Aenert news. Invention analysis
Previously, in a series of articles concerning oil and gas production from low-permeability plays we have revised such topics as hydraulic fracturing fluids (09.07.2023) hydraulic fracturing proppants (18.06.2023), shale oil and gas production (Energy, Gas & Water consumption on 29.11.2021 and Ecology & Environment on 04.02.2022), and unconventional gas production (10.03.2021 and 17.03.2021). Now we will revise patent documents disclosing equipment and methods used in hydraulic fracturing. For that, almost 21000 inventions published over the past 20 years have been collected and analyzed using the Advanced Energy Technologies methodology. These patents and patent applications have been published in 47 patent offices around the world by 2971 applicants from 48 countries.

Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods. Cumulative number of patents and applications*, relationship of number of applications to total number of documents by year

*Areas representing patents and applications are overlapping

In recent years, there was a peak of new IPC subgroups in 2013-2019 in the pool of documents related to the subject under consideration, while the number of newly appearing applicants was varying throughout the period with peaks in 2012, 2013, and 2017. At the same time, a number of new patent offices was small after 2010. This can indicate that a substantial number of new inventors and companies are entering the market, proposing new and diversified technical solutions, but mainly in the established set of countries.

The largest number of patents were granted during the twenty-year period in the USPTO (US) patent office – almost 34% of the entire collection of patents. It was followed by CNIPA (CN) with around 18% and CIPO with around 13%. CNIPA (CN) (almost 38%), USPTO (US) (around 18%), and WIPO (9%) were leading by the number of recent patent applications registered in the 5-year period. IP Australia (AU), Rospatent (RU), and EPO should also be mentioned as the patent offices that granted more than 5% of patents each on the subject of interest in the collection under revision.

Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods. Breakdown of inventions by patent offices. Patents, 20 years (left); Applications, 5 years (right)



In terms of the number of patents granted in the 20-year period, residents of the United States were leading with a share of 61% of all cases. The United States were followed by China and Canada, with 14% and about 6%, respectively. In the case of recent patent applications, the leaders were the United States (more than 48% of cases) and Canada (more than 35%).

Below is a list of top 10 applicants having the highest Market involvement ratio for patents published in the 20-year period (Market involvement ratio = volume ratio multiplied by ownership ratio, where Volume ratio - share of applicant documents in total number of documents, Ownership ratio - applicant's participation share in total number of documents):

Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods. Top applicants by Market involvement ratio. Patents

Of all applicants participating in the reviewed collection of patents, Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (US) had the largest number of documents – 1439. It was followed by Baker Hughes Incorporated (US) – 623, and Schlumberger Technology Corporation (US) – 409. The following applicants were the leaders by the number of documents in the collection of recently published patent applications: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (US) – 713, Baker Hughes Incorporated (US) – 308, and Sinopec China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (CN) – 206.

Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods. Top applicants by Market involvement ratio. Applications

In the collection of patent documents describing technologies of hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods, the most commonly mentioned problems were Low efficiency / Main processes, High OPEX / Operation and consumables, and High OPEX / Repair and replacement. In the majority of cases, the authors of patents and patent applications disclosed their technical solutions in the forms of methods. Devices, although described in a substantial number of documents, are encountered less often, while the number of compositions is even smaller. The most popular IPC subgroups assigned to the patent documents in the collection under revision are: E21B43/26 (by forming crevices or fractures), E21B43/267 (reinforcing fractures by propping), E21B33/12 (Sealing or packing boreholes or wells - in the borehole - Packers; Plugs), E21B34/14 (operated by movement of tools, e.g. sleeve valves operated by pistons or wire line tools), and E21B34/06 (Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells - in wells).

In the collection of documents under consideration, the largest patent families comprise 162, 152, and 132 patent documents and are represented by core documents AU2013326843A1, US20120255734A1, and US8950482B2, respectively (Core document is a base document for which a complete description of the invention is available in generally-accessible patent databases):

Analyzing microseismic data from a fracture treatment / A: AU2013326843A1 / IPC: G01V1/40, G01V1/30 / Ma Jianfu, Lin Avi, Walters Harold Grayson / Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. / Appl. date: 04/10/2013; Publ. date: 16/04/2015 / IP Australia / Core document: AU2013326843A1 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: LEMP / Technical solution types: D, M / Claims: 22 / Rating: 14

MOBILE, MODULAR, ELECTRICALLY POWERED SYSTEM FOR USE IN FRACTURING UNDERGROUND FORMATIONS / A: US20120255734A1 / IPC: E21B43/26 / Coli Todd, Schelske Eldon / Coli Todd, Schelske Eldon / Appl. date: 06/04/2012; Publ. date: 11/10/2012 / United States Patent and Trademark Office / Core document: US20120255734A1 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: EB, EGWC, HCEI, HOOC, LEMP / Technical solution types: D, M / Claims: 42 / Rating: 9

Fracture monitoring / P: US8950482B2 / IPC: E21B43/26, E21B47/00 / Hill David John, McEwen-King Magnus, Tindell Patrick / Optasense Holdings Ltd. / Appl. date: 27/05/2010; Publ. date: 10/02/2015 / United States Patent and Trademark Office / Core document: US8950482B2 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: HCEI, HOOC, HORR, LEMP / Technical solution types: D, M / Claims: 65 / Rating: 19

The following abbreviations are used in the documents hereinbefore and hereinafter: C - Composition; D - Device; M - Method; HF - Hydraulic fracturing; EB - Ecological balance; EGWC - Energy, gas or water consumption; HCEI - High CAPEX / Exploration and Infrastructure; HCEP - High CAPEX / Equipment production; HOOC - High OPEX / Operation and consumables; HORR - High OPEX / Repair and replacement; LEMP - Low efficiency / Main processes; FO - Other equipment, methods and materials for fracking; FWF - Hydraulic fracturing materials / Working fluids; FEM - Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods.

Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods. Breakdown of documents by family size. Patents and applications

Following are several examples of patent documents having the highest rating calculated using Advanced Energy Technologies methodology, from the pool of documents related to hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods:

Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods. Prominent patent documents by rating:

Compositions and methods for the delivery of chemical components in subterranean well bores / P: US7204312B2 / IPC: E21B43/25 / Roddy Craig W, Koch Ronney R, Todd Bradley L / Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. / Appl. date: 31/01/2004; Publ. date: 17/04/2007 / United States Patent and Trademark Office / Core document: US7204312B2 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM, FO / Problems: EB, HCEP, HORR / Technical solution types: C, M / Claims: 48 / Rating: 22

Compositions and methods for treating a subterranean formation / P: US7028775B2 / IPC: E21B43/27 / Fu Diankui, Chang Frank / Schlumberger Technology Corporation / Appl. date: 27/04/2005; Publ. date: 18/04/2006 / United States Patent and Trademark Office / Core document: EA6813B1 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM, FWF / Problems: EB, HOOC / Technical solution types: C, M / Claims: 8 / Rating: 22

EXPANDABLE PACKER ISOLATION SYSTEM / P: CA2366139C / IPC: E21B33/127, E21B33/12, E21B33/124, E21B34/10, E21B43/08, E21B43/10 / CORONADO MARTIN P, WOOD EDWARD T, et al. / BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED / Appl. date: 21/12/2001; Publ. date: 17/05/2005 / Canadian Intellectual Property Office / Core document: US6725934B2 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: HOOC, HORR, LEMP / Technical solution types: D, M / Claims: 56 / Rating: 22

Expandable packer isolation system / P: GB2370301B / IPC: E21B33/12, E21B33/124, E21B34/10, E21B43/08, E21B43/10, E21B43/14 / MARTIN P CORONADO, EDWARD T WOOD, et al. / Appl. date: 21/12/2001; Publ. date: 05/01/2005 / Intellectual Property Office / Core document: US6725934B2 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: HOOC, HORR, LEMP / Technical solution types: D, M / Claims: 33 / Rating: 22

FERROUS DISINTEGRABLE POWDER COMPACT, METHOD OF MAKING AND ARTICLE OF SAME / P: CA2899711C / IPC: C22C1/00, B22F9/08 / XU ZHIYUE, ZHANG ZHIHUI, XU YINGQING / BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATION / Appl. date: 29/01/2014; Publ. date: 19/09/2017 / Canadian Intellectual Property Office / Core document: US20140262327A1 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: HOOC, HORR / Technical solution types: C, D, M / Claims: 19 / Rating: 22

Ferrous disintegrable powder compact, method of making and article of same / P: US9803439B2 / IPC: E21B23/01, E21B29/00, B22F1/02, C22C33/02, B22F3/12, B22F5/00 / Xu Zhiyue, Zhang Zhihui, Xu Yingqing / BAKER HUGHES, Xu Zhiyue, Zhang Zhihui, Xu Yingqing / Appl. date: 12/03/2013; Publ. date: 31/10/2017 / United States Patent and Trademark Office / Core document: US20140262327A1 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM / Problems: HOOC, HORR / Technical solution types: C, D, M / Claims: 20 / Rating: 22

Guanidine- or guanidinium-containing compounds for treatment of subterranean formations / P: AU2014402368B2 / IPC: C09K8/14, C09K8/035 / McDaniel Cato Russell, Shumway William Walter, Davidson Eric / Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. / Appl. date: 31/07/2014; Publ. date: 29/03/2018 / IP Australia / Core document: WO2016018350A1 / Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM, FO / Problems: EB, HOOC, LEMP / Technical solution types: C, D, M / Claims: 38 / Rating: 22

Among the patents and patent applications published over the past 20 years and collected for this analysis, three groups of inventions can be outlined based on the problems they are aiming to solve. These are the most commonly mentioned problems in the collection: Low efficiency / Main processes, High OPEX / Operation and consumables, and High OPEX / Repair and replacement. Below are several examples of inventions that concern hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods and to some extent solve the respective problems:

- US10287874B2 - hydraulic fracturing process optimization is achieved by a method comprising using a fiber optic cable with an interrogator pulsing a laser light at a high frequency, recording the reflections from a fracturing stage, converting the results into a continuous record, transforming and interpreting it;

- US11448032B2 - effectiveness of fracturing operations is improved by a system for supplying fracturing fluid comprising a zipper module in communication with the fracturing tree and having two independently rotatable blocks receiving and dispelling the fluid with a pair of valves. The module is supported by a transport skid comprising lifting pegs;

- US10208581B2 - a fracturing valve system with an insert port, a stop ball, and a sliding sleeve having two voids and movable between two positions – one to prevent a frac ball from passing through, while the second one – to allow it; the system and respective method are intended to detect screen outs that can lead to a necessity of cleaning the wellbore;

- US20190242253A1 - a method for predicting characteristics of a hydraulic fracture comprising changing a pressure in a well, determining physical parameters of a fracture, respective time derivatives, and changes in such parameters over time, and correlating the received data with a lithological description of the formation and characteristics of the manner of fracture. As a drawback of the existing solutions the authors mention that they can be labor intensive and may require equipment that is operationally difficult;

- US20220162933A1 - a mobile power-generating subsystem for hydraulic fracturing comprising a switched reluctance generator coupled to a gas turbine engine without a speed reduction device, and power circuitry coupled to a DC power bus. A switched reluctance drive is connected to the DC power bus and drives a switched reluctance motor and a hydraulic pump delivering a fracturing fluid. The invention avoids costly maintenance required for solutions with gearboxes.

Low efficiency / Main processes

Patent US10287874B2 by ConocoPhillips Company (US) discloses a method for optimizing a hydraulic fracturing process. The process comprises installing a fiber optic cable in a wellbore, connecting it to an interrogator capable of interrogating by pulsing a laser light at a high frequency, and recording the reflections, performing a fracturing stage, recording a reflected dataset from the interrogator, converting it into a continuous record, creating the transformed record by using "…a low-pass filter transform with a range of greater than 0 to 50 millihertz (mHz)", down sampling (to 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100 second intervals) and interpreting the resulting record by displaying it on a screen. Then the pre-determined parameters of the hydraulic fracturing are optimized by using the interpreted record for a subsequent fracturing stage. This procedure is repeated multiple times to produce hydrocarbons. The method may be performed by using a treatment well and an observational well. Further, the reflected datasets may record temperature change and formation stress change.

The authors state that the method of the invention is aimed at optimizing hydraulic fracturing process or improving reservoir models for other reservoirs.

The patent belongs to a family comprising 38 patent documents published between 2017 and 2023 in CA, US, WO, AU, CL, and EP.



Image from: US10287874B2

Patent US11448032B2 granted to Seaboard Int LLC describes a system for supplying fracturing fluid to a fracturing tree connected to a wellhead. The system consists of a first zipper module and a first fluid conduit between the module and the fracturing tree. The first zipper module comprises a lower block and an upper block, both independently rotatable around a vertical axis and relative to each other. The lower block has an opening to receive the fracturing fluid, while the upper block – to dispel the fluid. A pair of valves is connected in series between the lower and upper blocks, defining an internal flow path. The first fluid conduit connecting the first zipper module to the fracturing tree, consists of at least one pipe with an actuatable gate valve, and a plug valve, creating a straight flow path. The first fracturing tree comprises an adjustable-length pipe to adjust a third opening to align it with the second opening of the zipper module. The first zipper module is supported by an adjustable skid comprising jacks to raise and lower the module. The adjustable skid is positioned on a transport skid comprising lifting pegs. The system can be expanded to include multiple zipper modules, fracturing trees, and fluid conduits, with each zipper module capable of directing fracturing fluid to multiple other zipper modules.

The authors mention that the frac iron used in prior-art solutions may decrease the effectiveness of fracturing operations.

The patent is a part of a patent family comprising 25 documents published in 2017-2023 in the CA, US, WO, and CN patent offices.



Image from: US11448032B2

20a - zipper module; 34a - frac tree; 42 - adapter; 44 - upper gate valve; 46 - lower gate valve; 48 - production tee; 50a - production wing valve; 50b - kill wing valve; 52 - adjustable flow iron section; 54 - swab valve; 56 - tree adapter; 58 - block; 60 - pipe; 62 - adjustable-length pipe; 64 - curvilinear arrow; 66 - cap.

High OPEX / Operation and consumables

Patent US10208581B2 by Flowpro Well Technology A.S (NO) discloses a fracturing valve system comprising a base pipe with an insert port housing a stop ball, a sliding sleeve having an angular void and a large void in its inner surface and movable between a first and a second positions. In the first position the angular void rests over the insert port and prevents the stop ball from exiting the chamber which, in turn, prevents a frac ball from passing through. In the second position, the large void rests over the insert port so that the stop ball could exit the chamber and allow the frac ball to pass through. The system further comprises a fixed sleeve around the base pipe near the sliding sleeve, and an actuator (a spring) to move the sliding sleeve between the two positions. Then, the system has an outer ring around the base pipe near the sliding sleeve. The insert port of the invention is narrower near a chamber to prevent the stop ball from entering it. Further, the system includes a second insert port with a large void extending radially around the inner diameter of the base pipe, so that in the first position the large void is not aligned with the second insert port, and in the second position the large void is over it. The claims of the invention also provide a method of detecting screen out by using the described valve system.

According to the authors of the invention, the screen out detectable by the system can lead to a rapid pressure build up and then – to a necessity of cleaning the wellbore.

The invention is a part of a family comprising 21 patent documents published in the US, CA, WO, AU, CN, EP, EA, MX, and BR patent offices between 2014 and 2023.



Image from: US10208581B2

200 - sliding sleeve; 501 - frac ball; 502 - stop ball; 804 - first force; 805 - second force; 806 - third force; 807 - axial force; 808 - radial force.

Patent application US20190242253A1 filed by Seismos, Inc. describes a method for predicting characteristics of a hydraulic fracture comprising changing a pressure in a well, determining physical parameters of a fracture, respective time derivatives, and changes in such parameters over time, and correlating the parameters, time derivatives, and changes of a fracture with a lithological description of the formation and characteristics of the manner of fracture. Further the method proposes predicting the parameters, time derivatives, and changes for another similar fracture in another part of the formation. The lithological description, localized stress and the characteristics of the manner of fracture can comprise the pumping rate, the proppant concentration, the silica content, the calcium content, or the perforation design of the hydraulic fracture, temporal changes in these or other characteristics, their combination, or a set of other parameters, such as location, number, size of perforations, etc.

The authors mention that typical monitoring methods can be labor intensive and may require specific equipment that is operationally difficult.

The patent application belongs to a family comprising 21 patent documents published in 2018-2023 in CA, WO, US, and AU.



Image from: US20190242253A1

R1 - traveling fluid pressure waves; T - transmitted pressure waves

High OPEX / Repair and replacement

Patent application US20220162933A1 published on 26.05.2022 and filed by Siemens Energy, Inc. discloses a mobile power-generating subsystem for hydraulic fracturing. The system comprises a switched reluctance generator (permanent magnet generator) coupled to a gas turbine engine without a speed reduction device, and power circuitry (DC power circuit breaker, switchgear circuitry) connectable to a DC power bus to receive the produced DC power. A switched reluctance drive is connected to the DC power bus and drives a switched reluctance motor and a hydraulic pump delivering a fracturing fluid. The system may further comprise a six-pulse variable frequency drive with harmonic mitigation circuitry coupled to the DC power bus and driving an electric motor, which, in turn, drives a hydraulic pump. The claims further specify other details of the invention.

Among the drawbacks of prior art solutions, the authors mention that gearboxes may need costly overhauling during their lifetimes.

The application is a part of a family comprising 16 documents published in WO, CA, CN, and US in 2020-2022.



Image from: US20220162933A1

10 - system for hydraulic fracturing; 20 - mobile power-generating subsystem; 22 - switched reluctance generator; 24 - gas turbine engine; 30 - power circuitry; 32 - generator; 34 - mobile power generation platform; 36 - controller; 50 - hydraulic fracturing subsystem; 52 - variable frequency drive; 54 - electric motor; 56 - hydraulic pumps; 58 - pressurized fracturing fluid; 60 - mobile platform.

In the analysis of inventions from the present collection of documents, it was discovered that, in addition to hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods the inventors tend to focus their attention on three different aspects of the industry. These aspects include working fluids for fracturing operations, drilling and well elements used for fracking, and production and additional stimulation. Other equipment, methods and materials for fracking, as well as propping agents used in fracking are other aspects of the industry widely represented in the revised collection of documents.

More detailed information about inventions in the field of hydraulic fracturing technologies, and patent research methodology can be found on aenert.com, OIL&GAS FROM LOW PERMEABILITY PLAYS. Hydraulic Fracturing Proppants. Patent Database. Aenert. May 2021, and OIL&GAS FROM LOW PERMEABILITY PLAYS. Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids. Patent Database. Aenert. April 2021.