La Porte inventor patents new sand screening method for oil wells

A La Porte inventor is among a team of inventors who recently received a U.S. Patent for a new method of protecting oil from sand during a drilling operation.

Two Katy men are among a team of inventors who recently received a U.S. Patent for a new method of protecting oil from sand during a drilling operation.

Many kinds of "sand control screens" have been tried to prevent dirt and debris from entering oil and natural gas as they flow up from the earth's surface. The device described by the patent does so through the use of a material that expands when it comes into contact with a fluid and blocks out the sand. The inventors claim that it avoids many of the problems associated with existing methods, such as using packed gravel to separate the oil or gas from the dirt. The new method also has the advantage of being possible to use in horizontal wells.

The inventors of the new sand control screen are listed as Ronald G. Dusterhoft of Katy; Kim Vance Thornton of the Memorial area of Houston; Carl Bismarck Ferguson of La Porte; Tommy Frank Grigsby of Katy; Floyd Randolph Simonds of Dallas; and William Mark Richards of Frisco, Texas. The official patent number is 7,866,383, and it was originally filed on Aug. 29, 2008. The owner of the patent is listed as Halliburton Energy Services Inc.

Halliburton is one of the world's largest energy services companies. Its headquarters are located in the Aldine area of Houston at 3000 N. Sam Houston Parkway E.