THE LONG PATH TO NEW WATER; A REVIEW OF LAB AND FIELD PILOT RESULTS FOR TREATING PRODUCED WATER FROM THE PERMIAN BASIN

The convergence of persistent extreme drought conditions and burgeoning volumes of produced water from the Permian basin have spurred state governments to evaluate the potential of harnessing treated produced water to alleviate future regional water scarcity. In 2019 New Mexico’s Produced Water Act helped to stand up the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium. Texas did the same in 2021 through the creation of the Texas Produced Water Consortium. In 2023 Texas Senate Bill 28 specifically named produced water as a potential investment source to help the state find seven million acre-feet of new water. New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham advocates for the creation of a Strategic Water Supply consisting of treated brackish and produced waters.

This talk discusses work performed by NGL Energy Partners surrounding the treatment of Permian basin produced water. The talk will include baseline data on raw PW and the neighboring Pecos river, lab scale treatment, our field pilot and crop study. We will also discuss our TPDES permit for discharging treated produced water into Red Bluff Reservoir.