Oil and Gas Digitalisation: Overcoming §101 to Obtain Valuable Patents

The oil and gas industry is facing uncertainty and rapid change. Low prices are forcing companies to increase efficiency, and many companies are producing more costly and technologically complex resources. Further, the industry is facing the imminent “Great Crew Change,” in which up to 50% of its engineers and geoscientists may retire within the next few years.

Digital technologies, including big data and artificial intelligence (AI), are important tools to address these challenges. Digitalisation promises increased efficiency, improved safety, and reduced costs and staffing, with the World Economic Forum estimating it has the capacity to unlock around $1.6 trillion in value for oil and gas companies. Industry analysts believe that digital technologies can reduce capital expenditures by up to 20% and cut operating costs in upstream by 3-5% and half that in downstream. When even a 1% gain in capital productivity “could help offset the cumulative net loss of $35 billion reported by listed upstream, oilfield services, and integrated companies worldwide in 2016,” digitalisation may prove to be the industry’s saving grace.

In this article, Finnegan attorneys discuss how oil and gas companies can overcome Section 101 and obtain patents covering digital technologies and AI.

Read the full article here.