DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The Applicant’s amendments, filed July 6, ,2026, have been fully considered.
The objection to the Abstract, mailed March 4, 2026, has been overcome by the Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of Claim 18 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), mailed March 4, 2026, has been overcome by the Applicant’s amendments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-2, 5-7, 14-16, 18, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the wellbore" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 5-7, 14-16, 18-21, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (CN 111827954 A).
Claim 1. Liu discloses A method for hydraulic fracturing (Abstract; Summary of the Invention “continuous-pulse hydraulic fracturing method”), comprising:
applying a dynamic load via a fluid in the wellbore to primary fractures in a reservoir to generate secondary fractures along the primary fractures by varying a pumping rate of the fluid (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b); Figs. 5, 6A-8B; pp. 2-3 Summary of the Invention: “The high-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse form (continuous pulsed shock wave form) to form the main fracture; and then the low-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse to communicate with the micro-fractures around the main fracture (to create secondary (micro-fractures; cracks), forming a network of fractures”;
p. 4 ¶10 “In the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method provided by the present invention, a continuous shock wave can be formed by changing the frequency and intensity of the continuous pulse to impact the reservoir, so that the micro-fractures in the reservoir can be opened, and then a complex fracture network is formed, which expands the impact of the fracture’s volume, improve the transformation effect, and reduce construction risks;”
p. 4 ¶11 “In addition, in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, according to the characteristics of the reservoir, variable displacement and alternate pumping are adopted, and the fracturing fluid is injected in the form of shock waves through a frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device to create fractures; The frequency and intensity form a continuous shock wave to maintain the pressure in the well, so that it cannot be released in time, so that new fractures continue to be generated, thereby realizing the formation of a complex fracture network at a lower displacement and reducing the construction risk.”
p. 5 ¶1 “Among them, in the present invention, the intensity of the continuous pulse can be changed by adjusting the displacement and pressure of the fracturing fluid injected into the formation on the ground, and those skilled in the art know how to adjust the pressure injected into the formation on the ground. The volume and pressure of the fracture fluid can be used to change the intensity of the continuous pulse.”;
p. 5 ¶2 “in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, first, the high-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse form (continuous pulse shock wave form) to form the main fracture; and then in continuous pulse form inject low-viscosity fracturing fluid into the formation to communicate with the micro-fractures around the main fracture (creating secondary micro-fractures) to form a fracture network”); and
extracting hydrocarbons from the wellbore via the secondary fractures in the reservoir (Figs. 1, 5; “The fracture network system (the schematic diagram of the fracture network system is shown in Figure 5) fully improves the fracture conductivity and increases the reservoir recovery”).
Claim 2. Liu discloses The method of claim 1, comprising generating the primary fractures along an entire length of the wellbore (Fig. 3).
Claim 5. Liu discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic load is generated using a pulse-generating device (1) to oscillate pressure in the wellbore (“frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device”).
Claim 6. Liu discloses The method of claim 5, wherein the pulse-generating device comprises an electrohydraulic fracturing device (p. 2 Summary of the Invention: “The high-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in the form of continuous pulses (in the form of continuous pulsed shock waves) to form main fractures; secondary micro-cracks), forming a network of cracks”).
Claim 7. Liu discloses The method of claim 5. Regarding the limitation: wherein the pulse-generating device comprises a mechanically controlled flap in the wellbore, Liu discloses that the frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device is a conventional device used in the field, such as the device provided in Chinese patent application CN107024393A or CN103196762A (p. 5 ¶7); both prior art references describe pulse generation devices incorporating mechanical valve assemblies that may be used to control / regulate the pulse generation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize a pulse-generating device with a valve assembly as an obvious matter of design choice in order to mechanically control / regulate the pulse generation in Liu.
Claim 14. Liu discloses The method of claim 1, wherein a frequency of the applied dynamic load is within a range of 0.01 to 10 kilohertz (p. 4 ¶3 “in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, preferably, the frequency of the continuous pulse is 0.01-35 Hz”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the frequency range in Liu to the range as claimed, because it has been held that “where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F. 2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Moreover, where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ 2d 1934 (MPEP § 2144.05 I).
Claim 15. Liu discloses The method of claim 1, wherein an amplitude of the applied dynamic load is within a range of 0.1 to 100 megaPascals (MPa) (p. 4 ¶4 “in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, preferably, the peak intensity of the continuous pulse is 20-80 MPa.”).
Claim 16. Liu discloses The method of claim 1. Liu does not expressly disclose wherein a characteristic of the applied dynamic load is based on a length of the wellbore. However, Liu does disclose that a continuous shock wave can be formed by changing the frequency and intensity of the continuous pulse to impact the reservoir, so that the micro-fractures in the reservoir can be opened, and then a complex fracture network is formed; wherein the fracture network system fully improves the fracture conductivity and increases the reservoir recovery. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to consider the length of the wellbore in connection with the targeted zone(s) to optimize the frequency and intensity of the continuous pulse based on choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success. KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007).
Claim 18. Liu discloses The method of claim 1, comprising applying the dynamic load to the wellbore to generate a frequency-dependent wellbore response; and characterizing a volume of the primary fractures based on the frequency-dependent wellbore response (p. 4 ¶10 “In the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method provided by the present invention, a continuous shock wave can be formed by changing the frequency and intensity of the continuous pulse to impact the reservoir, so that the micro-fractures in the reservoir can be opened, and then a complex fracture network is formed, which expands the impact of the fracture’s volume, improve the transformation effect, and reduce construction risks;” p. 4 ¶11 “In addition, in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, according to the characteristics of the reservoir, variable displacement and alternate pumping are adopted, and the fracturing fluid is injected in the form of shock waves through a frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device to create fractures; The frequency and intensity form a continuous shock wave to maintain the pressure in the well, so that it cannot be released in time, so that new fractures continue to be generated, thereby realizing the formation of a complex fracture network at a lower displacement and reducing the construction risk.” p. 5 ¶1 “Among them, in the present invention, the intensity of the continuous pulse can be changed by adjusting the displacement and pressure of the fracturing fluid injected into the formation on the ground, and those skilled in the art know how to adjust the pressure injected into the formation on the ground. The volume and pressure of the fracture fluid can be used to change the intensity of the continuous pulse.”).
Claim 19. Liu discloses A well, comprising: a wellbore (6 “oil pipe”) within a reservoir (“formation”) comprising a plurality of primary hydraulic fractures (Fig. 1); and a dynamic loading device (1 “frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device”) to generate secondary hydraulic fractures in the reservoir by
applying a dynamic load via a fluid to the primary fractures via the wellbore by varying a pumping rate of the fluid (Figs. 5, 6A-8B; pp. 2-3 Summary of the Invention: “The high-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse form (continuous pulsed shock wave form) to form the main fracture; and then the low-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse to communicate with the micro-fractures around the main fracture (to create secondary (micro-fractures; cracks), forming a network of fractures”;
p. 4 ¶10 “In the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method provided by the present invention, a continuous shock wave can be formed by changing the frequency and intensity of the continuous pulse to impact the reservoir, so that the micro-fractures in the reservoir can be opened, and then a complex fracture network is formed, which expands the impact of the fractures. volume, improve the transformation effect, and reduce construction risks;”
p. 4 ¶11 “In addition, in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, according to the characteristics of the reservoir, variable displacement and alternate pumping are adopted, and the fracturing fluid is injected in the form of shock waves through a frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device to create fractures; The frequency and intensity form a continuous shock wave to maintain the pressure in the well, so that it cannot be released in time, so that new fractures continue to be generated, thereby realizing the formation of a complex fracture network at a lower displacement and reducing the construction risk.”
p. 5 ¶1 “Among them, in the present invention, the intensity of the continuous pulse can be changed by adjusting the displacement and pressure of the fracturing fluid injected into the formation on the ground, and those skilled in the art know how to adjust the pressure injected into the formation on the ground. The volume and pressure of the fracture fluid can be used to change the intensity of the continuous pulse.”;
p. 5 ¶2 “in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, first, the high-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse form (continuous pulse shock wave form) to form the main fracture; and then in continuous pulse form inject low-viscosity fracturing fluid into the formation to communicate with the micro-fractures around the main fracture (creating secondary micro-fractures) to form a fracture network”).
Claim 20. Liu discloses The well of claim 19, wherein the dynamic loading device (1) comprises a pulse-generating device (“frequency-adjustable hydraulic continuous pulse device”).
Claim 21. Liu discloses The well of claim 19, wherein the dynamic loading device (1) comprises an electrohydraulic fracturing device (p. 5 ¶2 “in the continuous pulse hydraulic fracturing method, first, the high-viscosity fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in continuous pulse form (continuous pulse shock wave form) to form the main fracture; and then in continuous pulse form inject low-viscosity fracturing fluid into the formation to communicate with the micro-fractures around the main fracture (creating secondary micro-fractures) to form a fracture network”).
Claim 25. Liu discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the secondary fractures comprise bedding- parallel delaminations, bedding-perpendicular tensile cracks, or both (Figs. 3, 5).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, filed July 6, 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for the reasons explained in the Office action, above, and the rationale(s), below.
Regarding the limitation: applying a dynamic load via a fluid in the wellbore to primary fractures in a reservoir to generate secondary fractures along the primary fractures by varying a pumping rate of the fluid, Liu discloses that the intensity of the continuous pulse can be changed by adjusting the displacement and pressure of the fracturing fluid injected into the formation, and the volume and pressure of the fracture fluid can be used to change the intensity of the continuous pulse (p. 5 ¶1). Contrary to the Applicant’s arguments, the term continuous does not exclude variations of injection rate / pressure / volume. The Office considers this disclosure to sufficiently render obvious the claimed limitation.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/CRYSTAL J LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1738
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