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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/high-temperature-high-pressure-drilling-fluids-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Drilling Fluid SystemsHigh Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids Patents
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 assignees hold 175 of 262 records in scope (66.8%), and the top 10 hold 225 (85.9%) -- this field is not open ground for a new entrant filing broad claims.
- Filing has cooled sharply since 2018. Activity peaked at 24 records in 2018 and fell from 17 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, a 94% drop over that three-year span -- though 2025-2026 counts are still filling in as publications lag filing.
- Materials claims dominate over mechanical ones. 79.0% of records sit in C09K (materials for misc. applications) versus 45.4% in E21B (earth and rock drilling), meaning most of the contested claim space is chemistry, not hardware.
262
Published Records
67%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-94%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (17 records) with 2024 (1) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 262 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
High temperature high pressure (HTHP) drilling fluid patents cover the chemistry and formulation work needed to keep a fluid stable, dense and non-corrosive at downhole conditions that break conventional muds -- high density brine systems, cesium formate chemistries, filter cake control, and hydrolytic and thermal stability testing regimes. The 262 records in scope span 2015 through the 2026 cut-off and are drawn from filings that reference both fluid-performance criteria (thermal stability, static aging, corrosion) and the base fluid systems themselves.
The composition data shows a field defined more by additive and brine chemistry than by tool design: C09K materials claims appear in nearly four out of five records, while drilling-specific E21B claims appear in fewer than half. That split matters for freedom-to-operate work -- a new entrant is more likely to run into blocking prior art on a brine formulation than on a mechanical drilling method.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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The Data
Filing trends and technology composition
Publication counts by year and by IPC subclass, drawn from the 262 records in scope.
Filing trend: a sharp pull-back after 2018
Filings ran from 6 in 2017 up to a peak of 24 in 2018, then declined through the following years to 17 in 2021 and 1 in 2024 -- a 94% fall over that three-year span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures are not yet complete and should not be read as confirmation the field has gone quiet; they simply have not finished arriving.
Technology composition: chemistry-led, not tool-led
C09K (materials for misc. applications) covers 207 of 262 records (79.0%), well ahead of E21B (earth and rock drilling wells) at 119 records (45.4%). Smaller but distinct clusters sit in C01D (alkali-metal compounds, 11.1%) -- consistent with cesium and other formate brine chemistries -- C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds, 8.0%), F16N (lubrication systems, 5.3%), B01D (separation processes such as filtration, 5.0%), C22B (metal extraction and refining, 3.1%) and A61K (medicinal preparations, 2.7%). Because a single record can carry several IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the 262-record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 262 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Representative filing and most-cited prior art
Representative Record
High density fluid for completion applications (US11591505B2)
TERVES, INC.
A modified high density brine for use in subterranean drilling and completion operations. The modified high density brine includes a heavy brine and the addition of high density particles. The resultant modified high density brine eliminates the need for toxic, corrosive, and costly ZrBr2 or cesium formate additions or other ionic additives to boost the density of the modified high density brine to more than 14 lbs./gallon.Filed by Terves, Inc.; published 2023-02-28.
View full recordMost-cited records in this landscape
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20100016180A1 | Method of Increasing Lubricity of Brine-based Drilling Fluids and Completion Brines | 71 |
| 2 | US6562764B1 | Invert well service fluid and method | 53 |
| 3 | US20090082230A1 | Well Treatment Fluids Containing Nanoparticles and Methods of Using Same | 43 |
| 4 | US20180155602A1 | High Density Brine Containing Colloidal Particles | 42 |
| 5 | US20130098615A1 | Novel high density brines for completion applications | 36 |
| 6 | US20050101491A1 | Cellulosic suspensions employing alkali formate brines as carrier liquid | 34 |
| 7 | WO2014107391A1 | Methods using stimulation-capable drill-in and completion fluids | 33 |
| 8 | US20120000652A1 | Well treatment fluid | 33 |
| 9 | US20130333892A1 | Acidizing materials and methods and fluids for earth formation protection | 32 |
| 10 | US20040238169A1 | Methods of fracturing subterranean zones with less pumping | 31 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and favour older records; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three findings from the concentration, trend and composition data that should shape where a new filing or freedom-to-operate search starts.
Concentration
66.8%
of 262 records held by top 5 assignees
The top of the field is crowded
With 175 of 262 records in scope held by five assignees, broad brine-density or thermal-stability claims are likely to run into dense prior art from established filers. New work is better aimed at narrow formulation variants or adjacent unclaimed chemistries than at the core claims these leaders already hold.
Top 10 combined reach 85.9% of all records.
Momentum
-94%
filing change, 2021 to 2024
Activity has pulled back from its 2018 peak
Filings fell from 17 in 2021 to 1 in 2024, continuing a decline from the 24-record peak in 2018. The recent-year momentum data shows the leading assignees with zero filings in the latest year, though the most recent two years are still incomplete because of publication lag.
Peak year: 2018 at 24 records.
Composition
79.0%
of 262 records classed under C09K
Chemistry, not hardware, is where the claims sit
C09K materials claims cover close to four in five records, well ahead of E21B drilling-method claims at 45.4%. Smaller clusters in C01D and C07C point to formate and organic-compound chemistry as the more technically specific subareas worth a closer look.
E21B (earth and rock drilling) covers 45.4% of records.
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Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who holds the claim space
The assignee ranking covers 38 companies, counted in records -- the whole ranking the dataset returns, not a top-50 or top-100 cut.
Leader
75
records held
A single filer well ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 75 records, roughly the size of the next several assignees combined. Their filings anchor the C09K materials cluster and much of the co-assignee activity in the dataset.
Fifth place holds 16 records; tenth place holds 8.
Co-filing
12
shared records, strongest pair
Corporate affiliates file jointly, not competitors
Of 10 identified co-assignee pairs, the strongest links a US entity to its UK-registered drilling fluids affiliate at 12 shared records -- an internal corporate structure rather than a cross-company collaboration. The remaining pairs are much smaller, at two shared records each.
10 co-assignee pairs identified in total.
Recent activity
0
filings in the latest year, leading assignees
The leaders have gone quiet in the most recent year
Every one of the top assignees by cumulative volume shows zero filings in the latest year of the momentum data. That is consistent with the broader 2021-2024 decline, though it should be read alongside the publication-lag caveat rather than as proof the technology is abandoned.
Momentum measured across the leading assignees by cumulative record count.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Cabot Corp | 0 | — |
| Baker Hughes Co | 0 | — |
| M-I L.L.C. | 0 | — |
| Cabot Specialty Fluids, Inc. | 0 | — |
| MI Drilling Fluids UK Ltd | 0 | — |
| Lanxess Corporation | 0 | — |
| SAGE GEOSYSTEMS INC | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this analysis
The filing and composition data point to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate clearance or identifying open filing space.
Run a freedom-to-operate check against the top holders
With 85.9% of records held by the ranked top 10, any new brine-density or thermal-stability formulation should be checked against those portfolios before drafting claims.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaMap the C01D and C07C clusters in detail
These smaller classes point to formate and organic-compound chemistry that sits outside the dominant C09K cluster and may carry thinner prior art.
Search IPC clusters in EurekaTrack whether filing activity resumes
The 2021-2024 decline is real, but 2025-2026 data is still incomplete due to publication lag -- worth revisiting once those years settle.
Set a filing alert in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions on HTHP drilling fluid patents
The dataset's assignee ranking is led by a single company holding 75 of the 262 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 16 and the tenth-place holder at 8. The top 5 assignees together hold 175 records, 66.8% of the total, and the top 10 hold 225, or 85.9%. That level of concentration means a small number of established filers control most of the claim space, and any new filing strategy should start by mapping their existing portfolios rather than assuming open ground.
Filing peaked at 24 records in 2018 and has declined since, falling from 17 records in 2021 to 1 in 2024 -- a 94% drop over that three-year window. This is a real pull-back in documented filing activity, not a data artefact. That said, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 counts in this dataset are still incomplete and should not yet be read as the field's true recent trajectory.
Materials chemistry dominates over mechanical drilling methods: C09K (materials for miscellaneous applications) appears in 207 of 262 records, 79.0% of the total, compared with 119 records (45.4%) in E21B (earth and rock drilling wells). Smaller but distinct clusters appear in C01D (alkali-metal compounds, 11.1% of records, consistent with formate brine chemistry), C07C (8.0%) and F16N lubrication systems (5.3%). Because records often carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages overlap rather than sum to 100%.
US11591505B2, assigned to Terves, Inc. and published 2023-02-28, covers a modified high density brine for drilling and completion operations that uses added high density particles instead of toxic or corrosive density-boosting additives such as cesium formate or ZrBr2, to raise brine density above 14 lbs/gallon. Its significance lies in targeting the additive-substitution route rather than a new base brine chemistry. Anyone designing a particle-based density booster for HTHP brines should review its claim scope closely before finalising a formulation.
The composition data suggests thinner filing density in classes adjacent to the dominant C09K and E21B clusters, including C22B (metal extraction and refining, 3.1% of records) and A61K (medicinal preparations, 2.7%), along with the mid-sized C01D and C07C formate and organic-compound clusters. These are not zero-filing areas, but they carry markedly less density than the core brine-stability claims, making them a more realistic starting point for a narrowly scoped new filing than trying to claim broad brine-density space directly.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on High Temperature High Pressure Drilling Fluids covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.