California-based Upwing Energy said it has been awarded 10 new patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for critical enabling technologies in the company’s downhole rotating tools and proprietary methods used to increase hydrocarbon production and recovery.
The USPTO granted seven patents related to Upwing’s Subsurface Compressor System (SCS) downhole compressor system, and three patents related to Upwing’s Magnetic Drive System (MDS), a retrievable drive system for downhole pumps.
The SCS is a high-speed downhole compressor system driven by a magnetically levitated permanent magnet (PM) motor that increases gas production and recoverable reserves by enabling greater drawdown close to the well perforations.
The seven new patents support key elements of the SCS downhole artificial lift system, such as downhole liquid removal, seal-less downhole systems, downhole magnetic bearing systems, downhole generators, well optimization, magnetic coupling integration and downhole measurement tools.
The three new patents cover certain aspects of Upwing’s artificial lift systems, which underpin key elements of the MDS protector-less technology.
The MDS is a drive system for electric submersible pumps (ESPs) with hermetically sealed electrical components for greater reliability and a connection-less mechanical string for greater retrievability via slickline. The protector-less design includes a permanent magnet motor that also acts as a magnetic coupling.
“The issuance of these patents continues to validate the innovative nature of our technologies that can be utilized in more challenging onshore and offshore wells, allowing E&P operators to access previously inaccessible hydrocarbons,” said Herman Artinian, President and CEO of Upwing Energy. “These patents provide additional protection to our artificial lift technologies and further strengthen our patent portfolio.”
Upwing Energy has been granted core technology patents from its parent company Calnetix Technologies and has filed its own system-level and application-related patents for downhole rotating devices. Upwing Energy currently holds 13 US patents and has filed 43 US and 16 foreign patent applications to date.
