This report provides information about the key applicants who registered the largest number of patent applications in 2019 in the field of technologies related to the subject of hydrocarbon production from low permeability reservoirs, mainly to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. In total, more than 3713 patent documents from 28 patent offices around the world and prepared by 796 representatives from 27 countries were selected for consideration. In patent applications, 2054 individual groups of international patent classification were found. Patent retrieval and patent processing procedures are available on the Advanced Energy Technologies website.

A list of the top 10 applicants is presented in the table below. These companies filed 1635 patent applications, or about 44% of the total. The undisputed leader, as in previous years, was the American company Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Top 10 applicants by the number of patent applications filed in 2019

Source: Advanced Energy Technologies

With some minor exceptions, almost all companies from the top 10 list were the only applicants in their patent applications. Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. had the highest share in the register of intellectual property for all of the 3713 patent applications collected; it comprised more than 13%.

In addition to national patent offices, all of the aforementioned companies were patenting in foreign offices or WIPO. Baker Hughes Incorporated and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. succeeded the most in this regard by registering its applications in 10 patent offices, including the large ones, such as CNIPA (CN), EPO, USPTO (US) и WIPO.

Distribution of patent applications by patent offices around the world among the top 10 applicants

Source: Advanced Energy Technologies

CIPO(CA) - Canadian Intellectual Property Office; CNIPA(CN) - National Intellectual Property Administration; DKPTO(DK) - Danish Patent and Trademark Office; EPO - European Patent Organization; IMPI(MX) - Mexican Institute of Industrial Property; INPI(AR) - National Institute of Industrial Property (Argentina); INPI(BR) - National Institute of Industrial Property (Brazil); INPI(FR) - National Institute of Industrial Property (France); IPAustralia(AU) - IP Australia; IPO(GB) - Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom); IPONZ(NZ) - Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand; IPOPHL(PH) - Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines; IPOS(SG) - Intellectual Property Office of Singapore; JPO(JP) - Industrial Property Office (Japan); KIPO(KR) - Korean Intellectual Property Office; MyIPO(MY) - Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia; NIPO(NO) - Norwegian Industrial Property Office; OEPM(ES) - Spanish Patent and Trademark Office; OSIM(RO) - State Office for Inventions and Trademarks Romania); Rospatent(RU) - Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Russia); SIC(CO) - Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio, Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo (Colombia); UPRP(PL) - Patent Office of the Republic of Poland; USPTO(US)- United States Patent and Trademark Office; WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization

In the majority of cases the inventors associated their patent researches with "High costs in general", "High OPEX / Repair and replacement" and "Low Efficiency / Exploration" problems. Landmark Graphics Corporation, US most often concentrated on the solutions for "Low Efficiency / Exploration" problem. Notable efforts of Baker Hughes Incorporated, Chevron USA, Inc., US and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.  are dedicated to the problem "High OPEX / Repair and replacement". Quite a few diverse technical and ecological problems were mentioned in the descriptions of patent applications filed by Fluid Energy Group Ltd, CA.

Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Schlumberger Technology Corporation, US and Baker Hughes Incorporated focused their attention the most on the technological aspects of drilling and well elements. Hydraulic fracturing, respective equipment and methods accounted for a substantial share in the applications of China Petroleum & Chemical Company, CN, PetroChina Company Limited, CN and SWPU Southwest Petroleum University, CN. PetroChina Company Limited, China Petroleum & Chemical Company, Southwest Petroleum University, Halliburton Energy Services and Baker Hughes Incorporated. Landmark Graphics Corporation, US more than others associated its technical solutions with the issues of exploration.

Technological elements of the top 10 applicants

Source: Advanced Energy Technologies

DR - Drilling and well elements; ES - Ecology & safety; EX - Exploration and site development; FEM - Hydraulic fracturing equipment and methods; FO - Hydraulic fracturing / Other equipment, methods and materials; FPA - Hydraulic fracturing materials / Propping agents; FRU - Hydraulic fracturing materials / Recovery and utilization; FWF - Hydraulic fracturing materials / Working fluids; HFG - Hydraulic fracturing; IFR - Infrastructure; PS-Production and additional stimulation; TT - Product treatment & transportation; UNK - Other or unspecified technology elements

Below is a short list of patent applications by the leading applicants (prominent patent documents), having distinctive characteristics in the context of bibliographic indicators:

Guanidine- or guanidinium-containing compounds for treatment of subterranean formations / A: US20190225873A1 / IPC: C09K8/64, C08G69/10, C09K8/035, E21B21/00, E21B33/13, C07C279/14, C07D487/04, E21B43/26, C09K8/04, C09K8/32, C09K8/36, C09K8/68, C09K8/80, C09K8/42, C09K8/60 / McDaniel Cato Russell, Shumway William Walter, Davidson Eric / Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. / Appl. date: 01.04.2019; Publ. date: 25.07.2019. Technology categories: HF / Technology elements: FEM, FO / Problems: EB, HOOC, LEMP / Technical solution types: C, D, M / Claims: 20 / Rate: 18;

Use of an acid soluble or degradable solid particulate and an acid liberating or acid generating composite in the stimulation of a subterranean formation / A: US20190226310A1 / IPC: E21B43/25, C09K8/60, C09K8/92, C09K8/70, C09K8/72, C09K8/516, E21B43/16 / Brannon Harold Dean, Szymczak Stephen Jan, Gupta D V Satyanarayana, Bell Charles Elmer / Baker Hughes, a GE company, LLC / Appl. date: 29.03.2019; Publ. date: 25.07.2019. Technology categories: DD, HF, TG, TO / Technology elements: FEM, FWF / Problems: EGWC, LEMP / Technical solution types: C, M / Claims: 20 / Rate: 18;

Tunable Control Of Pozzolan-lime Cement Compositions / A: US20190136115A1 / IPC: C09K8/46, C04B22/12, C04B22/14, C04B22/16, C04B24/20, C04B24/32, C04B28/18, C04B40/06, C04B103/10, C04B103/12, C04B103/20, C04B103/22, C04B103/40, C09K8/467, E21B33/138, E21B33/14 / Pisklak Thomas Jason, Agapiou Kyriacos / Halliburton Energy Services Inc / Appl. date: 12.07.2018; Publ. date: 09.05.2019. Technology categories: DD / Technology elements: DR / Problems: HOOC, UP / Technical solution types: C, D, M / Claims: 11 / Rate: 18;

钻头上的滚动元件的优化 (Optimization of rolling elements on drill bits) / A: CN110573694A / IPC: E21B10/43, E21B10/42 / Chen Shilin, Arfele Robert W / Halliburton Energy Services Inc / Appl. date: 15.06.2017; Publ. date: 13.12.2019. Technology categories: DD / Technology elements: DR / Problems: HORR, LEMP / Technical solution types: D, M / Claims: 18 / Rate: 18.

More detailed information on the methodology as well as on the results of patent researches in the most important fields of contemporary energy industry can be found at Advanced Energy Technologies.