Author Topic: Maximizing oil-field-produced water use in West Texas (Read 66 times)

Elderberry · « **on:** **Today** at 03:20 am »

WND By Scott W. Tinker, Real Clear Wire June 14, 2026

Texas has an opportunity to continue as the leader in oil and gas production for decades to come. To do so, industry and the state must manage and productively use the significant volume of water that gets produced along with the oil and gas.

Permian oil and gas production is vital to U. S. transportation and power generation. Each day the Permian Basin produces about 6 million barrels of oil (~ 45% of U.S. supply) daily, which industry refines to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and myriad other products.

The basin also produces about 26 billion cubic feet of natural gas (~ 22% of U.S. supply), which industry processes for industrial, residential, commercial and transportation use. In addition, natural gas has become the backbone of Texas power generation and is increasingly being called on for "behind the meter" electricity generation for data centers.

Associated with oil and gas, each day the Permian basin produces over 20 million barrels of salty water! North Dakota, Oklahoma, Appalachia and other regions also produce significant water along with oil or natural gas. In Texas, industry reuses what it can, then transports and disposes the remainder into deep or shallow rock formations, which changes subsurface pressure conditions and can induce earthquakes.

A decade ago, as the State Geologist of Texas, I worked with the Texas Legislature, industry, and academics to create TexNet at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG). BEG maintains over 200 seismometers tracking earthquakes across Texas and makes the data publicly available.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas activity, uses TexNet to help mitigate earthquakes, while still allowing for production of oil and gas.

More: https://www.wnd.com/2026/06/maximizing-oil-field-produced-water-use-west-texas/

IsailedawayfromFR · « **Reply #1 on:** **Today** at 06:47 am »

I know Dr Tinker. He is a well respected leader in Oil and Gas geology.

A few thoughts on his comments:

There is no question that prodiguous amounts of salt water are produced to deliver to us oil and gas. This is true everywhere on earth where hydrocarbons are produced.

In the early industry days, how to get rid of the salt water was simple: dump it into the streams and rivers. Thank goodness that practice was discontinued early on, although it is still done offshore after water cleanup, practices similar to ocean going ships at sea. The advent of underground injection was an acceptable alternative, as long as freshwater zones were sufficiently protected.

This disposal process quite often had beneficial aspects of increasing oil recoveries as well as stabilize reservoir pressure. At times, oil removal can cause subsidence such as what happened in Long Beach overlying the large Wilmington field. Water injection mitigated further subsidence.

When disposal zones are shallower than productive zones, tremors may result.
The 'earthquakes' noted by Tinker tend to be more like tremors which may frighten those impacted but have slight damaging effects.

To undertake desalination, while feasible to do, seems an over-reaction. Desalination requires tremendous amounts of energy. Where done around the world, it is normally done for drinking water. When done for crops, extremely cheap power is needed like the abundant natural gas existing in the arid Middle East.

So I view Tinker's proposals as interesting but mostly unviable. Perhaps huge solar grids could provide the needed energy, but I question whether their cost would not overcome whatever value is extracted from the crops which would result.