Cy-Fair man receives patent for new proppant for gas wells

A man from the Cy-Fair area has received a U.S. patent for his work with a team that invented a new kind of chemical proppant for use in wells for natural gas.

When engineers are working on natural gas wells (and some oil wells), they use chemical compositions called proppants that help them break through the earth and obtain the valuable commodity. New kinds of proppants are constantly being sought in order to deal with the various conditions that can occur in wells. The inventors claim that for the right circumstances, theirs is less expensive and more environmentally friendly.

The patent credits a nationwide team with the invention. The Houston contributors are Russell J. Smith, John R. Loscutova, Elizbeth A. Whitsitt, Christopher E. Coker (from the Cy-Fair area) and Andrew R. Barron (from Heights). Other inventors are Mark Wiesner of Raleigh, North Carolina; Stephen A. Constantino of Reading, Pennsylvania; and Rajendra K. Bordia of Seattle, Washington. The official patent number is 7,883,773, and it was originally filed on Oct. 16, 2008. It was approved on Feb. 8 of this year.

The patent's owner is listed as Houston-based Oxane Materials. Oxane is a nanoproducts company that focuses on the energy industry. Its offices are located at 467 W. 38th St.