The global data set contains 12,421 published patents, translating into approximately 4,000 patent families. This analysis focuses on patent applications with a priority year from 2000 to 2012.
The top applicant in this data set is China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Ltd.), a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. Sinopec is the world's third largest company by revenue behind Royal Dutch Shell (second). Integrated oil companies account for seven of the world's top 10 ranked companies by revenueFootnote 1. Exxon Mobil Corporation, BP plc and China National Petroleum Corporation are the fourth, fifth and sixth largest companies worldwide.
Table 1 provides an overview of the patent landscape for the shale oil and gas industry sub-sector. This data set was restricted to patents that were extracted based on methodology described in Section II above, and Annex B.
| Number of patent families | 3,986 |
|---|---|
| Priority year range | 2000 to 2012 |
| Applicants | 3,627 |
| Priority countries | 41 |
Figure 1 shows the number of patent families in the data set by priority year since 2000. In the early stages of the decade, filings were relatively flat until 2003. From 2004 to 2007, filings tended to fluctuate. However, growth exceeded declines, and from 2008 onwards, filings experienced continued growth. Overall, priority filings for shale oil and gas patent families experienced a 188% increase in the number of filings between 2000 and 2012.
| Priority year | Patent families filings |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 166 |
| 2001 | 152 |
| 2002 | 150 |
| 2003 | 144 |
| 2004 | 238 |
| 2005 | 194 |
| 2006 | 307 |
| 2007 | 294 |
| 2008 | 344 |
| 2009 | 372 |
| 2010 | 426 |
| 2011 | 443 |
| 2012 | 478 |
Figure 2 shows the priority country distribution for the shale oil and gas patent family data set. The top three applicants are from China. There was a 2,020% increase in overall filings in China between 2000 and 2012. The United States is another major country where inventors are filing first, with slightly fewer filings than China. Combined, China and the United States account for 66% of all filings. If Japan is included, these three countries represent 83% of all priority applications. Only 2% of filings claim priority in Canada. PCT and European patent applications filed through WIPO and the European Patent Office (EPO) are identified by the country codes WO and EP, respectively.
Figure 2: Shale oil and gas filings by priority country distribution
Description of Figure 2
| Priority countries | % |
|---|---|
| China | 34 % |
| United States | 32 % |
| Japan | 17 % |
| Korea, Republic of | 2 % |
| Russian Federation | 2 % |
| European Patent Office (EPO) | 2 % |
| Canada | 2 % |
| Australia | 1 % |
| World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) | 1 % |
| United Kingdom | 1 % |
| Other | 5 % |
Figure 2 shows a bar chart indicating the priority country distribution for the shale oil and gas patent families dataset. All countries are represented with a dark red bar except Canada, represented by an orange bar.
Figure 3 shows the top applicants within the shale oil and gas industry sub-sector. The top spot is occupied by the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Ltd.), with 371 patent families. Other major players with 100 or more patent families include JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation (209), Exxon Mobil Corporation (141), Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (140), and Schlumberger Limited (100). This data clearly shows that Chinese, American and Japanese companies are major producers of patent filings worldwide.
Figure 3: Top applicants
Description of Figure 3
| Assignee/Applicant | Number of records |
|---|---|
| China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (China) | 371 |
| JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp (Japan) | 209 |
| Exxon Mobil Corp (United States) | 141 |
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (United States) | 140 |
| Schlumberger Ltd (United States) | 100 |
| Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd (Japan) | 81 |
| Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd (Japan) | 74 |
| Royal Dutch Shell plc (Netherlands) | 73 |
| Baker Hughes Inc. (United States) | 63 |
| Nippon Steel Engineering Co. Ltd (Japan) | 59 |
| PetroChina Company Ltd (China) | 57 |
| Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (Japan) | 55 |
| PRAD Research and Development Ltd (Virgin Islands, British) | 53 |
| INPEX Corp (Japan) | 50 |
| Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd (Japan) | 50 |
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (United States) | 45 |
| Japan Energy Corp (Japan) | 45 |
| M-I L.L.C. (United States) | 40 |
| Petroleum Energy Center, A Juridical Inc. Found (Japan) | 39 |
| China University Of Petroleum (China) | 30 |
| Catalysts & Chemicals Industries Co. Ltd (Japan) | 28 |
| Curtis, Philip Anthony (Great Britain) | 26 |
| National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan) | 26 |
| ZH Sekiyu Sangyo Kasseika Centre (Japan) | 26 |
| IFP Energies nouvelles (France) | 24 |
Figure 3 shows a bar chart for the top applicants within the Shale Oil and Gas industry sub-sector.
Figure 4 depicts the top applicant filing activities since 2000. Given the size of the large multinational corporations that rank among the top applicants, it is not surprising that most of these companies have been involved in the field of shale oil and gas over the past decade. It is also no surprise to see new entrants in this field as demand increases for new and cheaper ways to extract and refine shale oil and gas.
Figure 4: Top applicant activity between 2000 and 2012
Description of Figure 4
| Applicants | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (China) | 6 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 60 | 75 | 55 | 10 |
| JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp (Japan) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 14 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 35 | 26 | 18 | 11 | |
| Exxon Mobil Corp (United States) | 13 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 6 | 6 | |
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (United States) | 6 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 3 |
| Schlumberger Ltd (United States) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 1 | |
| Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd (Japan) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 5 | |
| Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd (Japan) | 5 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Royal Dutch Shell plc (Netherlands) | 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
| Baker Hughes Inc. (United States) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 1 | |
| Nippon Steel Engineering Co. Ltd (Japan) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 5 | |||
| PetroChina Company Ltd (China) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 11 | 8 | |||||||
| Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (Japan) | 3 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 3 | |||||||
| PRAD Research and Development Ltd (Virgin Islands, British) | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 10 | ||||||
| INPEX Corp (Japan) | 2 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd (Japan) | 2 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (United States) | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Japan Energy Corp (Japan) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 3 | |||||
| M-I L.L.C. (United States) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | |
| Petroleum Energy Center (Japan) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||
| China University Of Petroleum (China) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
| Catalysts & Chemicals Industries Co. Ltd (Japan) | 3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Curtis, Philip Anthony (United Kingdom) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| ZH Sekiyu Sangyo Kasseika Centre (Japan) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| IFP Energies nouvelles (France) | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
Figure 4 is a filing timeline of top applicants, linking applicants to the year of filing with a blue square.
Figure 5 shows the priority country shares for the top applicants. This shows a strong bias for companies to file in their own countries first. This is true for the three Chinese companies, the 12 Japanese companies and the one French company. Royal Dutch Shell tends to split its priority filings between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the EPO. Of the six American companies in the top 25, two have all of their priorities in the USA, while the other four have 90% in the USA and 10% in other countries, including Canada in two cases. This may reflect strategic filing on the part of these firms, who recognize the importance of filing for certain types of technologies in the same countries where their competitors are filing first. With respect to patent portfolio size (number of patent families per applicant), the data shows that 95% of applicants have five or fewer patent families, and 73% have only one. This suggests that there are not very many well-established applicants in the dataset. Alternatively, we can say that the research and development part of the industry is quite competitive, with lots of small firms competing at the innovation frontier.
Figure 5: Priority country shares for top applicants
Description of Figure 5
| Assignee/Applicant | China | United States | Japan | European Patent Office (EPO) | Canada | Australia | World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) | United Kingdom | France |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (China) | 369 | ||||||||
| JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp (Japan) | 209 | ||||||||
| Exxon Mobil Corp (United States) | 131 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (United States) | 128 | 10 | |||||||
| Schlumberger Ltd (United States) | 2 | 85 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd (Japan) | 81 | ||||||||
| Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd (Japan) | 74 | ||||||||
| Royal Dutch Shell plc (Netherlands) | 34 | 31 | 2 | 6 | |||||
| Baker Hughes Inc. (United States) | 62 | ||||||||
| Nippon Steel Engineering Co. Ltd (Japan) | 59 | ||||||||
| PetroChina Company Ltd (China) | 57 | ||||||||
| Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (Japan) | 54 | ||||||||
| PRAD Research and Development Ltd (Virgin Islands, British) | 47 | 3 | |||||||
| INPEX Corp (Japan) | 50 | ||||||||
| Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd (Japan) | 50 | ||||||||
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (United States) | 44 | ||||||||
| Japan Energy Corp (Japan) | 45 | ||||||||
| M-I L.L.C. (United States) | 37 | 2 | |||||||
| Petroleum Energy Center (Japan) | 39 | ||||||||
| China University Of Petroleum (China) | 29 | ||||||||
| Catalysts & Chemicals Industries Co. Ltd (Japan) | 28 | ||||||||
| Curtis, Philip Anthony (United Kingdom) | 26 | ||||||||
| National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan) | 26 | ||||||||
| ZH Sekiyu Sangyo Kasseika Centre (Japan) | 26 | ||||||||
| IFP Energies Nouvelles (France) | 2 | 22 |
Figure 5 shows the priority country shares for the top applicants. The image shows bars with different colors representing the percentage shares for top applicants. Dark red represents China, orange represents the United States, sky blue represents Japan, purple represents EPO, green represents Canada, dark blue represents Australia, dark grey represents WIPO, yellow represents Great Britain and bright red represents France.
The Figure 6 map shows that the highest concentration of patents in this dataset relates to patents comprising keywords such as “coking coal, fat coal, lean coal,” “coke hydrocracking tower,” “huiles réacteur catalyseur,” and “drilling well formulation.” The water separating the islands highlights technological areas of patenting activity that are very different from each other. A clear distinction can be made between islands involving patents related to the development and production of shale oil and gas and patents tied to exploration.
Figure 6: Patent landscape map of shale oil and gas between 2000 and 2012
Description of Figure 6
Figure 6 provides a visual representation of the shale oil and gas patent family dataset. Thomson Innovation's ThemeScape mapping tool was utilized for this purpose. ThemeScape uses term frequency (keywords from patent filings' title and abstract) and other algorithms to cluster documents based on shared language. The image is separated in two: the left side is entitled Development/Production and the right side is entitled Exploration. The water separating the islands highlights technological areas of patenting activity that are very different from one another. Patents are represented on the map by dots. Some patents are located close together because they share more phraseology than those located further apart. The patents are organized in common themes and grouped as “contours” on the map to show areas of high and low patenting activity. “Snow-capped peas” represent the highest concentration of patents and include on the left side, “Huiles Réacteur Catalyseur”, “Coke Hydrocracking Tower” and “Coking Coal”, “Fat Coal”, and “Lean Coal”. On the right side, the “snow-capped peak” highlights drilling well formation.
The key words in the Development/Production section are:
- Drill
- Bit
- Formation
- Outer
- Connection
- Inner
- Coking coal
- Fat coal
- Lean coal
- Boiler
- Connected
- Wind
- Connected
- Utility Model
- Chamber
- Sulfurcontaining Compounds Fuel
- Kerosene
- Desulfurization
- Furnace
- Catalytic
- Resin
- Desulfurization
- Sulfur Compound
- Kerosene
- Aromatic
- Catalytic
- Naphtha
- Coke
- Hydrocracking
- Tower
- Huiles
- Réacteur
- Catalyseur
- Furnace
- Semicoke
- Dust
- Tower
- Furnace
- Connected
- Catalytic
- Tungsten
- Effluent
- Connected
- Utility Model
- Furnace
- Sodium
- Catalytic
- Ammonium Salt
- Coke
- Receive
- Naphtha
- Catalytic
- Coke
- Regenerated
- Hydrocracking
- Hydroprocessing
- Molybdenum
- Catalytic
- Zeolite
- Coke
- Compound
- Desulfurization
- Hydrodesulfurization
- Zeolite
- Catalytic Cracking
- Alumina
The key words in the Exploration section are:
- Well
- Casing
- Drilling
- Drilling
- Data
- Detect
- Data
- Determining
- Formation
- Well
- Fracture
- Formation
- Formation
- Wellbore
- Subterranean
- Wells
- Situ
- Formation
- Drilling
- Well
- Formation
- Aromatic
- Cetane
- Kerosene
The patent landscape map in Figure 7 highlights the top seven applicants in the data set and shows the different areas of the shale oil and gas sub-sector in which they operate. For example, Sinopec is very active in the areas of “catalytic zeolite coke” and active in a number of other areas, as indicated by the red dots in the lower right hand quadrant and center left hand quadrant of the map. Areas where firms overlap can be indicative of intense competition or collaboration.
When we compare to the previous landscape map, we see that the American firms Schlumberger Ltd and Haliburton are patenting more actively in exploration technologies, whereas the Chinese, Japanese and Dutch firms are patenting more actively in development and production technologies.
Figure 7: Patent landscape map highlighting regions of research for top applicants
Description of Figure 7
Figure 7 provides a visual representation of the regions of research in the shale oil and gas field for top patent applicants. Thomson Innovation's ThemeScape mapping tool was utilized for this purpose. ThemeScape uses term frequency (keywords from patent filings' title and abstract) and other algorithms to cluster documents based on shared language. The patent landscape map highlights the top seven applicants in the dataset and shows the different areas of the shale oil and gas sub-sector in which they operate. Based on this figure, Sinopec, represented in red, is very active in the areas related to “Catalytic”, “Zeolite” and “Coke” situated in the lower left-hand quadrant of the map and in many other areas, as the red dots are also found in the center left-hand quadrant of the map. As seen from the concentration of blue dots at the center of the right-hand quadrant, Halliburton is active in the areas of “Drilling”, “Well” and “Formation”. JX Nippon Oil and Energy Co., represented in dark green, is active in many areas. Like Sinopec, JX Nippon is especially active in the lower right-hand quadrant and the center left-hand quadrant of the map. Schlumberger, on the other hand, is active in areas related to “Drilling”, “Well”, “Formation”, “data determining” and “detection”, as the purple dots are situated in the right side. Keywords linking Idemitsu Kosan Co., in light blue, to this sub-sector include “Compound”, “Desulfurization”, “Hydrodesulfurization”, “Sulfur Compound” and “Kerosene”, all situated in the middle of the bottom side of the map and in the middle of the left-hand side of the map. Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd., represented by the green dots, is also linked to technologies around “Desulfurization”. Shell, represented in yellow, is very active in the areas related to “Coke”, “Receive”, “Naphtha”, “Catalytic”, “Tungsten” and “Effluent” situated in the lower left-hand quadrant of the map. Note that the white dots represent areas where multiple firms collaborate in similar areas. There is much overlap between Schlumberger and Halliburton patents across the landscape map in the middle right-hand side. The same goes for patents by Idemitsu and Cosmo Oil Co. on the exact opposite side.
The general key words found in this patent landscape map include:
- Drill
- Bit
- Formation
- Outer
- Connection
- Inner
- Coking coal
- Fat coal
- Lean coal
- Boiler
- Connected
- Wind
- Connected
- Utility Model
- Chamber
- Sulfurcontaining Compounds Fuel
- Kerosene
- Desulfurization
- Furnace
- Catalytic
- Resin
- Aromatic
- Catalytic
- Naphtha
- Coke
- Hydrocracking
- Tower
- Huiles
- Réacteur
- Catalyseur
- Furnace
- Semicoke
- Dust
- Tower
- Furnace
- Connected
- Sodium
- Catalytic
- Ammonium Salt
- Hydrocracking
- Hydroprocessing
- Molybdenum
- Well
- Casing
- Drilling
- Well
- Fracture
- Formation
- Formation
- Wellbore
- Subterranean
- Wells
- Situ
- Formation
The key words associated with each company are as follows:
- Schlumberger Ltd.:
- Drilling
- Data
- Detect
- Data
- Determining
- Formation
- Cosmo:
- Desulfurization
- Sulfur Compound
- Kerosene
- Idemitsu:
- Desulfurization
- Sulfur Compound
- Kerosene
- Compound
- Desulfurization
- Hydrodesulfurization
- Haliburton Co.:
- Drilling
- Well
- Formation
- Shell:
- Catalytic
- Tungsten
- Effluent
- Coke
- Receive
- Naphtha
- Sinopec:
- Connected
- Utility Model
- Furnace
- Catalytic
- Coke
- Regenerated
- Catalytic
- Zeolite
- Coke
- JX Nippon:
- Compound
- Desulfurization
- Hydrodesulfurization
- Zeolite
- Catalytic Cracking
- Alumina
- Aromatic
- Cetane
- Kerosene
Figure 8 is a collaboration map showing collaborations involving the Chinese company Sinopec. Each dot on the collaboration map represents a patent family, and two applicants are linked together if they are named as joint applicants on a patent application. Sinopec collaborates primarily with other Chinese companies. Due to data limitations, some of the collaborations may include divisions of parent companies as well as subsidiaries.
Figure 8: Collaboration map depicting Sinopec collaborations
Description of Figure 8
Figure 8 is a collaboration map showing collaborations involving the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec group). Each dot on the collaboration map represents a patent family and two applicants are linked together if they are named as joint applicants on a patent application. The figure shows that:
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petroleum_... on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petroleum _... and Petroleum Chemistry Sci… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petroleum_..., Petroleum Chemistry Sci…, Scientific Research Insti… and Chinese Petrochemical l… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Scientific Research Insti… on 21 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with Chinese Petrochemical l… and Beijing Petrochemical In… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Research Institute of Sin… on 3 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with Shanghai Research Insti… on 5 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with Shanghai Research Insti… and Chinese Petro Chem C… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Chinese Petro Chem C… on 2 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with Qilu Petrochemical C… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Logging Company of Chi…on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China University of Petro… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petroleum Nat… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Exploration and Develop… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Fushun Research Inst… on 4 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with PetroChina Company Li… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China National Petro… and PetroChina Company Li… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Fushun Petrochemical In… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petroleum_Chem… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Luoyang Longpu Petr… and China Petrochemical Ind… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petrochemical Ind… on 5 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with China Petroleum and Ch… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with East China University of… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Exploration of the South… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with China Coal Energy Heilon… on 7 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with Fushun Petrochemical In… on 10 patents
- Sinopec collaborated with Ningbo Zhongyi Petroche… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Fushun Petroleum Oil Ch… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Shengli Petroleum Admi… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborated with Beijing Petrochemical En… and Chian Petrochemical Sto... on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborates with Petro-Chem Sci Inst C… on 1 patent
- Sinopec collaborates with Luoyang Petro Chemical… on 1 patent
Overall, Sinopec collaborates with many Chinese companies and not much outside of China.
Figure 9 is a collaboration map showing collaborations involving JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation. JX Nippon is actively collaborating with many other Japanese companies, who are themselves collaborating with others. It is a much more complex collaboration web than that of Sinopec. This may be reflective of different approaches to R&D by the companies or perhaps of the innovation policies of the countries.
Figure 9: Collaboration map depicting collaborations with JX Nippon
Description of Figure 9
Figure 9 is a collaboration map showing collaborations involving JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation. Each dot on the collaboration map represents a patent family and two applicants are linked together if they are named as joint applicants on a patent application. The figure shows that:
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd .,TO..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., Nippon Steel & Sumiki..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me..., INPEX Corporation, TO..., Chiyoda Corporation, JP, Chiyoda Kako Kenset… and Japan Petroleum Exp... on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Petroleum Exp..., Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me..., INPEX Corporation, TO... and Sekiyu Shigen Kaihats… on 10 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Petroleum Exp..., Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Nippon Steel & Sumiki..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me... and INPEX Corporation, TO... on 9 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with JGC Catalysts and Ch… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with JGC Catalysts and Ch… and Shokubai Kasei Kogyo… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with JGC Catalysts and Ch…, Shokubai Kasei Kogyo…, Dzhejdzhisi Katalists… and Catalysts_Chemical… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with JGC Catalysts and Ch… and Catalysts_Chemical… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with IKI Hideshi, JP… on 10 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with IKI Hideshi, JP… and Nippon Mitsubishi Oil … on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Dzhejehks Nippon Oil… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Asahi Kasei Chemical…, Mitsubishi Chemical Cor… and Sekiyu Combinate Kod… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Sekiyu Combinate Kod… and Japan Energy Corpor… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Energy Corpor… and Dzhapehn Ehnerdzhi Corp… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Petroleum Energy CE… and Zh Sekiyu Sangyo Kas… on 3 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Nippon Steel & Sumito… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Energy Corpor… ZH Sekiyu Sangyo Kas… and Petroleum Energy Ce… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Energy Corpor… ZH Sekiyu Sangyo Kas… and Japan Petroleum Ene… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Energy Corpor… ZH Sekiyu Sangyo Kas…, Japan Petroleum Ene… and Petroleum Energy Ce… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Energy Corpor… on 26 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Energy Corpor… and Jomo Technical Rese… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Nippon Petroleum Re…, Nippon Mining Compan… and Nippon Petroleum Re… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Nippon Mining Compan… and Nippon Petroleum Re… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Nippon Petroleum Re… on 2 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Akita Prefectural Univ… on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Chiyoda Kako Kenset… and Chiyoda Corporation, JP on 4 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Chiyoda Corporation, JP on 2 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Chiyoda Corporation, JP, Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Japan Petroleum Exp..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., INPEX Corporation, TO...,Chiyoda Kako Kenset…, Sekiyu Shigen Kaihats…… and Japan Oil, Gas and Me... on 2 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Japan Cooperation C…, Japan Oil, Gas and Me..., Nippon Steel & Sumiki..., INPEX Corporation, TO..., Japan Petroleum Exp..., Nippon Steel Enginee... and Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO... on 2 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with International Petroleum, Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., Japan Petroleum Exp..., Petroleum Exploration Co, INPEX Corporation, TO..., Sekiyu Shigen Kaihats……,and Japan Oil, Gas and Me... on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Chiyoda Corporation,JP, Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Japan Petroleum Exp..., Nippon Steel & Sumiki..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me..., INPEX Corporation, TO... on 1 patent
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Nippon Steel & Sumiki..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me..., INPEX Corporation, TO... and Japan Petroleum Exp... on 4 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Chiyoda Corporation,JP, Japan Petroleum Exp..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me... and INPEX Corporation, TO... on 4 patents
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. collaborated with Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.,TO..., Nippon Steel Enginee..., Japan Oil, Gas and Me..., Japan Petroleum Exp... and INPEX Corporation, TO... on 16 patents
From this diagram we can see that JX Nippon is actively collaborating with other Japanese companies.
Figure 10 is a collaboration map showing collaborations involving Schlumberger Limited. It is the most extensive collaborator of the top American companies. This may be due to the company's structure with respect to subsidiaries and their patenting and R&D strategy. PRAD Research and Development is based in the British Virgin Islands, but most of its work appears to be for American companies.
Figure 10: Collaboration map depicting Schlumberger Limited collaborations
Description of Figure 10
Figure 10 is a collaboration map showing collaborations involving Schlumberger Limited. Each dot on the collaboration map represents a patent family and two applicants are linked together if they are named as joint applicants on a patent application. The figure shows that:
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Taherian Reza, Al-Khobar and PRAD Research and D… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with PRAD Research and D… and Transworld Technologie… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with PRAD Research and D… and Prader Research and De… on 3 patents
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Prader Research and De… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Companie des Service… and Sofitech N.V.,BE on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Sofitech N.V.,BE on 2 patents
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Kyrogen USA LLC, Hous… on 2 patents
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Raytheon Company, US on 2 patents
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with M-I SWACO Norge AS,S… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Schlumog Oversea S A… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Sheffield Hallam Universi… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with Geco Technology B.V.,… and PRAD Research and D… on 1 patent
- Schlumberger Ltd, US collaborated with PRAD Research and D… on 44 patents.
Figure 11 shows the top 20 inventors within the shale oil and gas industry sub-sector. As expected, most of the top inventors work for the top 10 patent filing applicants and are from China, Japan or the USA.
Figure 11: Top 20 inventors worldwide
Description of Figure 11
| Inventor | Number of Records |
|---|---|
| Xie, Chaogang (China) | 39 |
| Long, Jun (China) | 37 |
| Zhang, Zhigang (China) | 35 |
| Vinegar, Harold (United States) | 34 |
| Xu, You-hao (China) | 32 |
| Wang, Xie-qing (China) | 31 |
| Zhang, Jiu-shun (China) | 31 |
| Kaminsky, Robert D. (United States) | 28 |
| Liu, Tao (China) | 27 |
| Wang, Zi-jun (China) | 27 |
| Wu, Qi-cheng (China) | 26 |
| Cui, Shou-ye (China) | 25 |
| Iki, Hideshi (Japan) | 24 |
| Iki, Suguru (Japan) | 24 |
| Tanaka, Yuichi (Japan) | 24 |
| Hayasaka, Kazuaki (Japan) | 23 |
| Karanikas, John Michael (United States) | 23 |
| Patten, James W. (United States) | 23 |
| Gong, Jian-hong (China) | 22 |
| Chen, Peng (China) | 21 |
Figure 11 shows a bar chart for the top 20 inventors as well as their country location within the Shale Oil and Gas industry sub-sector.