Produced water is found everywhere, and more is being added every day. The growth in the amount of produced water has slowed, but it is still one of the biggest challenges facing the energy industry, says John Schmitz, CEO and chairman of the board of Select Water Solutions.

His company’s clients focus on recycling and reuse solutions, but even if fracking operations used 100 percent recycled water, Schmitz said five billion barrels of produced water would still need to be processed.

Schmitz told his audience that the water market is changing just as the exploration and production market is. Public E&P companies are feeling the pressure to maintain their inventories and are seeking the benefits of greater scale. He added that companies tend to be less active after mergers and competition for investors’ attention is “fierce.”

Likewise, the water market is shifting towards commercialized midstream areas and further consolidation among water utilities is expected. “These developments are taking place as water utilities are ‘stuck’, feeling the pressure to grow and wanting to take advantage of scaled networks,” he said.

Systems, networks and regional reach will give operators and water companies the ability to use water outside of the oil fields, he said. Mineral extraction will be a source of profit and stable cash flow as prices rise and the technology is proven, although that could take up to a decade, Schmitz said. The meaningful reuse of produced water outside of industry, on the other hand, will be technically, commercially and legally feasible and scalable in the next year or two, he said.

Select aims at partial desalination of reclaimed water, and the secret lies in the pretreatment, engineering and operation. The company is aiming for pilot projects that go beyond the laboratory scale, he said.

“Water can drive the energy transition, but we need to attract projects,” he explained. Many new technologies and advanced energies – hydrogen, green methane, natural gas power generation, and carbon capture, utilization and storage – are trying to find their way to market, but industry needs to work to be part of that effort, he said.

In the Permian Basin alone, he said, the region is projected to experience an eight percent water shortage by 2030. Currently, the Permian Basin discards an average of 13.7 million barrels of produced water per day.

“We have 13.7 million barrels a day in a region that needs water,” he said. “All together, we can supply the missing 8%. Industry can provide the solution.”