NPTLabs™ Secures Second Patent, Bolstering Its Leadership in Digital Drilling Fluid Management

Compositional Material Mass Balance

NPTLabs™ has just been awarded its second U.S. digital patent for drilling fluid management and on-site analysis in under 2 minutes using XRF, XRD, and PSD.

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, May 7, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Digital Oilfield (DOF) has taken a major leap forward. NPTLabs™ proudly announces the awarding of its second U.S. patent, a landmark achievement that officially ushers in the era of real-time, digital drilling fluid management.
For decades, the industry has relied on outdated methods like the retort test—a labor-intensive process that hasn’t significantly evolved in over 75 years. NPTLabs' latest innovation replaces that legacy system with a patented platform that combines X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Particle Size Distribution (PSD) to deliver precise, on-site analysis of drilling fluids in under two minutes.

“This is more than a tech upgrade—it’s the redefinition of mud engineering as a digital discipline,” said Jason Norman, Director of New Technology at NPTLabs™. “We’re equipping engineers with immediate, actionable data that eliminates guesswork and boosts operational performance across the board.”

The foundation for this breakthrough began in 2020, when NPTLabs™ (formerly MudLabs™, LLC) launched the first field-deployable Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) and introduced XRF for measuring drilling fluid health and abrasiveness. This award-winning approach has now evolved into a comprehensive, patented digital ecosystem that allows both lab and rig-site testing via mobile units, delivering near-real-time insights where they are needed most.

Now in the final software development stages, NPTLabs™ is building the first end-to-end digital DOF platform for drilling fluids, capable of unifying XRF, XRD, and PSD data streams into a single, intuitive interface. This system will empower engineers, drilling contractors, and mud specialists to:

• Make real-time adjustments to fluid properties
• Optimize drilling programs with precise data
• Reduce Non-Productive Time (NPT)
• Improve solids control decisions
• Minimize waste and over-treatment
• Accelerate time to total depth (TD)
• Cut costs and improve resource efficiency

“We’re not just analyzing fluids faster—we’re transforming the entire process into a digital-first operation,” said Norman. “No one else in the industry has this patented capability.”

As the oil and gas industry rapidly moves toward full digital integration, NPTLabs™ stands alone as the only company with the patents, tools, and field-proven experience to revolutionize drilling fluid management from lab to rig site.
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