Comparative analysis on technologies between Chinese and American large‑sized oil companies based on patentometrics

Patent information is critical and important object to reflect differences in technology capacity; the paper makes statistical analysis on structural elements of five large‑sized oil companies from America and China as collected in Derwent Innovations Index, and compare technical similarities and differences between such companies’ patents with visualization tools, by further research on academic classes, Derwent Class Code and co‑occurrence of Manual Code. It is shown from the researches that Chinese enterprises is advantaged in growth in number of patents and cooperation rate, but their patents are characterized by poor influence, less relevance and connection between various disciplines, as well as relatively backward development of patented technology. Finally, according to current status of patents of Chinese and American oil companies, the paper proposes a series of recommendations and countermeasures for improvement in patents quality and future expansion in patented technology by Chinese oil companies.