PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15761338
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-03
Publication Date: 2018-10
Patent Classification: ["166", "280200"]

Abstract:
A method of fracturing a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore surrounded by a casing having one or more openings therein adjacent to the formation is provided. In one embodiment, a spacer fluid is pumped into the formation together with a proppant slurry to separate and space the non-degradable proppant particulates in the fracture. The spacer fluid includes degradable food grade particulates that degrade and form proppant free channels in the fracture. In a second embodiment, degradable food grade particulates are used to increase the permeability of a proppant pack.

Claim (Index 18):
A method of fracturing a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore surrounded by a casing having one or more openings therein adjacent to the formation, comprising:\n (a) creating at least one fracture in the formation by pumping a fluid into the formation at a pressure above the fracture gradient of the formation; (b) providing an aqueous based proppant slurry, said proppant slurry including water, a cross-linkable gelling agent, a cross-linker, a gel breaker, a plurality of non-degradable proppant particulates, and a degradable material, said non-degradable proppant particulates being coated with a consolidating agent, and said degradable material including a plurality of degradable food grade particulates; (c) pumping said proppant slurry into the formation at a pressure above the fracture gradient of the formation such that said cross-linking gelling agent cross-links to form a cross-linked gel and increase the viscosity of said proppant slurry, and said proppant slurry is placed in said fracture; (d) allowing said cross-linked gel to break down thereby decreasing the viscosity of a proppant slurry; (e) allowing said non-degradable proppant particulates to consolidate into a proppant pack in said fracture; (f) allowing the pressure within the fracture to fall below said fracture gradient of the formation; (g) allowing said degradable material of said proppant slurry to degrade; and (h) flowing back the well to remove the broken gel in said proppant slurry and degraded material from the fracture thereby increasing the permeability of said proppant pack.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 50.0
- Percentile: 90.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.65517
- Patent Class: 166.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['14963036', '13926141', '15759197', '15772795', '12950226']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.82004655623186
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5166500380988689
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.789706904418561
- Mean Citation Score: 316.117744
- Max Citation Score: 361.74838
- Similarity Product: 302.6543722328829

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 0
- Claim Label 112: 0
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test