and tubing removed, previous abandonment device drilled out, multiple perforated intervals squeezed and abandoned, followed by post-work noise-temperature and RBL logging.
Difficult-well program
Repeated diagnostics and cement isolation
Three prior devices drilled out, lost-circulation interval addressed, eight retainer squeezes completed, five cement-capped bridge plugs placed, and verification advanced the well toward cut-and-cap readiness.
Monitoring and verification
Vent-flow control and readiness testing
Cement remediation, circulation to surface, pressure monitoring, repeated bubble tests, file review, and confirmation of downhole abandonment readiness.
Schedule discipline
Planned for timely project delivery
Clear planning, responsive field coordination, and disciplined follow-through help keep work aligned with agreed schedules—with a focus on meeting or improving project milestones whenever site conditions and scope allow.
Qualification information available as appropriateReferences, safety documentation, equipment schedules, insurance information, and supporting project records can be discussed during qualification. Confidential materials may require a mutual nondisclosure agreement.
View detailed project profiles Our Team
Engineering leadership backed by focused business development.
Grindstone brings engineering, project management, field execution, and client development together to move opportunities from initial discussion through practical project delivery.
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Mike Tanton, P.Eng.
Principal Owner · Engineering & Project Management
Mike earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and later became a licensed Professional Engineer. With more than 30 years of engineering and energy-sector experience and 2,000+ wells completed, he leads technical program development, drilling and completions, abandonment and decommissioning planning, constructability review, field execution, remediation coordination, and project delivery.
View engineering leadershipCM
Clive Mountford, P.Eng.
Principal Owner · Completions, Drilling & Operations Engineering
Clive brings more than 35 years of oil and gas experience across drilling, completions, workovers, abandonment, facilities, and regulatory compliance. His career includes 3,000+ wells completed and leadership of complex programs and multidisciplinary teams in Canada and international markets.
View engineering leadershipMZ
Michael Zick
Account Executive · Sales & Marketing Director
Michael is a career sales, operations, and project-management leader with experience building businesses, managing large teams, and coordinating high-volume international logistics. He leads Grindstone’s business development, client relationships, strategic outreach, and cross-border partnerships.
Contact MichaelProud project partner
Engineering. Project management. Practical field experience.
Proud to partner with Frontier Project Solutions.
Grindstone works alongside Frontier Project Solutions, bringing together well engineering, project management and field experience to support demanding energy projects.
Collaborative project experience
- Orphan Well Association of Alberta
- Grizzly Oil Sands
- Stonebrook Resources
Our collaboration connects technical planning with hands-on project support, from well abandonment and decommissioning to complex well work.
Partner with Grindstone
More capacity when the project demands it.
We build reciprocal relationships with prime contractors, engineering firms, environmental consultants, municipalities, and project owners.
Overflow support
Add field capacity when schedules tighten or workloads spike.
Specialized scopes
Bring in focused experience for difficult or unusual field work.
Remote coverage
Extend your reach into projects that are hard to staff efficiently.
Mutual referrals
Share opportunities that are too large, too small, or outside a core scope.
Expanding our reach
Canada-based expertise for opportunities beyond the border.
Grindstone is building qualified relationships in Alaska, selected U.S. energy markets, and other jurisdictions where our engineering, decommissioning, remediation, and field-support capabilities are a strong fit. We also welcome confidential conversations with established firms considering growth, succession, or long-term strategic alignment.
Alaska
Specialty well, orphan-site, remote-access, and environmental opportunities where disciplined planning and dependable execution matter.
United States
Cross-border partnerships with owners, prime contractors, plugging companies, environmental firms, and field-service providers.
Selected international markets
Opportunity-led expansion evaluated for technical fit, local partners, procurement requirements, licensing, insurance, and safe execution.
Strategic growth partnerships
Build together today—with a pathway for tomorrow.
We evaluate project-specific joint ventures and long-term operating partnerships with engineering firms and prime contractors. Where capabilities, culture, goals, and value align, that relationship may also support future succession or acquisition discussions.
Potential relationship pathways
- Project-specific joint ventures
- Long-term operating and referral partnerships
- Growth, succession, or potential acquisition discussions
Every opportunity is evaluated independently and is subject to mutual fit, due diligence, commercial terms, required approvals, and applicable licensing and regulatory requirements.
Innovation & Growth
Developing practical solutions for the next project challenge.
Grindstone continues to strengthen its engineering, field-support, remediation, and qualified-partner capacity as client needs and project opportunities develop.
Project opportunities
We evaluate well-closure, orphan-well, remediation, and field-support opportunities with owners and qualified partners.
Practical remediation solutions
Technical products and field methods are assessed for their potential to improve cleanup and restoration outcomes.
Expanded service capacity
Engineering, project-management, field-support, and specialty subcontracting capacity grows through qualified relationships.
Work with us
Experienced field professionals belong on our radar.
We welcome introductions from qualified contractors, supervisors, engineers, operators, and field personnel interested in future project opportunities.
Common questions
How Grindstone supports difficult field work.
What services does Grindstone provide?
Grindstone drills and completes wells and supports workovers, oil and gas well abandonment, orphan and legacy well remediation, surface casing vent flow investigation and repair, groundwater and environmental field work, and final cut-and-cap preparation.
Can Grindstone work as a subcontractor?
Yes. Grindstone works with prime contractors, engineering firms, environmental consultants, municipalities, and project owners that need specialty expertise, added field capacity, remote coverage, or support for scopes outside their normal workload.
What project experience can Grindstone document?
Representative project records document experience with vent-flow investigation, downhole remediation, cement isolation, monitoring, equipment removal, and final abandonment preparation. References and supporting qualification materials are available as appropriate.
Where does Grindstone operate?
Grindstone is a Canada-based company evaluating project and teaming opportunities across Canada and beyond, including the United States, Alaska, other territories, and selected international markets. Every opportunity is reviewed for applicable licensing, insurance, contracting, safety, local-partner, and jurisdictional requirements.
Start a conversation
Tell us what you’re working on.
Share a project need, subcontracting opportunity, partnership idea, or employment inquiry. Choose the team member who best fits your conversation, or use the inquiry form.
Choose a convenient time
Book a Grindstone project consultation.
Reserve a 30-minute introductory call with Michael Zick. Available times are shown in Eastern Time, and every confirmed appointment includes a Google Meet link.