Innovative Thinkers

Michael Fripp has remained consistent as an innovator throughout his entire life. With more than 350 U.S. patents awarded or pending, and 347 internationally awarded patents, Fripp holds a seven-year world record for oilfield patents.

Fripp’s enthusiasm for science was buoyed by his parents—particularly his father, a NASA research scientist—from a very early age. On family outings and vacations, he remembers quizzing one another with math problems for fun. During his high school years, Fripp worked as an apprentice particle accelerator physicist at the Jefferson National Accelerator, co-authoring his first scientific paper based on his work. He says, “Engineering and science is just who I am.”

He went on to earn a B.S. degree in engineering science and mechanics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, followed by an M.S. degree and a PhD in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Based on his education and training, Fripp spent the early part of his career focused on aeronautics. While studying at MIT, he served as a National Defense Research Fellow at the Space Engineering Research Center. Additionally, he took an engineering internship with the structural-acoustics branch of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where he experimented with controllers in an effort to reduce vibration and noise.

Because of his experience in aeronautics, Fripp initially had reservations when he was offered a position with Halliburton in 2000. The company had a position available in completions research and asked for his help in the development of an HT battery. Fripp accepted the challenge and has been with the company ever since. “I went from working with rockets to working with rocks. The technical challenges of a couple of miles up in space are very similar to the challenges from a couple of miles down a well, including limited power, limited space, the need for reliability and designing for safety,” Fripp explained.

As Halliburton’s chief scientist in completions research, Fripp’s expertise does not stop at completions. He also develops new technologies related to drilling, logging and stimulation. He says, “The excitement is at the intersection and blending of different disciplines.”

Among his many oilfield inventions, some of Fripp’s chief developments have included the dissolvable frac plug and the autonomous inflow control device (AICD). Fripp says that the idea for a dissolvable frac plug was hatched after reviewing WWII Navy documents, which identified the various materials and processes that could be used to help preserve equipment. By fundamentally reversing those methods, Fripp was able to formulate various metal and rubber materials for a frac plug that would dissolve over time. Today, dissolvable frac plugs are used commonly in the oil field, as they provide zonal isolation for reservoir stimulations with a substantial reduction in cost, as well as in risk.

Fripp’s AICD design also has had a significant impact on operations related to well completions. By utilizing the inherent properties of fluid mechanics, the tool restricts water and gas production without the use of moving parts or the need for intervention, electronics or control lines. It delays water and gas breakthrough by balancing production across a completion, and restricts the production of these unwanted fluids once breakthrough occurs. Ultimately, the AICD contributes significantly to the recovery of more oil.

With so many of his inventions already being employed in the oil field, Fripp says he looks forward to developing more next-generation technologies. “I am good at starting projects. I am lucky to work with engineers who are good at finishing them,” Fripp said. “I have fun working with a wide range of talented co-workers to develop innovative ideas and new products.”