Water infrastructure booms with shale

The US oilfield water-handling market is growing as shale production continues to rise, with the Permian Basin leading the way

The boom in US shale production is spurring the growth of supporting industries, with water-handling prominent among these. Oilfield water management is nothing new, as conventional oil and gas wells also produce water alongside hydrocarbons. But the emergence of shale drilling over the past decade has added a new dimension to this—with operators needing to source water for hydraulic fracturing as well as managing their produced water. The US is producing roughly four barrels of water for every barrel of crude, according to research from investment bank Raymond James. It projects that the amount of waste-water produced in the US will rise from about 50mn bl/d to roughly 55mn bl/d by 2025, an