Taking the heat out of the burning-ice debate | Appendix A – PATENT ANALYSIS Gas Hydrates A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute June 2015 Gas Hydrates Compiled by the A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute Acknowledgements A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute wishes to acknowledge Ray Boswell, Technology Manager, Natural Gas Technologies, U.S. DoE / National Energy Technology Laboratory and Robert L. Kleinberg, Schlumberger Fellow, Schlumberger Doll Research for their detailed review of this FactBook. The Institute also wishes to thank the authors of this FactBook for their contribution: Benoit Decourt, Romain Debarre, and Sylvain Alias. About the FactBook – Gas Hydrates The role gas hydrates may play as an energy resource is a controversial, polarizing subject. Therefore, a fact-based report has been developed by the A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute, presenting: key concepts; the status of exploration and production technologies; the status of research, development and demonstration (R,D&D); and the environmental and safety challenges associated with the potential exploitation of this resource. This publication aims at providing stakeholders with a balanced, unbiased assessment of gas hydrates and the tools to understand them properly. The Institute performed a literature review and engaged experts in the gas-hydrate field. The Institute also analyzed patents from 50 offices worldwide, using the Thomson Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) database, and conducted a survey of gas- hydrate stakeholders to present the state of R,D&D and a faithful picture of current thinking among academics and industry players involved in the field. Outcomes of the DWPI analysis and the results from the survey are available in separate documents referred to as Appendix A and Appendix B. About the A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute The A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute is a nonprofit organization. It provides leading insights on global trends in energy transition, technologies, and strategic implications for private sector businesses and public sector institutions. The Institute is dedicated to combining objective technological insights with economical perspectives to define the consequences and opportunities for decision makers in a rapidly changing energy landscape. The independence of the Institute fosters unbiased primary insights and the ability to co-create new ideas with interested sponsors and relevant stakeholders. Gas Hydrates 1 Natural Gas Series The FactBook – Gas Hydrates Appendix A – Patent Analysis About the Patent Analysis To support the Gas Hydrates FactBook, the A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute analyzed patents from 50 offices worldwide based on the Thomson Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) database. Key outcomes of the analysis were integrated into the FactBook, while this Appendix presents the analysis in full This report aims to provide a deep understanding of the gas-hydrate research and development (R&D) landscape. It highlights gas-hydrate patent publishing trends over recent decades, and identifies: the technologies that have generated the most interest; the countries most active in patent publishing; and the main stakeholders Gas Hydrates 2 Executive summary (1/2) Patent analysis highlights a growing interest in gas hydrates as a resource and the increasing involvement of Chinese research institutions General overview of the gas-hydrate patenting landscape: ■ The number of patents filed in relation to gas hydrates has been growing at an accelerating pace since 1990. As of December 31th 2013, there were 2,933 patents, thirteen times as many as in 1990. The patenting rate in 2013 was more than seven times higher than in 1990 ■ So far, the majority of patents have been published in Japan. However, over the past decade, patent filings has grown rapidly in China, now the most active country in terms of gas-hydrate patent filing. Patenting in the U.S. – the second-most-important country, after Japan, for cumulative numbers of patents filed – remained relatively stable ■ From a technology standpoint, most patents still relate to chemistry related to natural gas and flow insurance issues caused by the formation of gas hydrates. Nevertheless, patents related to drilling and fluid recovery experienced more robust and steady growth over the past decade, mirroring increasing interest in gas hydrates as a potential energy source ■ Most patents have, so far, been filed by corporate players: chemicals companies and oil and gas firms own the largest gas- hydrate patents portfolios. Japanese conglomerate Mitsui is the world’s leading individual publisher. However, the role of research organizations, including universities and laboratories, has grown over the past decade. Since 2010, new players have become the main drivers for gas-hydrate patenting – notably Chinese research institutions Gas Hydrates 3 Executive summary (1/2) Patent analysis highlights a growing interest in gas hydrates as a resource and the increasing involvement of Chinese research institutions Upstream: ■ The number of patents filed in 2013 in relation to gas-hydrates exploration and production technologies was 22 times higher than in 1990 (1,011 patents on December 31st 2013). Upstream-related patenting increased faster than the average increase in gas-hydrate patenting, mirroring growing interest in gas hydrates as a potential energy source over the past decade. With the exception of 2012, more than 100 gas-hydrate upstream-technology patents have been filed every year since 2010, compared with 10-20 a year in the 1990s ■ Japan is not the leading country in exploration and production patents: with 86 patents to date in this category, Japan is ranked fifth, after China, the U.S., the former Soviet Union and Europe. In 2013, China became the global leader, with 293 patents, ahead of the U.S. (280 patents). Activity in Europe and the former Soviet Union, meanwhile, is in decline ■ Within exploration & production, gas-hydrate patents are mostly filed under three categories: (i) drilling and fluids recovery; and, to a lesser extent, (ii) the measurement of physical and chemical properties, and (iii) equipment or products used for drilling and treating boreholes and wells ■ Research organizations are more involved in upstream gas-hydrate patents than in gas-hydrate patents in other areas, and now account for more than 40% of all upstream patents filed. However, within the upstream segment, oil and gas service companies remain dominant. Two oil and gas service companies and Swiss chemicals company Clariant are the largest patent-holders for gas-hydrate exploration and production technologies Gas Hydrates 4 Executive summary (2/2) Patent analysis highlights a growing interest in gas hydrates as a resource and the increasing involvement of Chinese research institutions Exploration: ■ The number of patents filed in relation to gas-hydrate testing and measurement was negligible until the 2000s. It started to increase in the mid-2000s and has grown strongly since 2010. The bulk of these patents focus on chemical and physical properties (217 as of the end of 2013). Only a few relate to the measurement of electric and magnetic variables (20 patents), and geophysics (53 patents) ■ The vast majority of gas-hydrate testing and measurement patents have been filed in China: 167 compared with 34 in the U.S. and 27 in Japan. However, organizations in the U.S. – in particular, U.S. oil and gas service companies – have the largest patents portfolio relating to geophysics Production: ■ The number of patents related to gas-hydrate drilling and “obtaining fluids from wells” started to increase significantly in the late 1990s and the patenting rate accelerated in the 2000s. As of December 31st 2013, there were 536 patents in the category, compared with 33 in 1990 ■ Technologies aiming to obtain fluid from wells have generated the most patents (and accounted for 59% of all production patents at the end of 2013). Drilling and well equipment and maintenance technologies come next (with 33% at end-2013), followed by control, surveying and testing technologies (8%). It is interesting to note that in the “obtaining fluids from wells” category, most patents relate to the use of heat and steam (67% of patents at the end of 2013) and to the use of chemicals or bacteria (24%) ■ In terms of gas-hydrate production-related patents, the U.S. is leading the way, with 163 patents, ahead of China (114) and the former Soviet Union (107). The largest patent publishers are U.S. oil and gas services companies, and, to a lesser extent, Chinese research organizations and oil majors Gas Hydrates 5 Executive summary (2/2) Patent analysis highlights a growing interest in gas hydrates as a resource and the increasing involvement of Chinese research institutions Industrial landscape: ■ Oil and gas service companies are the most important patent publishers. ■ Chemicals companies are also deeply involved. Clariant, for example, is the largest publisher of gas-hydrate related patents in the “drilling, well equipment and well maintenance” category, and is ahead of oil and gas service companies ■ Other large industrial players in the gas-hydrate patent field include: international oil companies such Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell; national oil companies such as Petrochina and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC); and various Japanese conglomerates Gas Hydrates 6 Summary table Main figures Drilling and obtaining General overview Upstream Geophysics2 fluids from wells3