PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15905352
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-02
Publication Date: 2018-08
Patent Classification: ["166", "280100"]

Abstract:
A method of enhancing conductivity within a hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir by building proppant pillars in a spatial arrangement in fractures created or enlarged in the reservoir. Two fluids of differing stability are simultaneously pumped into the reservoir. The fluids may contain identical proppant mixtures which include a first proppant which has an apparent specific gravity less than the apparent specific gravity of a second proppant. The fluids may contain identical proppants mixtures where the average particle size of a first proppant is greater than the average particle size of a second proppant. Vertically extending pillars are created within the formation when the fluids are destabilized and the first proppant is then released from the destabilized fluids. The area between the pillars may be held open by the presence of the second proppant in the remaining fluid. Fluid produced from the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir is then flowed at least partially through channels between the vertically extending pillars.

Claim (Index 19):
A method of increasing the conductivity of a fracture network within a subterranean formation penetrated by a well which comprises:\n (A) after creating one or more fractures in a subterranean formation by subjecting the subterranean formation to a hydraulic fracturing operation, continuously and simultaneously introducing into the well a first aqueous proppant-laden slurry and a second aqueous proppant-laden slurry wherein the first slurry exhibits greater stability than the second slurry and further wherein:\n (iii) the proppant mixture of the first slurry and the proppant mixture of the second slurry are the same and comprises a first proppant and a second proppant wherein the first proppant has an apparent specific gravity greater than the apparent specific gravity of the second proppant; and/or \n (iv) the proppant mixture of the first slurry and the proppant mixture of the second slurry are the same and comprises a first proppant and a second proppant wherein the average particle size of the first proppant is greater than the average particle size of the second proppant; \n (B) releasing the first proppant, after termination of the hydraulic fracturing operation but while the created one or more fractures are open, from the second slurry and while both the second slurry and first slurry are in a static state; (C) forming at least two pillars within the subterranean formation from the second slurry and the first slurry from the first proppant; (D) creating a conductive channel between the at least two pillars; and (E) maintaining the conductive channel between the at least two pillars with the second proppant remaining in the first slurry and the second slurry.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 50.0
- Percentile: 88.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.03797
- Patent Class: 166.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: none
- Component Type: 0
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15161226', '14494030', '12248773', '13782952', '13491837']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8248728484964528
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5964685169808055
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.8020324153448881
- Mean Citation Score: 392.23339
- Max Citation Score: 555.5139
- Similarity Product: 463.4999039807439

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

Dataset: test