Western Midstream Partners starts second Reeves County produced-water treatment pilot

Western Midstream Partners, LP (WES) with Joint Industry Project (JIP) collaborators Chevron USA Inc., ConocoPhillips Co., Devon Energy Corp., and Exxon Mobil Corp. started-up their second produced-water treatment pilot facility (JIP 2) near Red Bluff Reservoir in Reeves County, Tex.

The facility is designed to receive 2,000 b/d of produced water and produce about 1,000 b/d of reclaimed freshwater, or about ten times the amount produced by JIP 1. This new facility builds upon the success of JIP 1 (described below) which evaluated and field-tested multiple produced-water treatment technologies to select preferred, high-performing solutions for ongoing operations.

JIP 2 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.

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 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 which can consistently produce water quality suitable for end-use applications that include industrial cooling, irrigation, and surface discharge.

WES is a master limited partnership formed to develop, acquire, own, and operate midstream assets.