$98 million patent infringement
15 Apr 2002
Halliburton Energy Services has been found guilty of infringing BJ Services' patented method for fracturing oil and gas formations with a low polymer fracturing fluid, which BJ markets as Vistar.
A Federal court jury in Houston, Texas found that Halliburton's competing system, known as Phoenix, infringed BJ's patent and that BJ's patent was valid. As a result, the jury has awarded BJ the sum of $98 million in damages.
In light of the jury's finding, the Court will issue a permanent injunction prohibiting Halliburton from continuing to sell or offer for sale its Phoenix system.
'We are surprised and disappointed by this result. We will appeal the verdict because we continue to believe that the patent is invalid,' said Dave Lesar, chairman, the president and chief executive officer of Halliburton.
'We already have other fracturing fluids that we are currently using in our fracturing business which provide similar results, and we will be expanding our use of these other fluids in place of the Phoenix fluid which is used primarily in South Texas and the Rocky Mountains. We do not expect an adverse reaction from our customers or that the loss of the Phoenix fluid will have a significant impact on our overall energy services business,' he concluded.
