As Scarcity Hits, Water Tech Flows In

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lthough the oil and gas boom in the United States owes much of its suc-cess to the abundance of cheap sources of fresh water, the status quo is beginning to change. Groundwater remains the main source of water for most onshore explo-ration and production companies; how-ever, they are increasingly investing in produced and flowback water- treatment technologies. Many of the same compa-nies are also turning to brackish water sources in places where freshwater aqui-fers are becoming depleted, such as the Permian Basin that spans west Texas and eastern New Mexico. Brackish water, sometimes called fossil water, has less salt content than seawater, making it cheaper to treat, and is typically found in the same areas where hydrocarbons are?developed.

The Fasken Oil and Ranch in Mid-land, Texas, relies on produced-water recycling and brackish water for nearly all of its oil and gas operations at its pri-mary operating area. In August, a larger operator in the area called to buy pro-duced water from Fasken, said Jimmy Davis, operations manager at the family-owned oil company.

The friendly request exemplifies the increasingly desperate water situ-ation that oil companies are facing in the Permian Basin, one of the most pro-

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