Production Allocation and Well Test Metering Patents
Top-heavy field. the five leading assignees together hold 211 of 416 records in scope (50.7%), and the top ten hold 69.7% — a narrow group has staked out most of the claim space. Filings moved from 7 in 2017 to a peak of 17 in 2023, with the 2021-to-2024 window showing a 23% increase (13 to 16 filings). Treat 2025 and 2026 figures as incomplete rather than as a slowdown — publication lag means recent filings have not all surfaced yet.
- 1FMC KONGSBERG SUBSEA AS84
- 2MICRO MOTION INC50
- 3WEATHERFORD TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LLC29
- 4GENERAL ELECTRIC CO24
- 5SOLUTION SEEKER24
See the full production allocation and well test 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 this landscape
Who are the leading patent holders in production allocation and well test metering?
The assignee ranking behind this landscape covers 72 companies, with the leader holding 84 of the 416 records in scope. The top five assignees together account for 211 records, or 50.7% of the field, and the top ten reach 69.7%. That concentration means the leading oilfield service and metering specialists have already staked out most of the core measurement architectures, so new filings need to be checked carefully against their existing claim scope.
Is patent filing in well test metering still growing?
Filing volume grew from 13 records in 2021 to 16 in 2024, a 23% increase over that three-year window, with a peak of 17 filings in 2023. The two most recent years in the dataset show lower counts, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than a genuine slowdown. Based on the last complete year of data, activity in the space is holding steady rather than declining.
What technology areas dominate the patent claims in this field?
Flow, level and volume measurement (IPC class G01F) appears on 61.3% of the 416 records, making it the dominant classification by a wide margin. Earth and rock drilling (E21B) and material analysis and testing (G01N) follow at 31.0% and 28.4% respectively, reflecting how metering claims often bundle in downhole and analytical elements. Smaller classes such as G01V, G01R, G06N, B01D and A61B each sit below 4% of records and mark narrower, less contested branches.
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 Production Allocation and Well Test 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.