April 2, 2024--Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Precise numbers are difficult to come by, but it's safe to say the Oil and Gas Industry produces tens of millions of barrels of water every day, which have to be dealt with. In the Permian Basin alone, its two most prolific plays, the Delaware Basin and the Midland Basin, together produce about 14 million barrels per day, of which about 11 million is reused by the industry, according to estimates from the Texas Produced Water Consortium.

That leaves about 2-4 million barrels that could be reused in other industries or, with sufficient treatment, in agriculture--or, in a perfect world--for drinking water. Most of the oil in the U. S., as well as the world, is located in dry and thirsty lands of Biblical proportions. What a gift that would be if it could be worked out.