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Associated Petroleum Gas 2017 / key applicants

Recent Inventions / Brief Overview

Every year petroleum-producing companies focus more and more attention on associated petroleum gas. This is related to both the stiffening of environmental and security requirements in oilfields, and to the extensive development of innovative technologies for the profitable utilization of associated petroleum gas, which makes it possible to effectively bring it to a merchantable condition and supply to end users, or to produce other desirable energy products. The present review analyses the patenting activity of the leading companies, who registered the largest number of patent applications in 2017 in the field directly related to the technologies of associated petroleum gas utilization. As of the date of this publication, a total of 162 patent applications from 18 patent offices of the world, registered by 108 applicants from 15 countries, were found and analysed.

The top 10 applicants in 2017 included companies from five countries, with six companies representing the USA (compared to 8 in the previous year, with 40% change in the list itself). Saudi Arabian Oil Company became the leader of this year by the number of patent applications in the present collection of analysed documents, while in 2016 this company didn't even make it to the top 10 list. In aggregate, the ten leading applicants filed about 45% of patent applications from the total number.

Top 10 applicants by the number of patent applications filed in 2017
Status Country Name Average, Rate Total, 2017 % of Total

StatusCountryNameAverage, RateTotal, 2017
CompanySASaudi Arabian Oil Company13.715
CompanyUSExxonMobil Upstream Research Company12.414
CompanyNLShell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V.119
CompanyUSSiluria Technologies Inc 12.89
CompanyDKHaldor Topsoe A/S11.36
CompanyUSAramco Services Company, Inc.12.85
CompanyUSDow Global Technologies, LLC8.54
CompanyUSVelocys Inc15.84
CompanyUSAir Liquide Advanced Technologies, U.S.  LLC73
CompanyCNChina Petroleum & Chemical Company3.73


Source: Advanced Energy Technologies


The majority of the leaders included in the list above intensely performed patenting activity outside their countries of residence. Thus, the top five companies registered more than 75% of patent applications in the patent offices of other countries. Saudi Arabian Oil Company and ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company were the most active of them; while the former interacted with only three external patent offices, the latter interacted with seven offices, which is substantially more than the other participants of the list. Aramco Services Company, Inc. and China Petroleum & Chemical Company registered their applications exclusively in domestic offices.


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; EAPO - Eurasian Patent Organization; EPO - European Patent Organization; INAPI (CL) - National Institute of Industrial Property; INPI (BR) - National Institute of Industrial Property (Brazil); IP Australia (AU) - IP Australia; IPD (HK) - Intellectual Property Department (HONG KONG SAR OF CHINA); JPO (JP) - Industrial Property Office (Japan); KIPO (KR) - Korean Intellectual Property Office; MyIPO (MY) - Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia; Rospatent (RU) - Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Russia); 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 "Environmental and social impact" and "Low efficiency/Gas treatment" problems. This is particularly characteristic to Saudi Arabian Oil Company and Aramco Services Company, Inc. Air Liquide Advanced Technologies, U.S. LLC fully concentrated on the solutions for "Additional expenses on secondary processes" problem. Notable efforts of Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V., Siluria Technologies Inc. and Velocys Inc. are dedicated to the problem "High OPEX / Equipment and consumables". Quite a few diverse technical and ecological problems were mentioned in the descriptions of patent applications filed by ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company and HaldorTopsoe A/S, without obvious preferences to any particular problem.

Two technological operations evidently prevailed in the patent applications of the leading applicants – "Preparation" (Air Liquide Advanced Technologies, U.S. LLC; China Petroleum & Chemical Company and Aramco Services Company, Inc. – all 100%), and "Gas to liquid" (Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V.; Siluria Technologies Inc. and Velocys Inc. – from 80% to 100%). Saudi Arabian Oil Company and ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company often addressed such technological operations as "Gas to power" and "Underground injection". Dow Global Technologies, LLC is the only company in the top 10, who turned to "Flaring process" in its patent applications. None of these leaders focused their attention in their patent documents on the aspects of "Transport and storage" and "Associated gas metering".

Technological interests of the top 10 applicants

Source: Advanced Energy Technologies
FP - Flaring process; GTL - Gas to liquid; GTP - Gas to power; P – Preparation; UI - Underground injection

Two technological operations clearly prevailed in the patent applications of the leading applicants - Preparation and Gas to liquid.

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

- PROCESS FOR MAKING STYRENE USING MICROCHANNEL PROCESS TECHNOLOGY / A: US20170007978A1; MICROCHANNEL PROCESSOR / A: US20170014795A1; マイクロチャネルプロセス技術を使用するプロセスおよび装置 (Process and device using micro channel process technology) / A: JP2017048397A, by Velocys Inc.;

- PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SWEETENING AND LIQUEFYING A GAS STREAM / A: US20170122659A1, by SHELL OIL COMPANY;

- Nanowire catalysts and methods for their use and preparation / A: AU2017210566A1, by Siluria Technologies, Inc.

- Organic Rankine Cycle Based Conversion of Gas Processing Plant Waste Heat into Power and Cooling / A: US20170306803A1; MODIFIED GOSWAMI CYCLE BASED CONVERSION OF GAS PROCESSING PLANT WASTE HEAT INTO POWER AND COOLING / A: US20170058708A1, A: US20170058722A1, A: US20170058711A1, A: US20170058709A1, by Saudi Arabian Oil Company

- METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PURIFICATION OF NATURAL GAS USING MEMBRANES / A: US20170157556A1, by Air Liquide Advanced Technologies, U.S. LLC 


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.