Patent decision

BL number
O/408/12
Concerning rights in
GB0922596.2
Hearing Officer
Mr A Bartlett
Decision date
18 October 2012
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
Logined BV
Provisions discussed
PA 1977 Section 1(2)
Keywords
Excluded fields (refused)
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The application relates to a method for optimising wellbore production given various constraints. In the first step of the methodology, information is provided on the geological structure from which the hydrocarbons are to be extracted. The macroscopic flow in the reservoir is then modelled using a set of 3-dimensional cuboid elements. Optimised completions (the operations needed to convert the borehole into a productive well) are determined for each cuboid. A Figure of Merit (i.e. Total Net Value) is then determined. An iterative process is then run to optimise the Figure of Merit by repeatedly running the simulator for different Field Development Plans until convergence criteria are met.

The Hearing Officer found that in contrast to the method for designing drill bits deemed patentable in Halliburton, a computer implemented method of developing plans for drilling for, and extracting, oil or gas was too abstract a concept for it to be said to provide a technical contribution. He therefore refused the application as relating to a program for a computer as such. In doing so he applied the four-step Aerotel test and found that the invention did not represent something “specific and external to the computer” in contrast to the invention in Halliburton (where the method concerned determining the technical specification for a tangible, technical item).

Full decision O/408/12 PDF document68Kb