Fluid-sampling method for oil and gas wells earns patent for Cy-Fair inventor

An inventor from the Cy-Fair area of Houston received a U.S. patent last week for being part of a team credited with a new device for sampling fluids in boreholes for oil and gas wells.

When drilling for oil and gas, it is often necessary to investigate fluids in the earth formation where the will is being built. According to the patent, a problem with previous methods for sampling that fluid was that the pressure and temperature of the sample could change as it ascends to the surface. The new sampling apparatus solves the problem by keeping the fluid in a pressurized chamber.

The inventors of the device listed in the patent are all from Texas. They are Cyrus A. Irani of the Cy-Fair area, Adam D. Wright of McKinney, Charles M. MacPhail of Little Elm and Vincent P. Zeller of Flower Mound. The official number for the patent is 7,874,206 and it was originally filed on Dec. 6, 2007. The patent is owned by Halliburton Energy Services Inc.

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