The priority date of the patent applications collected in this paper is later than 1990 65438+ 10/. This paper mainly analyzes the patent application data in the field of seismic exploration data collection, processing and interpretation in WPI database of derwent World Patent Index and CPRS database of China. By the date of 20 1 1,12,31* *, the number of patent applications related to seismic exploration was 12005, and the number of patented technologies was 3,869. For a series of patent documents appearing in the database in the form of family ("family" here refers to "family" in the same patent family), it is calculated as "1 item".
As shown in figure 1, we can see the development of patent technology in seismic exploration field in recent 20 years. The development of patent technology in the field of seismic exploration showed a wave-like upward trend, until it reached the peak of 372 items in 2009 (the data of 20 10 and 201are still partially unpublished and cannot be counted for the time being), and the annual application volume remained at around 200. The general trend is that the number of items is basically stable and the number of items is obvious. It is predicted that the patented technology of seismic exploration will maintain a stable development trend for a long time to come.
In order to study the distribution of patented technology in seismic exploration countries or regions, the author makes statistics on the collected data according to the countries with the earliest priority in the patent family. As can be seen from Figure 2, the main countries and regions applying for seismic exploration for the first time are the United States (2128,53%), followed by China (747, 19%), and France, Britain, Russia and Norway account for 2% to 8% respectively. The sum of other countries or regions does not exceed 7%. It can be seen that the invention and creation in the field of seismic exploration are mainly accomplished in the United States, and China, France, Britain, Russia and Norway also have certain innovation capabilities in this field.
According to the classification habit of seismic exploration industry and the characteristics of seismic exploration structure and method, it is divided into three technical branches: acquisition, processing and interpretation. In the field of seismic exploration technology, there are as many as 2 167 patent applications related to acquisition, 1 166 patent applications related to processing and 645 patent applications related to interpretation. The collection of applications topped the list.
After searching, there are 997 patent applications in China in the field of seismic exploration acquisition, processing and interpretation, including 727 in China and 270 abroad, accounting for 73% and 27% respectively. The number of domestic applications has exceeded the number of foreign applications to China. It is worth noting that in the field of seismic exploration, only 270 of the global 3 142 patent applications entered China, and more than 86% of the patented technology did not enter China, which shows that foreign applicants did not regard domestic applicants as important competitors, which also left some time and space for China applicants to speed up the research and development of seismic exploration technology.
As can be seen from the changes of domestic and foreign patent applications for seismic exploration technology in China over the years shown in Figure 3, during the period from 199 1 to 2000, the foundation of seismic exploration research and development was weak, and domestic applications remained at a low level below 10 for a long time. Moreover, the number of foreign applications hovered at a low level of less than 20, reflecting that although foreign technologies were in a stage of rapid development, due to various considerations at that time, there was no corresponding patent strategic layout in China. The follow-up research and development of related industries in China can't keep pace with the development of seismic exploration technology in the world, and a large number of equipment depends on imports, so the emphasis on seismic exploration technology and research and development efforts are far from those of foreign counterparts. Since 200 1, the number of domestic applications has increased rapidly and the number of patent applications has increased steadily. At present, it has maintained a strong upward trend. For many years, the number of foreign patent applications in China was basically stable between 1990 in 2002. After 200 1, with the rapid growth of domestic applications, the number of foreign applications to China is also growing slowly. The data shows that foreign technology research and development started early and the research level is high, and foreign applications in China have long-term patent layout.
Field data acquisition accounts for more than 80% of the whole seismic exploration cost, which is the basis of exploration engineering. In the acquisition stage, seismic sources (204, accounting for 34%) and geophones (133, accounting for 22%) account for the largest proportion, the receiving elements are configured as 129 (accounting for 2 1%), and the signal transmission is 72 (accounting for12).
In seismic data processing, 307 patent applications closely related to seismic data processing were screened out, including 25 pre-processing, 28 conventional processing/kloc-0, 68 imaging processing and 94 others. It can be seen that seismic data processing is mainly conventional processing, accounting for half of the total number of applications, followed by imaging processing.
According to the retrieval results, 20 patent applications 120 closely related to seismic data interpretation were screened out, involving 24 structural interpretations, 9 sedimentary interpretations and 69 lithological interpretations. It can be seen that lithology is the main interpretation of seismic data, accounting for 58% of the application.
In the field of seismic exploration, the top five applicants are Schlumberger (52 applications), PGS(47 applications), ExxonMobil (26 applications), Total (18 applications) and CGG (16 applications). These five companies have the core technologies of marine and land exploration.
Data acquisition and processing of seismic exploration is the research and development focus of Schlumberger Company. Schlumberger has branches all over the world, and its leading position in patent application volume, coverage and patent level is unshakable. Schlumberger is a well-deserved patent giant in the field of seismic exploration in the world, and its research and development focuses on seismic source, wireless signal transmission and multi-wave and multi-component processing.
Current CGGVeritas
It is the largest geophysical service company in the world. CGG Company has mastered the core technologies of mechanical seismic source, ocean streamer and wireless transmission of seismic signals. The key equipment widely used in China market, such as geophone, seismograph and ocean streamer, are all purchased from Thussel Company under CGG, which is currently the main supplier and service provider of the three major oil companies in China. Its core technologies, such as MEMS digital geophone and digital seismograph, are in the confidential stage, which is extremely unfavorable to the tracking research and development in China at this stage.
China Petroleum, as the main applicant in the field of seismic exploration in China, has an absolute number of applications in China. In recent years, with PetroChina going abroad and expanding overseas markets, PetroChina has also begun to adopt the way of mergers and acquisitions and gradually carry out global strategic layout, which is very gratifying. The patent applications of China Petroleum are 1 1 1.
Foreign companies that have mastered the core technologies, such as PetroFrance, Geku and Thussel, have already laid out patents in China, and the patent barriers in wireless signal transmission are strict. Foreign companies such as PGS, Thussell, Schluberg and Stat have applied for a large number of patents in China for the control and manufacture of ocean streamers. Foreign applications in China are mainly based on marine exploration, while domestic applications are mainly based on onshore exploration. Several major foreign oil and gas companies have key patents and even core patents in the control and manufacture of ocean streamers, wireless signal transmission, ocean filtering and so on. Combined with a series of applications, their patent layout intention is obvious. However, China's ocean exploration has just started, and there is still a big gap with the international level. There are still significant patent risks in the field of marine exploration.