The oil & gas industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the need to improve safety and efficiency and reduce downtime, and the growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data, blockchain, and robotics. In the last three years alone, there have been over 523,000 patents filed and granted in the oil & gas industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Artificial intelligence in oil & gas: production scheduling automation. Buy the report here.

Smarter leaders trust GlobalData

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 196,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the oil & gas industry, there are 60+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Production scheduling automation is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence

Production scheduling automation is the use of computer software and algorithms to automatically generate schedules for manufacturing processes, ensuring optimal production efficiency.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies.  According to GlobalData, there are 220+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established oil & gas companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of production scheduling automation.

Key players in production scheduling automation – a disruptive innovation in the oil & gas industry  

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.  

Patent volumes related to production scheduling automation

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Schlumberger 388 Unlock Company Profile
China Petrochemical 367 Unlock Company Profile
Halliburton 347 Unlock Company Profile
China National Petroleum 258 Unlock Company Profile
BASF 166 Unlock Company Profile
SICPA 135 Unlock Company Profile
Saudi Arabian Oil 125 Unlock Company Profile
Exxon Mobil 89 Unlock Company Profile
China National Offshore Oil 77 Unlock Company Profile
Baker Hughes 75 Unlock Company Profile
Nitto Denko 65 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Chemical Group 55 Unlock Company Profile
Tokyo Gas 51 Unlock Company Profile
Honeywell International 42 Unlock Company Profile
TaKaDu 40 Unlock Company Profile
Weatherford International 40 Unlock Company Profile
Air Liquide 39 Unlock Company Profile
PPG Industries 36 Unlock Company Profile
Kurita Water Industries 34 Unlock Company Profile
Daicel 33 Unlock Company Profile
Chiyoda 30 Unlock Company Profile
Shell 26 Unlock Company Profile
LG 25 Unlock Company Profile
General Electric 24 Unlock Company Profile
Chevron U. S. A. 24 Unlock Company Profile
Neste 24 Unlock Company Profile
Kaneka 23 Unlock Company Profile
JGC 22 Unlock Company Profile
Prad Research And Development 21 Unlock Company Profile
Sherwin-Williams 20 Unlock Company Profile
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice 20 Unlock Company Profile
ION Geophysical 20 Unlock Company Profile
Asahi Kasei 19 Unlock Company Profile
Munchener Ruckversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft (Munich Re) 19 Unlock Company Profile
China National Chemical 19 Unlock Company Profile
Covestro 19 Unlock Company Profile
Resonac 18 Unlock Company Profile
Sumitomo Chemical 18 Unlock Company Profile
TotalEnergies 17 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson & Johnson 15 Unlock Company Profile
Dow 14 Unlock Company Profile
UPM-Kymmene 14 Unlock Company Profile
Tyco International 14 Unlock Company Profile
Wanhua Chemical Group 13 Unlock Company Profile
DIC 13 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 13 Unlock Company Profile
AGC 12 Unlock Company Profile
Technip Energies 12 Unlock Company Profile
A.P. Moller - Maersk 12 Unlock Company Profile
ConocoPhillips 12 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Schlumberger is one of the leading patent filers in production scheduling automation. Schlumberger's Avocet platform helps to make decisions at the field level to achieve production targets. It gathers, stores, and presents production operations data to global and remote operations and helps users monitor production targets, budgets, key performance indicators (KPIs), and more. Schlumberger also offers Avocet Production Data Core, an extension of the Avocet platform, for storing historical production data, analysis, and reporting. Some other key patent filers in production scheduling automation include China Petrochemical, Halliburton, China National Petroleum, and BASF.

In terms of application diversity, Toshiba leads the pack, while Air Liquide and DIC stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, TaKaDu held the top position, followed by Weatherford International and ION Geophysical.

Oil and gas companies are increasingly using production scheduling automation systems for production scheduling and ensuring optimal production efficiency.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the oil & gas industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Oil and Gas.

Premium Insights

From

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.

GlobalData

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.