Multiphase & Wet Gas Metering Patents: Who Leads, Trends 2026
Multiphase and Wet Gas Metering Patents: Concentration at the Top, Gaps Below
48.1% of all filings sit with just five assignees out of the 1,236 records in scope — a tight cluster around subsea and oilfield service leaders. Annual filings ran from 34 in 2017 to a peak of 80 in 2018. The dataset's own growth figure — 72 filings in 2021 down to 31 in 2024, a 57% drop — is the most defensible read of the recent trajectory; 2025 and 2026 are still filling in and should not be read as a continued decline.
- 1SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO190
- 2SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY BV122
- 3SCHLUMBERGER TECH CORP110
- 4SERVICES PETROLIERS SCHLUMBERGER SA91
- 5MICRO MOTION INC81
See the full multiphase and wet gas metering analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on multiphase and wet gas metering patents
Who holds the most patents in multiphase and wet gas metering?
Filing activity in this field is concentrated among oilfield-service and subsea equipment companies, with the leading assignee holding 190 of the 1,236 records in the ranking and the top five combined accounting for 48.1% of all records in scope. That concentration falls off quickly after the top group — tenth place holds only 48 records — leaving a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants below the leaders. Anyone assessing freedom to operate should expect the densest claim coverage to sit with that small leading cluster rather than being spread evenly across the field.
Is patent filing activity in multiphase flow metering growing or shrinking?
Filings peaked in 2018 at 80 and have declined since, with the dataset showing a 57% drop from 72 filings in 2021 to 31 in 2024, the most recent year that can be treated as complete. The 2025 and 2026 figures are understated because patent publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months, so they should not be read as proof of a continuing decline. The honest read is that filing volume has cooled from its 2018 peak, not that R&D activity has stopped.
What technology areas dominate multiphase metering patents?
Flow, level and volume measurement (IPC class G01F) appears in 55.4% of the 1,236 records, and earth and rock drilling equipment (E21B) appears in 37.1%, confirming that this is primarily a wellbore-instrumentation field rather than a pure sensor-physics one. Material analysis and testing (G01N) covers 31.0% of records, reflecting the sensor and calibration work behind phase-fraction and water-cut measurement. AI-based computing (G06N) and control/regulating systems (G05B) are present but thin, at 2.3% and 2.5% respectively, since a single record can carry more than one classification these shares add up to more than 100%.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Multiphase and Wet Gas Metering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.