US Patent 9803467 Well screen-out prediction and prevention

A method of monitoring an energy industry operation includes: collecting measurement data in real time during an energy industry operation; automatically analyzing the measurement data by a processor, wherein analyzing includes generating a measurement data pattern indicating the values of a parameter as a function of depth or time; automatically comparing the measurement data pattern to a reference data pattern generated based on historical data relating to a previously performed operation having a characteristic common to the operation; predicting whether an undesirable condition will occur during the operation based on the comparison; and based on the processor predicting that the undesirable condition will occur, estimating a time at which the undesirable condition is predicted to occur, and automatically performing a remedial action to prevent the undesirable condition from occurring.