Oil well orientation method earns patent for Cy-Fair-area men

Two Cy-Fair-area men are among a team of inventors that has received a patent for a new method of orienting tools in oil and gas wells developed for Baker Hughes Inc.

While the popular image of an oil well is a vertical structure, today's wells often are drilled at many different angles, so engineers cannot always easily determine the orientation of an object they have inserted into the well from the surface. The patented device, which includes a pressure-orienting swivel arrangement, helps them to do that.

The inventors listed by the patent are Jeffery Kitzman of Cy-Fair, Justin Vinson of Cy-Fair, Marc Samuelson of Memorial and Wesley Byrne of Midland. The patent is owned by Baker Hughes.

The official patent number for the new device is 7,861,778. It originally was filed on July 15, 2008.

Baker Hughes specializes in technologies designed to help petroleum companies get the greatest value from their wells, as well as offering integrated operations and reservoir consulting. Its global headquarters are located in the River Oaks area at 2929 Allen Parkway, Suite 2100. The company's U.S. division also has offices in the Aldine area at 17015 Aldine Westfield Road.