E21B 7/00
Special methods or apparatus for drilling
E21B7/00 (Special methods or apparatus for drilling) appears on 9,111 US grants and 7,737 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in E21B- Granted patents
- 9,111
- Published applications
- 7,737
- Assignees
- 2,376
- Inventors
- 12,098
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 81 | 0 |
| 1977 | 86 | 0 |
| 1978 | 95 | 0 |
| 1979 | 56 | 0 |
| 1980 | 83 | 0 |
| 1981 | 92 | 0 |
| 1982 | 54 | 0 |
| 1983 | 76 | 0 |
| 1984 | 91 | 0 |
| 1985 | 89 | 0 |
| 1986 | 73 | 0 |
| 1987 | 100 | 0 |
| 1988 | 82 | 0 |
| 1989 | 107 | 0 |
| 1990 | 83 | 0 |
| 1991 | 108 | 0 |
| 1992 | 107 | 0 |
| 1993 | 107 | 0 |
| 1994 | 103 | 0 |
| 1995 | 108 | 0 |
| 1996 | 106 | 0 |
| 1997 | 84 | 0 |
| 1998 | 120 | 0 |
| 1999 | 119 | 0 |
| 2000 | 130 | 0 |
| 2001 | 141 | 39 |
| 2002 | 145 | 150 |
| 2003 | 126 | 151 |
| 2004 | 125 | 185 |
| 2005 | 105 | 148 |
| 2006 | 155 | 170 |
| 2007 | 137 | 155 |
| 2008 | 128 | 187 |
| 2009 | 115 | 245 |
| 2010 | 163 | 241 |
| 2011 | 156 | 229 |
| 2012 | 188 | 268 |
| 2013 | 220 | 346 |
| 2014 | 224 | 385 |
| 2015 | 311 | 446 |
| 2016 | 319 | 508 |
| 2017 | 378 | 469 |
| 2018 | 389 | 445 |
| 2019 | 505 | 449 |
| 2020 | 490 | 437 |
| 2021 | 458 | 428 |
| 2022 | 397 | 388 |
| 2023 | 391 | 332 |
| 2024 | 386 | 383 |
| 2025 | 371 | 324 |
| 2026 | 248 | 229 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- E21B 7/04Directional drilling4,664
- E21B 7/02Drilling rigs characterised by means for land transport with their own drive1,217
- E21B 7/20Driving or forcing casings or pipes into boreholes1,048
- E21B 7/28Enlarging drilled holes689
- E21B 7/18Drilling by liquid or gas jets, with or without entrained pellets572
- E21B 7/12Underwater drilling524
- E21B 7/24Drilling using vibrating or oscillating means402
- E21B 7/14Drilling by use of heat376
All 15 subgroupsShow fewer
- E21B 7/003Drilling with mechanical conveying means189
- E21B 7/26Drilling without earth removal157
- E21B 7/002Drilling with diversely driven shafts extending into the borehole106
- E21B 7/008Drilling ice or a formation covered by ice72
- E21B 7/007Drilling by use of explosives57
- E21B 7/001Drilling a non circular hole40
- E21B 7/16Applying separate balls or pellets by the pressure of the drill, so-called22
Recent patents
- Drilling machine attachment for loader6 Oct 2026US 12,753,656 B2The Charles Machine Works, Inc.
- Two pass window milling system that can be deployed and operated in one trip6 Oct 2026US 12,753,668 B2Halliburton Energy Services.Inc.
- Slidable isolation sleeve with I-shaped seal6 Oct 2026US 12,753,675 B2Halliburton Energy Services.Inc.
- Horizontal directional drilling system and method6 Oct 2026US 12,753,690 B2Vermeer Manufacturing Company
- Communication protocol in directional drilling system, apparatus and method utilizing multi-bit data symbol transmission6 Oct 2026US 12,754,302 B2Merlin Technology, Inc.
- Virtual brake system8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308980 A1The Charles Machine Works, Inc.
- Augers8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308981 A1Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation
- Multiwell pad drilling framework8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308982 A1Schlumberger Technology Corporation
- High voltage electro pulse rock drilling8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308983 A1Epiroc Rock Drills Aktiebolag
- A pulsed power drilling system and method for breaking a mineral substrate by use of microwave radiation for ionizing a fluid volume8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308984 A1Epiroc Rock Drills Aktiebolag
Most cited
By later US patents
- Method and apparatus for conversion of coal in situ366US 4,776,638 AUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation · 1988
- Method and apparatus for sealing the juncture between a vertical well and one or more horizontal wells using deformable sealing means361US 5,388,648 ABaker Hughes Incorporated · 1995
- Coalbed methane drilling359US 5,411,104 AConoco Inc. · 1995
- Downhole combination tool358US 5,064,006 AMagrange, Inc · 1991
- Method of creating a wellbore in an underground formation356US 5,348,095 AShell Oil Company · 1994