Chevron U.S.A. Inc. has secured a major milestone in the Oil and Gas, and Non-Renewable Power Generation industry with a newly patented mechanical configuration for drilling rigs. This innovation focuses on a recently awarded patent, titled ‘Casing running rotary inserts’. The patent describes a casing running rotary insert that includes a base having a first aperture that traverses therethrough.

Optimizing Casing Equipment Alignment

The casing running rotary insert can also include a rotary table engagement feature that extends from a bottom surface of the base. This rotary table engagement feature is configured to engage a complementary feature of a rotary table to fix a position of the base relative to the rotary table. Furthermore, the aperture in the base is configured to align with a second aperture in the rotary table when the rotary table engagement feature is engaged with the complementary feature of the rotary table. The casing running rotary insert can further include a casing bowl engagement feature that extends from a top surface of the base, where the casing bowl engagement feature is configured to engage a casing bowl to fix a position of the casing bowl relative to the base.

Award-Winning Outstanding Invention

This development was named Swanson Reed’s Patent of the Month for the Oil and Gas, and Non-Renewable Power Generation industry in January 2026. It earned this recognition because it is an outstanding invention that significantly mitigates operational risks, improves mechanical alignment, and enhances overall rig efficiency during complex casing running operations.

Meeting U.S. R&D Tax Credit Rules

The development of these casing running rotary inserts is a textbook example of qualified research activities under the U.S. R&D Tax Credit (IRC Section 41). To qualify, the research must satisfy the IRS Four-Part Test:

• Permitted Purpose: Chevron’s goal was to improve the performance, reliability, and safety of the engagement between the casing bowl and the rotary table.
• Technological in Nature: The development fundamentally relies on hard sciences, specifically mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and physics.
• Elimination of Uncertainty: At the onset, there was technical uncertainty regarding the optimal geometric configuration of the engagement features and how they would distribute rotational loads and stress.
• Process of Experimentation: The engineering team would have undergone iterative processes—such as 3D modeling, stress simulations, and physical prototyping—to test various base and aperture alignments before arriving at the final patented design.

3 Practical Applications Qualifying for R&D Credits

Here are three practical examples of how the engineering behind this patent translates into qualifying R&D activities:

1. Prototyping and Load Testing: Designing, building, and physically testing prototypes of the rotary table engagement feature to evaluate how much torque and operational stress the base can withstand before failure. Evaluating these alternative designs directly qualifies as a process of experimentation.
2. Metallurgical Analysis and Material Selection: Conducting engineering studies to select and test high-strength alloys or composite materials for the “top surface” casing bowl engagement feature. Researching materials to prevent shearing or deformation under heavy loads addresses the elimination of uncertainty.
3. Custom Alignment Engineering for Varied Rigs: Systematically developing custom geometric alignments for the first and second apertures to ensure the insert can be seamlessly integrated with next-generation or automated rotary tables. The iterative engineering required to match different rig architectures satisfies the permitted purpose and experimentation requirements.