E21B 7/04
Directional drilling
E21B7/04 (Directional drilling) appears on 4,664 US grants and 4,054 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in E21B- Granted patents
- 4,664
- Published applications
- 4,054
- Assignees
- 1,050
- Inventors
- 5,871
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 20 | 0 |
| 1977 | 24 | 0 |
| 1978 | 14 | 0 |
| 1979 | 14 | 0 |
| 1980 | 15 | 0 |
| 1981 | 32 | 0 |
| 1982 | 15 | 0 |
| 1983 | 32 | 0 |
| 1984 | 33 | 0 |
| 1985 | 36 | 0 |
| 1986 | 30 | 0 |
| 1987 | 42 | 0 |
| 1988 | 34 | 0 |
| 1989 | 56 | 0 |
| 1990 | 37 | 0 |
| 1991 | 51 | 0 |
| 1992 | 54 | 0 |
| 1993 | 43 | 0 |
| 1994 | 53 | 0 |
| 1995 | 72 | 0 |
| 1996 | 59 | 0 |
| 1997 | 47 | 0 |
| 1998 | 71 | 0 |
| 1999 | 69 | 0 |
| 2000 | 80 | 0 |
| 2001 | 88 | 23 |
| 2002 | 97 | 110 |
| 2003 | 83 | 87 |
| 2004 | 77 | 93 |
| 2005 | 72 | 71 |
| 2006 | 75 | 79 |
| 2007 | 73 | 69 |
| 2008 | 54 | 91 |
| 2009 | 53 | 122 |
| 2010 | 66 | 99 |
| 2011 | 67 | 104 |
| 2012 | 93 | 113 |
| 2013 | 102 | 141 |
| 2014 | 96 | 155 |
| 2015 | 117 | 192 |
| 2016 | 150 | 280 |
| 2017 | 178 | 241 |
| 2018 | 197 | 246 |
| 2019 | 266 | 250 |
| 2020 | 278 | 255 |
| 2021 | 279 | 243 |
| 2022 | 223 | 216 |
| 2023 | 221 | 188 |
| 2024 | 221 | 230 |
| 2025 | 233 | 213 |
| 2026 | 172 | 143 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
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.
- Multiwell pad drilling framework8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308982 A1Schlumberger Technology Corporation
- Pipe loader apparatus8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308992 A1The Charles Machine Works, Inc.
- Drilling in hot zones on coiled tubing8 Oct 2026US 2026/0309004 A1Eavor Technologies Inc.
- Systems and methods for autonomous wellbore placement8 Oct 2026US 2026/0309019 A1Schlumberger Technology Corporation
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
- Actively controlled rotary steerable system and method for drilling wells344US 6,092,610 ASchlumberger Technology Corporation · 2000