Black Gold to White Gold: U.S. Oil Industry Invests in Lithium

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Written by Paul Wiseman for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

SLB, Baker Hughes, Exxon Mobil, Chevron are among those applying oil field experience to lithium in the U.S.

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Oil Companies Get New Energy

As the U.S. energy landscape continues to add wind turbines and solar panels to what used to be the exclusive territory of pumpjacks, the operators of those pumpjacks--oil companies--are also adding that landscape's supply chain to their portfolios.

That list includes major oil companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), along with large oil field service companies (OFS) like Halliburton, Baker Hughes and SLB (formerly Schlumberger), among others.

Industrial Info Resources is tracking 29 U.S. lithium mining projects, worth US$16.4 billion, with expected completion dates in 2026-2030. Halliburton Labs is helping startups do research and testing on next-generation extraction systems. For related information, see August 27, 2026, article - Assisted by Halliburton, Two Startups Slash Costs of Critical Minerals Refining.

SLB's Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project

In September 2024, SLB completed an earn-in process to gain 100% ownership of the Silverpeak Clayton Valley lithium mine and brine processing project from its previous owner, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. Located in Esmeralda, Nevada, the project began in 2019 as a partnership between the two companies, "which provides for SLB to design, permit, develop and build a state-of-the-art pilot plant for direct lithium extraction ("DLE") of lithium brines," according to a Pure Energy press release. The Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals databases offer a detailed project report and plant profile.

SLB achieved the earn-in by successfully completing those tasks.

So far this has just been a pilot plant, demonstrating the efficacy of the technology. From here, SLB is targeting first-quarter 2028 to begin converting the plant to commercial operation, according to Industrial Info Resources data.

When fully operational, expected in first-half 2030, the plan is for it to produce 10,300 tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, or lithium hydroxide. Its expected production life is 20 years.

Baker Hughes to Engineer Anson's Green River Lithium Project

In June of this year, Anson Resources and its wholly owned subsidiary, A1 Lithium, announced they had appointed Baker Hughes for engineering work at their grassroot Green River In-Situ Lithium Brine Mine and DLE Plant in Utah. Baker Hughes' program will include "reservoir modelling, production and injection strategy, artificial lift selection, pipeline gathering systems and wellfield infrastructure design," said an Anson Resources press release.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, assuming studies are finished by the fourth quarter of this year, bids will be accepted starting in January of 2027, with the construction kickoff planned for second-quarter 2027. Completion would be in second-quarter 2029.

Majors Major on Smackover

While there are lithium projects in many states out west and elsewhere, lithium's mother lode, holy grail, Permian Basin equivalent is the Smackover formation in southwest Arkansas and northeast Texas. And that's where three major oil companies, who always think big, are focusing their lithium lenses.

Chevron had then joined earlier investors Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) in buying Smackover acreage. For more on that, see June 19, 2025, article - With Two Acquisitions, Chevron Joins the March to Lithium.

At that time, Chevron acquired 225,000 Smackover acres. In 2023, Exxon Mobil acquired 120,000 gross acres there. Oxy, instead of buying acres, partnered with Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary BHE renewables to demonstrate and deploy a DLE process developed by Oxy's wholly owned subsidiary TerraLithium.

How Much Is Enough?

There's a lot of lithium in the Smackover region, according to a December 2024 report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It said, "Between 5.1 and 19.0 million metric tons of lithium are calculated to be present in the brines of the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas."

The USGS attributed the variation to uncertainties in the machine learning involved in the estimates. And, unlike estimates of oil reserves that limit numbers to theoretically recoverable amounts, the USGS specified that this report only "quantifies the in-place lithium resource and does not consider the technological and economic feasibility of extracting the lithium from the brines."

Oil and Lithium Together

This doesn't even address the fact that oil companies are also looking in their own back yard. Most oil wells produce 3-10 times more water than oil, and that water can contain varying amounts of other minerals, including lithium. There, the main mining cost has been allayed by the oil and natural gas, so the only cost with lithium is extracting it from the water.

Key Takeaways

• Wind and solar's intermittency requires battery backup, in which lithium is a key factor.
• Oil companies, already in the energy and technology business, are increasingly lending their resources and experience to lithium mining and processing.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).