Nalco stopped from testing refinery work

Baker Hughes Inc., the world's third-largest oilfield-services provider, won a U.S. court order that prevents Nalco Holding Co. from testing a process at a Sunoco Inc. refinery in Philadelphia.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston ruled Sept. 11 that Nalco can't use a specific method to remove impurities such as calcium from crude oil that are similar to a process described in a Baker Hughes patent. The order remains in effect until a trial can be held on the dispute.

Baker claimed Nalco is trying to steal Sunoco as a customer while using Baker's patented process. Houston-based Baker sued Nalco in June, asking the judge to block it from using the process. In granting that request, Hoyt said Baker was likely to win its patent-infringement claims against Nalco.

Nalco, based in Naperville, is the world's biggest maker of water purification equipment and is partly owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Sunoco's Philadelphia refinery has a capacity of 330,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Schlumberger Ltd. is the world's biggest oilfield-services provider, followed by Halliburton Co.

The case is Baker Hughes Inc. v. Nalco Co., 09-cv-01885, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).