Patents by Inventor Kelly D. Crawford

Kelly D. Crawford has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6236894
    Abstract: A computer system and method of operating the same to optimize the operating conditions of a petroleum production field, in which a plurality of wells are arranged according to drill sites, and connected to one or more central processing facilities, is disclosed. In this disclosed embodiment, gas compression capacity is a significant constraint on the operation of the complex production field, and surface line hydraulic effects of well production are to be considered in the optimization. A genetic algorithm is used to generate, and iteratively evaluate solution vectors, which are combinations of field operating parameters such as incremental gas-oil ratio cutoff and formation gas-oil ratio cutoff values. The evaluation includes the operation of an adaptive network to determine production header pressures, followed by modification of well output estimates to account for changes in the production header pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: Atlantic Richfield Company
    Inventors: Richard F. Stoisits, Kelly D. Crawford, Donald J. MacAllister, Michael D. McCormack