Patents by Inventor William D. Holcomb

William D. Holcomb 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: 10240447
    Abstract: A method of distributing proppant in a spatial arrangement throughout a created or enlarged fracture by pumping into a subterranean formation penetrated by a well multiple stages of fracturing fluid wherein a fluid laden with proppant is pumped into the well and a fluid substantially free of proppant is then pumped into the well; the fluid of the fluid laden with proppant and the fluid substantially free of proppant being the same. Vertically extending pillars are created within the formation. Fluid produced from the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir is then flowed at least partially through channels between the vertically extending pillars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Baker Hughes, a GE company, LLC
    Inventors: D. V. Satyanarayana Gupta, Jimie DeVon Lemons, William D. Holcomb, Harold Dean Brannon
  • Patent number: 10036233
    Abstract: An embodiment of a method of performing an energy industry operation includes: collecting historical data relating to one or more previously performed operations having a characteristic common to both the one or more previously performed operations and a proposed operation; planning the proposed operation based on the historical data, the proposed operation associated with one or more operational parameters; performing the proposed operation; measuring a condition during performance of the proposed operation and comparing the measured condition to the historical data; and automatically adjusting the one or more operational parameters based on the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES, A GE COMPANY, LLC
    Inventors: Weiting Tang, Blake C. Burnette, William D. Holcomb, Scott G. Nelson, Yong N. Kang
  • Patent number: 9803467
    Abstract: A method of monitoring an energy industry operation includes: collecting measurement data in real time during an energy industry operation; automatically analyzing the measurement data by a processor, wherein analyzing includes generating a measurement data pattern indicating the values of a parameter as a function of depth or time; automatically comparing the measurement data pattern to a reference data pattern generated based on historical data relating to a previously performed operation having a characteristic common to the operation; predicting whether an undesirable condition will occur during the operation based on the comparison; and based on the processor predicting that the undesirable condition will occur, estimating a time at which the undesirable condition is predicted to occur, and automatically performing a remedial action to prevent the undesirable condition from occurring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES
    Inventors: Weiting Tang, Blake C. Burnette, Scott G. Nelson, William D. Holcomb, Yong N. Kang
  • Publication number: 20160273346
    Abstract: A method of monitoring an energy industry operation includes: collecting measurement data in real time during an energy industry operation; automatically analyzing the measurement data by a processor, wherein analyzing includes generating a measurement data pattern indicating the values of a parameter as a function of depth or time; automatically comparing the measurement data pattern to a reference data pattern generated based on historical data relating to a previously performed operation having a characteristic common to the operation; predicting whether an undesirable condition will occur during the operation based on the comparison; and based on the processor predicting that the undesirable condition will occur, estimating a time at which the undesirable condition is predicted to occur, and automatically performing a remedial action to prevent the undesirable condition from occurring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Applicant: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Weiting Tang, Blake C. Burnette, Scott G. Nelson, William D. Holcomb, Yong N. Kang
  • Publication number: 20160208595
    Abstract: An embodiment of a method of performing an energy industry operation includes: collecting historical data relating to one or more previously performed operations having a characteristic common to both the one or more previously performed operations and a proposed operation; planning the proposed operation based on the historical data, the proposed operation associated with one or more operational parameters; performing the proposed operation; measuring a condition during performance of the proposed operation and comparing the measured condition to the historical data; and automatically adjusting the one or more operational parameters based on the comparison.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2015
    Publication date: July 21, 2016
    Applicant: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Weiting Tang, Blake C. Burnette, William D. Holcomb, Scott G. Nelson, Yong N. Kang
  • Publication number: 20150316048
    Abstract: A method of delivering fluids into an underground geological formation to promote formation breakdown includes inputting, into a user interface, one or more geological formation parameters, inputting, into the user interface, one or more wellbore parameters, inputting, into the user interface, one or more fluid injection parameters, and calculating a desired breakdown pumping style based on each of the one or more geological formation parameters, one or more wellbore parameters, and one or more fluid injection parameters to promote geological formation breakdown.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Applicant: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Blake C. Burnette, Weiting Tang, William D. Holcomb, Scott G. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20150083420
    Abstract: A method of distributing proppant in a spatial arrangement throughout a created or enlarged fracture by pumping into a subterranean formation penetrated by a well multiple stages of fracturing fluid wherein a fluid laden with proppant is pumped into the well and a fluid substantially free of proppant is then pumped into the well; the fluid of the fluid laden with proppant and the fluid substantially free of proppant being the same. Vertically extending pillars are created within the formation. Fluid produced from the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir is then flowed at least partially through channels between the vertically extending pillars.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Inventors: D.V. Satyanarayana Gupta, Jimie DeVon Lemons, William D. Holcomb, Harold Dean Brannon