The Energy Collective features a report on “produced water” authored by Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Energy and Enivronment Program Blythe Lyons:

In a recent report titled “Produced Water: Asset or Waste?” – part of the Atlantic Council’s Energy and Water Nexus Initiative series – Blythe Lyons, Nonresident Senior Fellow (Energy and Environment Program), addresses water-related issues – in particular the treatment of ‘produced water’- in US oil and gas production as well as concomitant sustainable water strategies.

‘Produced water’-related costs are a major factor in the oil and gas production. The report feeds off a workshop held at the Atlantic Council in June 2013 and summarizes key insights gained from the workshop discussions. It arrives at the fundamental conclusion that despite the fact that ‘produced water’ is still regarded as a pollutant and, therefore, seems logically detrimental to environmental security, “if managed appropriately, it could be recycled and utilized as an asset and new resource in the energy industry.”

Read the full article here.