CO2-EOR & Storage Patent Snapshot 2026
The CO2-EOR & Storage patent space is highly concentrated, with GreatPoint Energy holding a commanding lead and the top five filers accounting for 65% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, with recent three-year filings well above the prior window, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak.
GreatPoint Energy leads a tightly held, growth-stage field
GreatPoint Energy Inc tops the applicant ranking with 16 patent records, nearly 60% more than the next-closest filer, Equinor Energy AS at 10 patent records, establishing a clear front-runner position.
The top five filers — GreatPoint Energy, Equinor Energy, ExxonMobil Upstream Research, Arcadis US, and Saudi Arabian Oil — together account for 65% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating a field where a small number of players are visible in the agenda and entry barriers for disruptive outsiders are real.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GreatPoint Energy Inc | 16 | |
| 2 | Equinor Energy AS | 10 | |
| 3 | ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company | 7 | |
| 4 | Arcadis US | 5 | |
| 5 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company | 5 | |
| 6 | Pioneer Energy Inc | 4 | |
| 7 | Sure Champion Investment Ltd | 3 | |
| 8 | Raman Pattabhi K | 2 | |
| 9 | Vast Power Systems | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Halliburton Energy Services Inc | 2 | |
| 11 | University of Kansas | 2 | |
| 12 | Low Carbon Energies LLC | 2 | |
| 13 | Preston William E | 2 | |
| 14 | China University of Petroleum (Beijing) | 1 | |
| 15 | Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) | 1 | |
| 16 | The Lubrizol Corporation | 1 | |
| 17 | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 1 |
The leaders’ positions, rooted predominantly in wellbore and reservoir engineering (E21B), suggest that foundational injection and completion technology is largely locked up; challengers and new entrants are more likely to find room in adjacent process and digital branches.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and should be treated as understated; the apparent slowdown in 2024–2025 does not necessarily reflect a genuine decline in inventive activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 500% surge in recent filings, anchored in drilling and wellbore technology
The filing trend and technology composition together show a field that has accelerated sharply from a near-zero base and is now consolidating around a visible technical branch, with several adjacent classes offering lower-density coverage.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible through 2020, then climbed to a peak in 2023 before easing in 2024–2025; the recent three-year window sits 500% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. The 2024 and 2025 bars are understated due to publication lag and should not be read as a definitive slowdown.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
E21B (Earth & rock drilling / wells) is visible in the technology mix, reflecting the field’s core focus on injection well design and reservoir management. C09K (materials for miscellaneous applications, including drilling fluids and EOR chemicals), F25J (gas liquefaction and separation), and B65G (conveying and material handling) form a secondary tier, each with meaningful but notably smaller coverage.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Method for co2 enhanced oil recovery, oil producti…
A method of Enhanced Oil Recovery from oil zones in a subterranean geological formation, and from oil zones, the method comprising: a first injecting step of injecting a first composition comprising CO2 into the subterranean geological formation for a period of time; a second injecting step of injecting a second composition comprising CO2 and a hydrocarbon… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Integrated enhanced oil recovery process | 144 |
| 2 | Portable apparatus for extracting low carbon petro… | 112 |
| 3 | Portable renewable energy system for enhanced oil … | 56 |
| 4 | Stability improvement of co2 foam for enhanced oil… | 33 |
| 5 | Integrated enhanced oil recovery process | 33 |
| 6 | Integrated enhanced oil recovery process | 26 |
| 7 | Integrated enhanced oil recovery process | 23 |
| 8 | Integrated enhanced oil recovery process | 20 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
GreatPoint Energy Inc
GreatPoint Energy holds 16 patent records, the largest share in the corpus, with primary technical focus on E21B 43 (well production and injection engineering, 19 records), F25J 3 (gas liquefaction and separation, 10 records), and C01B 3 (hydrogen and inorganic compounds, 5 records). This combination points to an integrated CO2 capture-and-injection process strategy. Momentum data does not list GreatPoint among recent new entrants, indicating an established, multi-year filing history rather than a late-stage surge.
patent records: 16Equinor Energy AS
Equinor Energy AS holds 10 patent records and emphasises C09K 8 (EOR chemical materials, 9 records), B65G 5 (conveying and material handling, 8 records), and E21B 41 (wells for special purposes including CO2 injection, 8 records). This multi-branch spread differentiates Equinor from GreatPoint’s more process-integration focus and reflects a materials-and-infrastructure approach to CO2-EOR. Momentum data does not flag Equinor as a new entrant, consistent with an established portfolio.
patent records: 10Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 19 patent families in scope. The applicant ranking and IPC branch counts are derived from patent records, which can exceed the family total because a single family may be counted across multiple jurisdictions or IPC classes.
GreatPoint Energy Inc leads with 16 patent records, focused primarily on wellbore engineering (E21B 43), gas liquefaction and separation (F25J 3), and inorganic compounds (C01B 3). Equinor Energy AS is the second-ranked filer with 10 patent records.
The United States leads with 31 patent records, followed by Canada (10), WIPO PCT (8), Australia (6), and India (4). Europe via the EPO has only 2 records, indicating limited European enforcement activity to date.
The field is classified as Growth. Recent three-year filings are 500% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since; the 2024–2025 data are further understated by publication lag and should not be interpreted as a confirmed decline.
The only documented co-applicant relationships involve GreatPoint Energy: two jointly filed records with Raman Pattabhi K and two with Preston William E. No broad cross-company or industry-academia collaborative clusters are evident in the evidence.
F25J (gas liquefaction and separation, 10 records, 7% share) and G06F (electric digital data processing, 5 records, 4% share) represent the two most plausible adjacent branches. Both have low prior-art density from multiple competitors and correspond to technically relevant gaps — CO2 capture processing and reservoir simulation, respectively.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. PatSnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.