Western Midstream Partners, LP, alongside its Joint Industry Project (JIP) collaborators Chevron U.S.A. Inc., ConocoPhillips Company, Devon Energy Corporation, and ExxonMobil Corporation, announced the start-up of its second produced-water treatment pilot facility (JIP 2) near Red Bluff Reservoir in Reeves County, Texas.
The facility is designed to receive 2,000 barrels per day of produced water and produce approximately 1,000 barrels per day of reclaimed freshwater, or approximately ten times the amount produced by JIP 1. This new facility builds upon the success of JIP 1, which evaluated and field-tested multiple produced-water treatment technologies to select preferred, high-performing solutions for ongoing operations.
In 2023, WES and its collaborators created JIP 1, a small-scale pilot site in West Texas, to evaluate and measure technologies needed to commercialize the beneficial use of produced water in the Permian Basin. During the 24-month project, technical experts at WES and its collaborators collected over 50,000 water-quality data points to demonstrate a treatment process that can consistently produce water quality suitable for end-use applications, including industrial cooling, irrigation, and surface discharge.
The JIP 2 facility will also serve as a demonstration site, enabling continued optimization of operations while validating consistent reclaimed freshwater production for a range of end-use applications. Insights and data collected from JIP 2 will guide the next phase of commercial-scale desalination facilities. WES and its JIP collaborators will continue to work closely with regulators, local communities, and independent experts to further validate the treatment process and confirm water quality outcomes. These investments are aimed at reducing industry disposal volumes while developing a potential alternative water source benefiting industry and surrounding communities.
"The start-up of JIP 2 marks a pivotal milestone in our journey to transform a produced-water stream from a disposal challenge into a valuable resource for the Permian Basin and beyond," said Oscar K. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of WES. "Through our multi-barrier treatment approach, we are transforming that stream into highly treated reclaimed freshwater suitable for industrial cooling and irrigation applications, while helping reduce pressure on Texas' limited water resources. WES already handles approximately 3.0 million barrels per day of produced water using all of today's oil and gas flow-assurance solutions: water sourcing, recycling, gathering, long-haul transportation, and disposal, and we believe beneficial reuse will be the next major solution to the Permian Basin's water challenges. We are very proud of the progress our team and our JIP members have made together over the past two years, and we believe JIP 2 brings us meaningfully closer to WES's first commercial-scale facility."
