В Мидленде прошла конференция по утилизации попутной воды в нефтегазовой отрасли

Produced Water Society conference draws oil and gas industry to Midland MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - Hundreds of members of the Produced Water Society gathered at the Bush Convention Center in Midland to share ideas and research on produced water, a byproduct of oil extraction in the Permian Basin. The annual conference brought together guest speakers, experts, and companies from across the oil and gas industry to collaborate on research and possible solutions for managing produced water and finding beneficial uses for it. Jonna Smoot, Permian Basin Chapter President of the Produced Water Society, said the issue is directly tied to oil production. “With oil that comes out of the ground, those two words produced water come up with it,” Smoot said. “So anywhere between 5 to 10 barrels of water come up for every barrel of oil that comes up.” Smoot said treating produced water could reduce the industry’s reliance on freshwater sources. “Treat the water, and you can use it again for fracking, so you’re not pulling freshwater out of the ground to do fracking, which allows us to go deeper and be more efficient in oil extraction processes,” Smoot said. Steve Coffee, President of the Produced Water Society, said the industry’s view of produced water has shifted. “Now it is seen almost as a commodity, much like natural gas was years ago,” Coffee said. “We used to burn it off. I think we’re close to getting to that point. Now we can look at it as a way to do good things for the environment and have a positive effect on the bottom line.” Ted Wooten, Chief Oil and Gas Engineer for the Railroad Commission, said the agency is working to stay current on produced water developments. “Try to make sure that the commission is as informed as we can be on progress being made on produced water and what our options are for managing produced water,” Wooten said. The Bush Convention Center also featured booths from equipment companies working on produced water solutions. The conference was scheduled to conclude Thursday. Copyright 2026 KOSA. All rights reserved.