E21B 7/12
Underwater drilling
Official title: Underwater drilling (using heave compensators E21B19/09)
E21B7/12 (Underwater drilling) appears on 524 US grants and 370 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in E21B- Granted patents
- 524
- Published applications
- 370
- Assignees
- 253
- Inventors
- 896
- Latest grant
- 29 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 17 | 0 |
| 1977 | 16 | 0 |
| 1978 | 12 | 0 |
| 1979 | 13 | 0 |
| 1980 | 15 | 0 |
| 1981 | 10 | 0 |
| 1982 | 7 | 0 |
| 1983 | 9 | 0 |
| 1984 | 12 | 0 |
| 1985 | 9 | 0 |
| 1986 | 7 | 0 |
| 1987 | 3 | 0 |
| 1988 | 12 | 0 |
| 1989 | 8 | 0 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | 8 | 0 |
| 1992 | 6 | 0 |
| 1993 | 7 | 0 |
| 1994 | 3 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| 1996 | 6 | 0 |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 |
| 1998 | 3 | 0 |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 |
| 2001 | 7 | 2 |
| 2002 | 10 | 1 |
| 2003 | 3 | 10 |
| 2004 | 6 | 12 |
| 2005 | 3 | 8 |
| 2006 | 11 | 6 |
| 2007 | 5 | 5 |
| 2008 | 4 | 10 |
| 2009 | 3 | 8 |
| 2010 | 6 | 11 |
| 2011 | 7 | 9 |
| 2012 | 3 | 14 |
| 2013 | 6 | 28 |
| 2014 | 23 | 28 |
| 2015 | 33 | 43 |
| 2016 | 39 | 27 |
| 2017 | 26 | 27 |
| 2018 | 17 | 26 |
| 2019 | 31 | 23 |
| 2020 | 14 | 18 |
| 2021 | 20 | 13 |
| 2022 | 16 | 14 |
| 2023 | 11 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 | 8 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 |
| 2026 | 7 | 6 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
Recent patents
- Systems and methods for heave compensation29 Sep 2026US 12,747,635 B2Schlumberger Technology Corporation
- Fasteners for an underwater drilling assembly18 Aug 2026US 12,709,366 B2Resolve Marine Group, Inc.
- Hybrid seabed seismic acquisition geometry using a combination of nodes and autonomous underwater vehicles30 Jun 2026US 12,669,628 B2Saudi Arabian Oil Company
- Vehicle for installing anchors in an underwater substrate2 Jun 2026US 12,643,642 B2Other Lab, LLC
- Well drilling device for undersea in-situ exploitation of natural gas hydrate26 May 2026US 12,637,926 B2Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion
- Air-bleed assembly for an underwater drilling assembly25 Jun 2026US 2026/0176927 A1Resolve Marine Group, Inc.
- Frame for an underwater drilling assembly8 Jan 2026US 2026/0008527 A1Resolve Marine Group, Inc.
- Fasteners for an underwater drilling assembly8 Jan 2026US 2026/0008528 A1Resolve Marine Group, Inc.
- Latchable flange for an underwater drilling assembly8 Jan 2026US 2026/0008529 A1Resolve Marine Group, Inc.
- Waste cartridge for an underwater drilling assembly8 Jan 2026US 2026/0008530 A1Resolve Marine Group, Inc.
Most cited
By later US patents
- Method and apparatus for deepwater drilling283US 4,813,495 AConoco Inc. · 1989
- Dynamically positioned, concentric riser, drilling method and apparatus213US 6,273,193 B1Transocean Sedco Forex, Inc. · 2001
- Gas lift system for marine drilling riser149US 4,099,583 AExxon Production Research Company · 1978
- Drilling fluid diverter system146US 4,063,602 AExxon Production Research Company · 1977
- Drilling system and method for controlling equivalent circulating density during drilling of wellbores105US 7,270,185 B2Baker Hughes Incorporated · 2007