Shale's Trash Is EV Makers' Treasure

Select Water and LibertyStream to extract battery-grade lithium carbonate from Midland Basin produced water at existing oilfield treatment sites

7 Apr 2026

Select Water Solutions and LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners have signed an agreement to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate from produced water at oilfield treatment sites in Texas's Midland Basin, one of the most significant deals to emerge from the US shale water sector in recent years.

The first facility, located at an existing Select site in Howard County north of Midland, is scheduled for commissioning by December 2026 and will produce up to 1,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year for sale to US customers. Site preparation began in March 2026, with full construction set to begin in the second half of Q2 2026. A three-stage expansion plan extends operations across five Texas counties by mid-2027, with the model intended to replicate into North Dakota's Bakken formation.

The structure of the agreement reflects the economics of each party's position. LibertyStream will fund, design, build, and operate the lithium extraction facilities, while Select provides pipeline access, treatment infrastructure, and pre-treatment of produced water streams. Select receives a production royalty on each tonne of lithium carbonate recovered. Neither party requires new wells or greenfield infrastructure.

That point carries weight. The Permian Basin generates tens of millions of barrels of produced water daily, nearly all of which is currently injected underground at considerable cost. Recovering lithium from that stream before or alongside disposal converts produced water from a liability into a revenue source, altering the economics of water management for operators across the basin.

The timing coincides with continued US policy attention to domestic battery supply chains. Lithium carbonate is a primary input for electric vehicle batteries, and extracting it from water already flowing through existing oilfield assets offers a supply pathway that requires neither new mining permits nor exploration activity. Whether the Howard County facility can deliver at the volumes and quality required by battery manufacturers remains to be demonstrated, but if it does, it could establish a commercial model for produced water lithium recovery across North American shale basins.