Can New Mexico turn oil field wastewater into a critical resource?

Recycling opportunities for hydrogen power and minerals, study says

Oil and gas production generates a large volume of water. Targeted treatment can produce water suitable for industrial uses and a concentrated brine for disposal. Credit to: Adobe Stock

Given New Mexico’s growing volume of castoff water from oil and gas drilling operations — and evolving regulations — the state could serve as a testbed for reusing this waste stream in new ways, according to an analysis from Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers published in Environmental Challenges journal.Read the paperWhy this matters: If treated safely for fit-for-purpose uses, this waste product could support hydrogen production for fuel, mineral extraction and agriculture. Arid regions of the Southwest with scarce freshwater could especially benefit from reuse innovations.What they did: The team evaluated reuse options through policy, environmental risk, treatment feasibility and public-comment analysis, focusing on New Mexico’s high-production Permian Basin oil field and current rulemaking.Their work builds on a 2023 Los Alamos study that investigated the economic feasibility of produced water treatment.How it works: The scientists saw the most potential for targeted treatment matched to specific industrial uses. They didn’t advocate for treating produced oil field water to drinking standards. What to know: In 2023, New Mexico oil and gas drilling operations produced 2.3 billion barrels of wastewater. Most of the produced water is reused for oil recovery (e.g., hydraulic fracturing) or it’s deep well injected for disposal.Funding: Los Alamos National Laboratory Technology Evaluation and Demonstration program.LA-UR-26-21283

Stay up to date

Subscribe to Stay Informed of Recent Science, Technology and Engineering Highlights from LANL

How quantum tunneling helps magnets choose a state

Los Alamos grad student uses research, humor and outreach to make nuclear science approachable

Award recognizes research conducted in part at Los Alamos

A new method uses sound to predict unsafe conditions

New insights could improve prediction and management of long-lived radioactive materials

The design and safety of defense systems could benefit from this model