The oil and gas industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation. Activity driven by the need to improve operational efficiency, safety and environmental performance, and growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance, and digital twins. In the last three years alone, there have been over 534,000 patents filed and granted in the oil & gas industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Environment Sustainability in Oil & Gas: Natural gas CO2 capturing. Buy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 256,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the oil and gas industry, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Natural gas CO2 capturing is a key innovation area in environmental sustainability

CO2 is essentially captured before it enters atmosphere. This can be done either at pre-combustion stage, or post-combustion stage. One more method is capturing CO2 from oxy-combustion process. 

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 40+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established oil & gas companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of natural gas CO2 capturing.

Key players in natural gas CO2 capturing – a disruptive innovation in the oil and gas industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to natural gas CO2 capturing

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Exxon Mobil 295 Unlock Company Profile
RAG-Stiftung 164 Unlock Company Profile
Honeywell International 136 Unlock Company Profile
Air Liquide 132 Unlock Company Profile
BASF 59 Unlock Company Profile
Linde 50 Unlock Company Profile
Saudi Arabian Oil 34 Unlock Company Profile
TotalEnergies 32 Unlock Company Profile
IFP Energies nouvelles 32 Unlock Company Profile
Schlumberger 30 Unlock Company Profile
Arkema 23 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson Matthey 23 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 22 Unlock Company Profile
Halliburton 21 Unlock Company Profile
General Electric 21 Unlock Company Profile
Haldor Topsoe Holding 21 Unlock Company Profile
Shell 19 Unlock Company Profile
Iogen 18 Unlock Company Profile
Petroliam Nasional Bhd 18 Unlock Company Profile
Dow 16 Unlock Company Profile
1304338 Alberta 16 Unlock Company Profile
JGC Holdings 15 Unlock Company Profile
Pilot Energy Solutions 15 Unlock Company Profile
Fujifilm Holdings 14 Unlock Company Profile
Calix 13 Unlock Company Profile
Air Products and Chemicals 11 Unlock Company Profile
Eni 11 Unlock Company Profile
Chevron U. S. A 11 Unlock Company Profile
Rosneft Oil 9 Unlock Company Profile
Baker Hughes 9 Unlock Company Profile
Dangote Industries 9 Unlock Company Profile
Aker Solutions 8 Unlock Company Profile
3M 8 Unlock Company Profile
G4 Insights 8 Unlock Company Profile
Ceca 8 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Chemical Group 7 Unlock Company Profile
Maire Tecnimont 7 Unlock Company Profile
China Petrochemical 6 Unlock Company Profile
Apache Nitrogen Products 6 Unlock Company Profile
Equinor 5 Unlock Company Profile
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 5 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

ExxonMobil, a leading patent filer, has successfully captured 120M metric tons of carbon dioxide. The company has also collaborated with University of California to design and develop a new metal-organic framework material for CO2 capturing.

Air Liquide Engineering and Construction, another key patent filer, uses a Cryocap that operates under low temperatures to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% during hydrogen production while simultaneously boosting the production of hydrogen by 20%.

Honeywell International is using its technologies to capture 1.65M tons of CO2 annually from a gasification plant, while simultaneously producing clean hydrogen energy.

CO2 capturing is increasingly becoming a necessity for many oil and gas companies as they continue to seek to reduce emissions from their operations. New innovations and technologies in CO2 capturing will help companies to cut dangerous emissions and mitigate climate change.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the oil & gas industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Top 20 Oil & Gas Themes 2022.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.